Gezelle was born in
Bruges in the province of
West Flanders to Monica Devrieze and Pieter Jan Gezelle, a gardener. The house where he was born is now literary museum
Gezellehuis. Gezelle was
ordained a priest in 1854, and worked as a teacher at the
Minor Seminary, Roeselare. Interested in all things English and became the chaplain to the , where he died. His works are often inspired by his mystic love towards God and
Creation. Later, his poetry was associated with literary
Impressionism, and he is considered a forerunner of that movement. Gezelle was a proponent of developing the
Flemish dialects independently from (now) mainstream Dutch, with its dominantly
Hollandic character. The Dutch he used in his poems was heavily influenced by local
West Flemish dialect. Gezelle also was a translator of poetry and prose, notably of
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's
Song of Hiawatha, published in 1886. Having read the original in Roeselare in 1856 the poem interested him for its portrayal of American Indians and their relation to Christian missionaries. For his linguistic mastery, Gezelle is considered one of the most important poets of
Dutch literature. The Flemish writer
Stijn Streuvels (Frank Lateur) was his nephew. == Bibliography ==