author
August Vermeylen
1872–1945
A leading voice in modern Flemish literature, he helped launch an influential journal and brought literary criticism, fiction, and public life together in one remarkable career.
1 Audiobook
Der Ewige Jude
by August Vermeylen
About the author
Born in Brussels in 1872, August Vermeylen was a Belgian writer, critic, and art historian who became one of the key figures in the Flemish cultural revival. He studied history at the Free University of Brussels and, while still young, helped found the literary journal Van Nu en Straks in 1893, a magazine that played a major role in renewing Dutch-language literature in Belgium.
Vermeylen worked across several fields at once. He taught literature and art history, wrote essays and criticism, and also published creative work, including the novel The Wandering Jew (De wandelende Jood). His reputation rests not only on what he wrote, but also on the broad, thoughtful vision he brought to literature, culture, and public debate.
He was also active in public life and later became the first rector of the Dutch-language Ghent University. Vermeylen died in Uccle in 1945, but he remains an important name in Belgian literary and intellectual history.