P.C. Hooft Award for Tonnus Oosterhoff

The 2012 P.C. Hooft Award for Literature has been awarded to the poet Tonnus Oosterhoff from the village of Klein Ulsda in Groningen. Oosterhoff was the 2005 guest writer of the University of Groningen, where he also gained his degree in Dutch language and literature and Psychology.

The P.C. Hooft Award is one of the most important literary oeuvre prizes in the Netherlands and is alternately awarded for essays, prose and poetry. According to the jury, Oosterhoff’s poetry is very innovative and the author has an extraordinary talent for describing sensations that are difficult to explain.

Oosterhoff was born in Leiden, but spent most of his life in Groningen. He has published a total of 16 poetry collections, story collections and other works.In addition, he also wrote radio plays and one theatre play. He previously won numerous prizes, including the Cees Buddingh Prize, the Jan Campert Prize, the Herman Gorter Prize and the VSB Poetry Award. In addition to being a writer, Tonnus Oosterhoff also worked as a bridgeman in Klein Ulsda for several years.