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Paper for the Vith Biennial IGEL Conference, Utrecht, August 26-29, 1998

The relationship between Dutch and Flemish literature is very much an issue in Dutch literary history. A Dutch literary historian will always have to decide whether and in what way he or she should include Belgium’s Dutch-language literature. Usually literary historians will refer to linguistic or cultural aspects to justify their decision. In this research project 'The Flemish and Dutch poetry between 1910 and 1940: autonomy and interaction' we do not begin with the premise that a cultural unity exists between the Netherlands and Flanders. Our starting point is the assumption that there exist two separate entities, and these should be approached as such. In addition, the project builds upon the historiography of modern Dutch poetry based on quantitative data, initiated by W.J. van den Akker and G.J. Dorleijn. (Van den Akker and Dorleijn 1997) We have created a Flemish counterpart to their detailed inventory of the Dutch poetic production between 1900 and 1940. These inventories constitute the basic material for this research project. They enable us to look closely at the careers of Dutch and Flemish poets. In terms of field theory, we make a distinction between the literary fields of Flanders and the Netherlands. More specifically, we regard the two literary circuits as being relatively autonomous with respect to one another. Participation of actors from the one literary circuit within the other is then regarded as interaction. Our approach will make it possible to take into account the national differences between Flanders and the Netherlands, and specific national relationships within the Flemish or the Dutch circuit. It will also become possible to deal more carefully with contemporary discussions on the matter, which bear a remarkable resemblance to more recent discussions. For the relationship with the Netherlands was an important issue for literary Flanders long before the First World War. Those involved often remarked that many Flemish authors were seeking refuge with Dutch publishers. In 1910, for example, the Flemish author Victor de Meyere