Willem Elsschot (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈβ̞iləm ˈʔɛlsxɔt]) (7 May 1882 - 31 May 1960), was a Flemish writer and poet (pseudonym of Alphonsus Josephus de Ridder). A few of his works have been translated into English.
Alfons-Jozef was born in Antwerp to a baker's family. During secondary school, he developed a love for literature. He was quite restless, having various types of jobs in cities from Antwerp and Brussels to Rotterdam and Paris. During the First World War, he served as the secretary of a national food relief committee in Antwerp. After the war he started his own advertising agency, which he ran until his death.
Willem Elsschot died in Antwerp in 1960, receiving a national literary award posthumously. He is interred in the Antwerpen Schoonselhof.
