GEZELLE, GUIDO. – Flemish poet and priest, b. in Bruges on 1 May 1830, d. there on 27 Nov. 1899. He is one of the greatest lyric poets of the 19th century. Of humble origin, the son of a gardener, he loved the people, whom he sought to make happier by revealing to them the beauty of created things. As a pedagogue (he was a teacher in a seminary), G. endeavoured to form character.
Because of his temperament, he was compelled to leave the seminary, and this brought about a very painful crisis for him, which is reflected in his work. Later, as rector of a convent of nuns in Courtrai, he spent there a very happy period. A folklorist and later, on two occasions, an editor, as well as a translator of Longfellow, he decisively surpassed mere folklorism and became the greatest Flemish poet. He wrote neither in official Dutch nor in Flemish dialect, but attempted to give the Dutch language, already common to the Dutch and the Flemish, a personal note and a vigorous local colour, drawing upon the linguistic richness of his province (and in this respect he had a disciple in his nephew, the great prose writer Stijn Streuvels).
G.’s poetry is characterised by a close fusion of religious feeling with love of his native land. Among his works, mention should be made of the collections Tijdhrans (Corona del tempo), Rijmsnoer om en om het jaar (Collana di rime intorno all'anno) and Laatste Verzen (Ultimi versi). As a lyric poet, he soon established himself in the Flemish and Dutch lands, even in ideological circles opposed to him. His monument is the Musée G., in his native city.