Willem Wilmink

Who was Willem Wilmink?

Willem Wilmink ['ʋɪləm 'ʋɪlmɪŋk] was a Dutch poet and writer. He was best known for his the large number of songs he wrote for popular children programs and his simple poetry.

Wilmink was born in Enschede and studied Dutch and history at the University of Amsterdam. From 1960 to 1978, he taught modern literature at the same university. He wrote many songs for musicals and wrote a number of youth books. At first he mainly wrote for adults, but later mainly for children.

His first publication was in 1966: Brief van een Verkademeisje. From 1970, he formed a writers collective, together with Karel Eijkman, Hans Dorrestijn, Ries Moonen, Fetze Pijlman and Jan Riem. It contributed a lot to television programs like De Stratemakeropzeeshow, Het Klokhuis, De Film van Ome Willem, Sesamstraat and Kinderen voor Kinderen.

He received numerous prizes:

Louis Davids Prijs

Zilveren Griffel

Gouden Griffel

Theo Thijssen Prijs

Wilmink never became really famous as a performing artist, but a lot of Dutch people know his songs. He performed regularly with his group in the nineties.