Martinus Nijhoff was a Dutch poet and essayist. He studied literature in Amsterdam and law in Utrecht. His debut was in 1916 with his volume De wandelaar ('The Wanderer'). He then gradually expanded his reputation by his unique style of poetry: not experimental, like Paul van Ostaijen, yet distinguished by the clarity of his language combined with mystical content. He was a literary craftsman who employed skillfully various verse forms from different literary periods.
