Josephus Carel Franciscus (Jef) Last (2 May 1898 in The Hague – 15 February 1972 in Laren) was a Dutch poet, writer, translator and cosmopolitan.This article is based on the Dutch version
Jef Last was a writer and socially compassionate man. Having a Protestant father and a Catholic mother, he was raised in the Protestant tradition.Van Oppen, Lucas. "Last: Author, Activist, Outcast. An inquiry into Jef Last’s relationship with communism in the 1930s." Master's Thesis, Leiden University, 2020, p.15. However, he was already a member of the SDAP and the "AJC" at a very young age. With these principles, he could not practice as an assistant manager of the Enka in Ede, leading to his resignation. Biografisch Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeidersbeweging in Nederland – Jef Last
He left the revisionist social democracy to become a member of Henk Sneevliet's Revolutionary Socialist Party. With his revolutionary friend André Gide, he traveled in the summer of 1936 to the Soviet Union. The pair was well received, but saw through the organized tribute and returned to the west disillusioned. Last wrote a book about his friendship with Gide.
He last fought in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades, fighting on the side of the Spanish Republic. As a result, he lost his Dutch citizenship because of his military service to a foreign power. Shortly after the Second World War, his citizenship was returned due to his participation in the Dutch resistance.Van Oppen, Lucas. "Last: Author, Activist, Outcast. An inquiry into Jef Last’s relationship with communism in the 1930s." Master's Thesis, Leiden University, 2020, p.52.
From 1950 to 1953, he lived in Indonesia, particularly in Singaraja (Bali), where he worked as a teacher at a secondary school. He was friends with the country’s president Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta.
Family He was married to Ida ter Haar (1893-1982) from 1923, whom he divorced and later remarried. They had three daughters. Jef was known as a bisexual. He was a co-founder of the homosexual emancipation Shakespeare Club, the forerunner of the COC.
The last years of his life were spent in the Rosa Spier Huis in Laren. After his death, his body was made available to science.
Work 1926 – Bakboordslichten (poetry) 1930 – Branding 1930 – Kameraden! (poetry) 1930 – Marianne 1932 – Liefde in de portieken 1932 – Verleden tijd (poetry) 1933 – Onder de koperen ploert 1933 – Partij remise 1933 – Twee werelden (poetry) 1933 – De vlucht van den opstandeling 1934 – Zuiderzee 1935 – Een huis zonder vensters 1935 – Voor de mast 1936 – Brieven uit Spanje 1936 – De bevrijde Eros. Een ketter in moorenland en andere gedichten (poetry) 1936 – Een flirt met den duivel 1937 – Bloedkoraal (poetry) 1937 – In de loopgraven voor Madrid 1937 – De Spaansche tragedie (The Spanish tragedy/Spanish Front. Writers on the Civil War) 1938 – De laatste waarheid 1939 – Kruisgang der jeugd; with Harry Wilde 1939 – De vliegende Hollander 1940 – Kinderen van de middernachtzon 1940 – Onvoldoende voor de liefde 1941 – Van een jongen die een man werd part I and II (youth work in 1919, at the time not published) 1941 – Elfstedentocht 1942 – Leeghwater maalt de meren leeg 1944 – Tau Kho Tau (poetry) 1945 – Een socialistische renaissance 1945 – Het eerste schip op de Newa (The first ship up the Neva) 1946 – Oog in oog (poetry) 1947 – Vingers van de linkerhand 1949 – In de zevende hemel 1950 – Schuim op de kust 1951 – De rode en de witte lotus 1953 – Inleiding tot het denken van Confucius 1955 – Bali in de kentering 1956 – Zo zag ik Indonesië 1957 – Een lotje uit de loterij 1958 – I Bontot en I Koese. De avonturen van twee Balische jongens; with Udeyana Pandji Tisna (The John Day Company) 1959 – Lu Hsün. Dichter und Idol 1960 – Japan in kimono en overall 1960 – Tegen de draad (poetry) 1960 – Vloog een bloesem terug naar haar tak 1962 – De Spaanse tragedie 1962 – Golven der Gele Rivier 1962 – De jeugd van Judas (The boyhood of Judas; in: The fifth Acolyte Reader, Meppel 1991) 1965 – China, land van de eeuwige omwenteling 1966 – De tweede dageraad van Japan 1966 – Mijn vriend André Gide 1967 – Rinus van der Lubbe, doodstraf voor een provo (edited reissue of Kruisgang der jeugd) 1968 – Strijd, handel en zeeroverij. De Hollandse tijd op Formosa 1970 – Vuurwerk achter de Chinese muur 1972 – Tjoebek in het tijgerbos (children's book) 1973 – De zeven Caramboles; under pseudonym Co Mantjens, second edition with subtitel: De postume pornoroman van Jef Last Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren – Jef Lastonly books with an English translation are linked
References
External links Jef Last.nl