Home again—riding along the peloton of Dutch sports literature
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6055926 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Duco Van Oostrum (University of Sheffield, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 253-268 |
| Publication date | 2003-12-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Dutch Crossing (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0309-6564 • E-ISSN: 1759-7854 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03096564.2003.11730836 |
| OpenAlex | W2342928102 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
Tim Krabbé's De Renner (1978) is an autobiographical novel almost exclusively devoted to sport; the entire text is framed in a cycle race in France, the Tour of Mont Aigoual. In contemporary Dutch literature, De Renner rides in a league of its own in the genre of sport literature. In this article, I explore the generic Classification of sport literature with regard to the De Renner, and I argue that it fits into a well-established pattern of plot, character, discourse, and thematic concerns found in an American tradition. The links between landscape, the body, and romantic transcendental experience which result in an ideal of ‘home’, in particular, elevate the seemingly mundane cycle race into a gladiatorial spectacle. Even the literature of that most Dutch of sport, ice/speedskating, finds classical mythology on its frozen landscape. From Jan Mulder's football stories to Mart Smeets' sport journalism, we witness sports obsessional return to a ‘home’ very different from any domestic scene. This mystical experience of sport (the ‘home’ of Krabbé's peleton) conflicts with the ultimate sporting plot of winning and losing. By finishing second, an experience familiar to many Dutch sports events, Krabbé strenghtens his narrative as the ‘home’ of Dutch sport literature
Advertising · Aesthetics · Art · Championship · Literature · Mythology · Narrative · Plot (graphics · Political science · Romance · Sociology · Spectacle · Spectator sport · Witness · American Sports and Literature · History · Law · Sports, Gender, and Society · Winter Sports Injuries and Performance
| Highly cited | No |
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