Janwillem van de Wetering
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Janwillem van de Wetering (Middle name: Lincoln; February 12 1931 -, who uses Janwillem Vandewetering as a "pen and reference name"), is the author of a number of works in English and Dutch; he is particularly noted for his detective fiction. His most popular creations are Grijpstra and de Gier, a pair of Amsterdam police officers who figure in a lengthy series of novels and short stories. He has also written stories for children and nonfiction works. He usually writes in Dutch and then in English; the two versions often differ considerably.
Van de Wetering was born and raised in Rotterdam, but in later years he lived in South Africa, Japan, London, Colombia, Peru, Australia, Amsterdam and most recently in Maine, the setting of two of his Grijpstra and de Gier novels and his children's series about the porcupine Hugh Pine. His many travels and his experiences in a Zen Buddhist monastery and as a member of the Amsterdam Special Constabulary ("being a policeman in one's spare time" as he phrased it in his introduction to Outsider in Amsterdam) lend authenticity to his works of fiction and nonfiction.
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Bibliography
Grijpstra and de Gier novels
- Outsider in Amsterdam, 1975
- Tumbleweed, 1976
- The Corpse on the Dike, 1976
- Death of a Hawker, 1977
- The Japanese Corpse, 1977
- The Blond Baboon, 1978
- The Maine Massacre, 1979
- The Mind-Murders, 1981
- The Streetbird, 1983
- The Rattle-Rat, 1985
- Hard Rain, 1986
- Just A Corpse at Twilight, 1994
- The Hollow-Eyed Angel, 1996
- The Perfidious Parrot, 1997
- The Amsterdam Cops: Collected Stories, 1999 (anthology)
- replaces the anthology The Sergeant's Cat and Other Stories
Children's books
- Little Owl, 1978
- Hugh Pine, 1980
- Hugh Pine and the Good Place, 1981
- Hugh Pine and Something Else, 1983
Other fiction
- The Butterfly Hunter, 1982
- Bliss and Bluster, 1982
- Inspector Saito's Small Satori, 1985 (anthology)
- Murder by Remote Control, 1986 (graphic novel, with Paul Kirchner)
- Seesaw Millions, 1988
- Mangrove Mama and Other Tropical Tales of Terror, 1995 (anthology)
- Judge Dee Plays His Lute: A Play and Selected Mystery Stories, 1997 (anthology; includes the original play Judge Dee Plays his Lute and a selection from other anthologies)
Non-fiction
- The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery, 1971
- A Glimpse of Nothingness: Experiences in an American Zen Community, 1975
- Robert Van Gulik: His Life, His Work, 1988
- Afterzen: Experiences of a Zen Student out on His Ear, 1999
Articles/stories not included in books
- The Way Life Should Be - Maine: coastline on a clean, cold sea. The Nation, September 1, 2003.
Translations
- Alexandra David-Neel and Lama Yongden: The Power of Nothingness. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982 (French to English, with an intodruction by the translator)
- Van de Wetering also translated many books from English to Dutch and two books from French to Dutch.
Unpublished in English
- De doosjesvuller en andere vondsten, 1984 (essays in Dutch)
- Waar zijn we aan begonnen?, 1985 (essays on the stages of life with the psychologist Hans van Rappard)
- Eugen Eule und der Fall des verschwundenen Flohs , 2001 (children's book in German)
- Die Entartete Seezunge 2004 (inspired by the World War 2 bombing of Rotterdam and the 9/11 disaster in NYC) (a novel in German)
Filmography
- Grijpstra and de Gier (Netherlands, 1979), based on the novel Outsider in Amsterdam, scripted by Wim Verstappen
- Rattlerat (Netherlands, 1987), scripted by Wim Verstappen
- Der Blonde Affe (Germany, 1985), based on the novel THE BLOND BABOON
- Forthcoming: Just a Corpse at Twilight (Lagestee Film, Amsterdam, possible show date in 2006), in (early) progress, script by Janwillem van de Wetering
Television
- A TV series based on the Grijpstra and de Gier characters started airing on Dutch TV in 2004, 30 episodes are made, another 15 are ordered. Roef Hagas and Jack Wouterse play youthful versions of de Gier and Grijpstra.
- Van de Wetering wrote 4 radio plays for German TV, again based on the Grijpstra and de Gier series. The plays were aired during the early nineties.
- CBS aired a TV special featuring the original Hugh Pine novel (Storybreak #12).
Radio
- Das Koan, a German radio play, scripted by Van de Wetering, was aired in 1994, based on Van de Wetering's biography of Robert van Gulik, creator of the Judge Dee series
External links
- The Philosophical Exercises of Janwillem van de Wetering (http://www.avramdavidson.org/wetering.htm)
- Janwillem van de Wetering on Zeal (http://zeal.com/category/manage.jhtml?cid=10228105)de:Janwillem van de Wetering