Ted van Lieshout
Ted van Lieshout (b. 1955) is a poet, writer and artist for children and adults. He studied at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and worked as a designer before moving on to writing and illustrating children’s books.
Van Lieshout is always looking for new styles and techniques in both words and pictures. His stories for children, collected in De allerliefste jongen van de hele wereld (The Dearest Boy in all the World, 1988) and Ik ben een held (I Am a Hero, 1991) are characterised by a melancholy humour. Mijn botjes zijn bekleed met deftig vel (My Bones Are Clothed with Classy Skin, Silver Slate Pencil 1987) and Multiple Noise (1992), his collections of poetry for children, are dominated by the search for security and identity.
Prizes
Van Lieshout has won many prizes, including the Gouden Griffel for his poetry collection Begin een torentje van niks. In 1998, his book Stilleven was published, his first title in which he laid out his vision of artworks and styles, and which may be read as a forerunner of the Paper Museums. His oeuvre includes the YA novel Gebr. (Bros.), which has been translated into a number of languages, as well as Boer Boris (Farmer Boris), his popular series for younger readers.
In 2009, Van Lieshout received the prestigious Theo Thijssen Prize for his oeuvre.
More Ted van Lieshout
The Man With the Chisel
The eccentric and eloquent Antonij (age 15) is attracted to grown men and feels he is the only person who is entitled to make decisions about his body and mind. In a cemetery, he meets the handsome Leo, who doesn’t lay a finger on him and yet is accused of abuse. At the request of Leo’s lawyer, Antonij makes a statement. His captivating, shifting accounts of what happened keep changing your view of the situation. But is anyone listening to him? This premise gives rise to an artfully crafted novel which also features a mysterious story from the past about a grave in which a grandmother and grandchild are buried together. 'The Man with the Chisel' raises important questions about sexuality, identity and whether or not to label them and expose them to the light of day.
Farmer Boris
In their Farmer Boris picture books, Philip Hopman’s masterful illustrations perfectly underline the humour of Ted van Lieshout’s rhyming stories.
Bros.
'Bros.' was once frequently seen at the end of names of companies headed by brothers. Van Lieshout uses the abbreviation to indicate a breach in the relationship between two brothers and the premature end of a young life. Luuk is sixteen when he takes over his dead brother’s diary. He doesn’t feel easy about violating Marius’s privacy but it is the only way he can save the diary from the bonfire his mother is about to start of his brother’s stuff.