Paul Snoek is a pseudonym for : Edmond André Corallie Schietekat

 

(17/12/1933 – 19/10/1981)

 

Life

 

The nuns of his school described him as mediocre. He wasn’t outstanding in any way and he liked to keep his low-profile. As a child he loved nature and painting, as his father was an artist and sold his paintings to be able to buy food for his family during World War II. He studied at the Sint-Lievenscollege in Antwerp. His priest-poet introduced him to poetry. As a schoolboy he published some sonnets and magazines.

 

Career

 

As a teenager he studied Law at the University of Gent. Although he was very interested and wanted to get his Law Degree, his passion to write overtook his studies and shortly later he published his first ever poetry book: Archipel.

 

 In 1957 he was called to duty and was put in charge of the military magazine: Vici.

 

When he returned to Belgium he decided to become a full-time artist, painting his way through life. But as the end of the month came, he noticed that being a painter doesn’t exactly pay that much if you are not famous. Shortly later he joined his father in a textile factory and he visited several countries as a salesman. In 1963 he has founded his own import and export factory of Japanese printed silk.

 

He bought a farm in Slijpe in 1967 and he started to paint again in 1972.  This time it was much more successful, afterwards several exhibitions followed. His painting was sold so well that he started to paint again and went working for Atlas part-time and in 1975, he committed himself fully to painting.

 

After that he started working for “Nieuw Vlaams Tijdschrift”. In his free time he was an amateur motor-crosser and in his personal life he was a close friend of Gaston Burssens.

 

Bibliography

 

  • Archipel (poëzie, 1954)

  • Noodbrug (poëzie, 1955)

  • Tussen vel en vlees (poëzie, 1956)

  • Aardrijkskunde (poëzie, 1956)

  • Reptielen en amfibieën (proza, 1957)

  • Ik rook een vredespijp (poëzie, 1957)

  • De heilige gedichten (poëzie, 1959)

  • Hercules (poëzie, 1960)

  • Richelieu (poëzie, 1961)

  • Soldatenbrieven (proza, samen met H.C. Pernath, 1961)

  • Renaissance (poëzie, 1963)

  • Nostradamus (poëzie, 1963)

  • Op de grens van land en zee (poëzie, 1964)

  • De zwarte muze (poëzie, 1967)

  • Gedichten 1954-1968 (poëzie, 1969)

  • Gedichten voor Maria Magdalena (poëzie, 1971)

  • Gedichten (poëzie, 1971)

  • Een hondsdolle tijd (proza, 1971) (een autobiografische roman)

  • Bultaco 250 cc (proza, 1972)

  • Kwaak- en kruipdieren (proza, heruitgave van Reptielen en amfibieën, 1972)

  • Frankenstein, nagelaten gedichten (poëzie, 1973)

  • Ik heb vannacht de liefde uitgevonden (poëzie, 1973)

  • Welkom in mijn onderwereld (poëzie, 1978)

  • Schildersverdriet (poëzie, 1982)

  • Doodstil gedicht (poëzie, 1982)

  • Verzamelde gedichten (poëzie, 1982)

 

Prizes

 

  • Arkprijs voor het vrije woord (1963)

  • Driejaarlijkse Staatsprijs voor de Vlaamse poëzie (1969) voor « De zwarte muze »

  • Jan Campertprijs( 1971)

  • Eugène Baieprijs( 1972)

  • Dirk Martensprijs (1980)

  • In 1991 heeft het stadsbestuur van Sint-Niklaas de “Paul Snoekprijs” in het leven geroepen