Bernlef (previously J. Bernlef) is the pseudonym of Dutch writer, poet, and translator Hendrik Jan Marsman. He occasionally used the nom de plume: Henk Bernlef. Between 1959 and 2012 Bernlef wrote a large number of novels, stories and poems. Amongst others he received the Constantijn Huygens prijs (1984), the AKO Literatuurprijs (1987) and the PC Hooftprijs (1994). His work is characterized by a sober language and an unflagging fascination with the workings of the human memory. His most famous novel is Hersenschimmen (1984) and describes the process of dementia from the point of view of the sufferer, Maarten Klein. (Source: de Volkskrant 29/10/2012)