StefanHertmans (1951) is a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. He is considered one of the best writers and poets in the Dutch language of the moment. He has published novels, collections of short stories, essays on literature and philosophy, theatrical texts and poetry. The silence of the tragedy was awarded the Essay Prize awarded by the Royal Academy of Language and Literature of Belgium. He has also received other important literary prizes in the Netherlands and Flanders, such as the Belgian National Poetry Prize.