Men of the ’Eighties

The "Men of the Eighties" was a significant literary movement in the northern Netherlands that began in 1885 with the publication of the periodical De nieuwe gids ("The New Guide"). This movement marked a renaissance in Dutch literature, prioritizing an aesthetic ideal. Key figures included poets Willem Kloos and Albert Verwey, and critic Lodewijk van Deyssel. Other prominent writers associated with this period were Frederik van Eeden, Herman Gorter, Pieter Cornelis Boutens, and Jan Hendrik Leopold. This movement was characterized by its focus on artistic expression and a departure from earlier literary trends.1