Dutch poet, nicknamed the “Prince of Dutch Poets”.
“Jany” was born in Bergen as the eldest son of Adrianus Roland Holst (26 December 1860, Amsterdam – 18 September 1940, Hilversum,) an commissionaire in insurances and Maria Elisabeth van Tijen (30 April 1865, Amsterdam – 27 April 1947, Hilversum). They married 11 Augustus 1887 in Amsterdam and got 3 sons.
He followed the HBS in Amersfoort and Hilversum till summer 1906 and then went 8 months to Lausanne to study History and French literature. In 1907 he took lessons in Greek and Latin. Summer 1908 he went to Oxford to study Political Economy.
Here, under the influence of William Morris, W.B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory, he became interested in Celtic mythology. He delved into the Radcliffe Library of Oxford and decided to become a poet. His father send him a monthly fine, so that he did not need to write for bread. He did not finish his examinations.
From January till May 1911 he was gravely ill, having pleurisy. His parents in Hilversum cared for him. Summer 1991 he went to Lynmouth, to stay in Shelley’s Cottage till 1914. He would return here every summer. October 1911 he published “Verzen”, in 1912 he wrote the poetry of his bundle “De belijdenis van de stilte”.
In 1916 he underwent a kidney operation. To regain strength , he took long walks alongside the sea and discovered the village Bergen, where he took residence first in 1918 and then from 1921 till his death at old age (6 Augustus 1976).
From 1920 till 1933 he was editor poetry for the cultural magazine “De Gids”. In this role he became a leading figure in the Dutch poetry world, becoming friends with Bloem, Van Eyck and Greshoff. He promoted Hendrik Marsman and J.J. Slauerhoff.
In 1920 he published ” Voorbij de wegen” (beyond the roads). In 1937 he published the poetry bundle “Een winter aan zee” (A winter at sea) having a hermetic character. In 1938 her received D.A. Thieme-prijs award for this.
May 1940 he lost his literary friends Menno ter Braak en E. du Perron, who committed suicide. As he had loyalty problems with the Kultukammer he had to hide. His poetic theme of a “lost existence” became reality. He changed his name to Erik van Tijen. Between 1943 and 1944 with actor Eduard Verkade in Breukelen, and the last war year with his brother Hendrik Wouter (1900-1993) in Laren.
After the war he made an astonishing come-back and won all the major Dutch poetry awards. He was the the first poet after Vondel ho got the nickname “Prins der dichters”. He translated Richard III (1947) in Amsterdam played by Albert van Dalsum, in 1948 followed by King Lear. His success and a annual fine, this from the Dutch government allowed him to write what he wanted.
He was a handsome well dressed poet, never married, but lived like a Don Juan even at middle age. But in 1964 as his vitality left him, he got depressed and was admitted to the Valerius Hospital twice in Amsterdam. His last years he spent in the retirement home Frankenstate in Bergen aan zee.
He died op 6 Augustus 1976 in Bergen.
In 1982 en 1983 appeared the four volumes of his “Verzameld Werk”.

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