J. Bernlef

Hendrik Jan Marsman (1937–2012), better known by his pen name J. Bernlef, was a Dutch writer, poet, novelist and translator, much of whose work centres on mental perception of reality and its expression. He won numerous literary awards, including the Constantijn Huygens Prize in 1984 and the P. C. Hooft Award in 1994, both for his entire oeuvre. His novel "Hersenschimmen" (1984), which features on the list of NRC's…