  hugo maurice julien claus (; 5 april 1929 &ndash; 19 march 2008) was a leading belgian author who published under his own name as well as various pseudonyms. claus' literary contributions spanned the genres of drama, the novel, and poetry; he also left a legacy as a painter and film director. he wrote primarily in dutch, although he also wrote some poetry in english. his death by euthanasia, which is legal in belgium, led to considerable controversy. ==life== hugo claus was born on 5 april 1929 at sint-janshospitaal in bruges, belgium."een virtuoze alleskunner" (19 march 2008). de verdieping. retrieved 18 june 2010.  he was the eldest of the sons born to jozef (joseph) claus, a printer who had a passion for theater; his mother was germaine vanderlinden. three more sons were born into the family within the subsequent decade: guido (february 1931 - 9 november 1991), odo (born january 1934), and johan (november 1938 - 13 february 2009). educated at a boarding school, the young hugo claus lived in flanders during the german invasion of the country in world war ii. several of claus' schoolteachers during the half-decade of the german occupation of the country were right-wing nationalists eager to support the pro-german government; his father was briefly held in custody for pro-german activities after the end of the occupation, and hugo was himself swayed into supporting the pro-german flemish fascist youth movement.coetzee, j. m. (24 feb 2007). "stepping stones". the guardian. retrieved 17 june 2010. claus' experience with the wartime nationalist right would later become a source for his 1983 book the sorrow of belgium, a novel which tells the story of claus' alter ego louis seynaeve. a sympathizer of the political left at a more mature period in his life, claus lauded the socialist model after a visit to cuba in the 1960s. claus' prominence in literary circles and his debut as a novelist came in 1950, with the publication of his de metsiers at age twenty-one. his first published poems had in fact been pri
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