Dr. G.A. (Geert) van Oorschot
Honorary supervisor Prof. Dr. H. Verdaasdonk - 1986 –Faculteit der Letteren
Gerardus Adriaan (Geert) van Oorschot (Vlissingen, 1909–Baambrugge, 1987) was a Dutch publisher and writer. After obtaining his HBS diploma, Van Oorschot worked for some time as a dockworker in Rotterdam.
During this time, he radicalized and wrote revolutionary poems. He debuted as a poet under his own name in Links Richten with socialist verses. After a period as a representative of publisher A.A.M. Stols, he joined publisher Emanuel Querido in 1939. Shortly after the liberation, Van Oorschot settled in Amsterdam as an independent publisher.
The literary fund consisted of authors such as Multatuli, Couperus, Leopold, Ter Braak and Du Perron, Hermans and Reve, and W.F. Hermans. Literary quality was always Van Oorschot's first priority, and he did not shy away from taking risks. For his achievements as a publisher, Van Oorschot received the Laurens Janszoon Coster Prize in 1977.
The honorary doctorate in literature—on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Faculteit—was awarded for his "outstanding achievements as an entrepreneur, with which he has made an important and lasting contribution to Dutch literature". According to his honorary supervisor, this proved that business and artistic considerations need not be in conflict.
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