Henk Pröpper

Authors / Henk Pröpper

Henk Pröpper (1958) is the author of the novel The Crab’s Sword and numerous essays. For forty years he has written about the literature and culture of France, the country where he was a diplomat and director of the famous Institut Néerlandais. He was director of the Dutch Foundation for Literature for several years. Pröpper also writes for de Volkskrant, mainly about French subjects. From 2011 to 2016 he was the director-publisher of De Bezige Bij.

Recent title – English material

Hartslag 27 (27 Beats per Minute), 2021

Press on 27 Beats Per Minute:

‘27 Beats Per Minute is one of the most moving and most invigorating autobiographies ever written. This is a finely polished gem worthy of admiration.’ – Knack

‘It is a concise masterpiece that summarizes a life in the time of corona in the personal, euphoric and precarious shades of one year. Without one’s realising, it covers just about everything: thoughts, emotions, literature, films, loves, feelings, memories, annoyances and doubts. It is a personal essay that touches all highs and lows.’ – Vrij Nederland

‘27 Beats Per Minute is the literary precipitate of a turbulent period of stagnation; a philosophical, musing book with the pleasantly slow heartbeat of the writer, who carries the reader through the city, European literature and history.’ – het Parool

Hartslag 27 (27 Beats per Minute), 2021