In Memoriam Ton Anbeek (1944-2026)
On Easter Monday, the spring holiday that commemorates and celebrates returning life, A.G.H. Anbeek van der Meijden passed away. From 1982 to 2005 he was professor of Modern Dutch Literature at Leiden University. To everyone who knew him—whether personally, professionally, through his teaching, or through his writings—he was simply Ton Anbeek: a short and decisive name he had chosen to avoid being associated with a then well‑known journalist from the Dutch newspaper 'De Telegraaf.'
Ton Anbeek was a passionate and independent literary scholar, teacher, and critic who valued clarity, intellectual courage, and close reading over fashionable theory. He inspired generations of students, provoked public debate, left a lasting mark on Dutch literary history, and, with characteristic audacity, also pursued his own path as a novelist.
For a more detailed and complete account of Ton Anbeek’s life and work, please see the full in memoriam in Dutch.