Antoine de Kom | |
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![]() Antoine de Kom (2006) | |
Born | Antoine Adrianus Raymondus de Kom 13 August 1956 |
Nationality | Dutch |
Other names | Raymond Sarucco [1] |
Occupation(s) | Psychiatrist, author, poet |
Notable work | Ritmisch zonder string (2013), Het misdadige brein (2012) |
Antoine Adrianus Raymondus de Kom ( The Hague, 13 Augustus 1956) is a Dutch psychiatrist, writer and poet of Surinamese descent.
His grandfather was Anton de Kom, the famous Surinamese resistance fighter and anti-colonialist. [1] In 1966 the family moved to Paramaribo, Suriname, where he spend his formative years. [1] In 1971, de Kom studied medicine at the University of Amsterdam after which he specialised in psychiatry. He started his career as a forensic psychiatrist at the Pieter Baan Centre. [2]
In 1981, he made his debut under the pseudonym Raymond Sarucco with Palmen in the magazine De Gids. [1] [3] The poems expressed de Kom's connection to the Caribbean and his fascination for their past and present. [1] His first collection Tropen (1991) was nominated for the C. Buddingh'-prijs. [4]
As a forensic psychiatrist, de Kom published Het misdadige brein: over het kwaad in onszelf (2012) in which he described fictitious conversations with historic criminals and despots. [2]
In 2013, Antoine de Kom gave the third Cola Debrot Lecture about slavery. [5] In 2014, Antoine de Kom was awarded VSB Poetry Prize for Ritmisch zonder string (2013). [6] When asked whether de Kom considered his writings Surinamese literature, de Kom replied that he could not answer that; he is just as much an outcast as his grandfather. [7]