Peter Verhelst was born on January 28, 1962. He is a writer, poet, and playwright from Belgium's Flemish region. He received the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs for his work Tongkat.

Life

Peter Verhelst was born in Bruges, Belgium. As a young person, he enjoyed reading books, including atlases, encyclopedias, and novels. He also began writing poetry at the age of 16.

While working as a teacher for Dutch, English, and History, he began his writing career in 1987 with the poem Obsidiaan. His first novel, Vloeibaar harnas, was published in 1993. After that, he taught at the Institute for Food in Bruges. In 1999, he left his teaching job to write full-time. In 2000, he won the Gouden Uil (Golden Owl) and Young Gold Owl (Jonge Gouden Uil), important literary prizes for Belgian writing in Dutch. He also started writing plays, with his first play completed in 1997.

In 2016, he received the Ida Gerhardt Poëzieprijs for his poetry book Wij totale vlam (2014). In 2019, he won the Confituur Boekhandelsprijs, an award given by the association of independent Flemish book dealers, for his essay book Voor het vergeten. In 2021, he was honored with the Constantijn Huygens Prize for his lifetime achievements.

Verhelst currently lives and works in Bruges, Belgium.