Gabriëlle Demedts

Gabriëlle Demedts (Wielsbeke, June 11, 1909 – Kortrijk, September 6, 2002) was a Flemish Belgian poet.[1][2][3] She was a sibling of André Demedts. In 1934 she wrote her first poems and in 1937 she published her first work "Een gevangene zingt" (The prisoner sings). As a young child she was struck by Poliomyelitis which has determined the rest of her life. In a book about the Declercq family, one can read that some of Demedts’ poems have been inspired by life-changing events in her life and that of the Declercqs.[4] She wrote, for instance, '’Rustig lied’' (quiet song) [5] and '’Lage tonen'’ (low vibes) [6] after a love break-up of her friend Valentine Declercq, or '’Zomer’' (Summer) [7] when Valentine was severely ill and dying. Later, she also wrote a poem, '’Ik heb gedaan...'’ (I am done…),[8] when Ernest Constant Declercq, Valentine’s father and a close friend of Gabrielle Demedts’ parents, had died.

Gabriëlle Demedts
Gabriëlle Demedts together with her brother André Demedts and with the Declercq family, around 1923.
Born	Wielsbeke, Belgium
Died	Kortrijk, Belgium
Pen name	Maria Houtland
Language	Dutch
Nationality	Belgian
Citizenship	Belgium