Gwy Mandelinck, the man who brought poetry to the people

Gwy Mandelinck was the pseudonym of Guido Haerynck, a poet born on 23 January 1937 in Wakken, one of the oldest parishes in the province of West Flanders, 

His father may have been a carpenter and furniture maker but that was clearly not in young Guido’s future. He studied Latin and Greek in high school in Waregem and then took steps to learn how to become a Dutch teacher in Torhout: 

This would be his vocation from 1959 to 1975, but in the meantime he had greater plans. He wrote several one-act plays and started writing poetry as well. His poetry debut, Het oogbad (“the eye bath”) appeared in 1971 to great acclaim. He in fact won a prize for one of its poems, Ontloken cirkel, before the collection was even published. 

His next collection followed three years later: De wijzers bij elkaar was met with the same enthusiasm and resulted in not one but several prizes – two for the whole and one for a cycle called Spraakzaam in de spreuken, a poem dedicated to his parents. 

After his stint as a Dutch teacher, he became city librarian in Poperinge, and in 1979 he moved to Watou, a village near the French border, to an old chaplain’s house. It was in Watou that Mandelinck formed his legacy. 

From 1980 to 2008, Gwy organised so-called poetry summers, where he combined poetry with visual arts and photography, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to the unassuming border town. He could count on famous Belgians Roger Raveel and Hugo Claus for help. All the while, he kept writing poetry. 

After shutting down the Watou festival, Mandelinck turned his attention to Bruges for a much larger-scale project centred around Guido Gezelle, also honouring the aforementioned Claus, author of The Sorrow of Belgium. 

In 2024, it’s Belgian poetry fans that are experiencing sorrow, as Gwy passed away on 5 April in Aartrijke. It’s only fitting he was laid to rest in his beloved Watou. 

Photo: KANTL (YouTube)