The collection Verzen (1923; “Verses”) expresses an antihumanist, anti-intellectual rebelliousness, which the poet called “vitalism.” As editor of the periodical De Vrije bladen (“The Free Press”), he became in 1925 the foremost critic of the younger generation. His next collection of verse appeared in 1927 with the English title Paradise Regained and was greeted as a major artistic achievement. Another cycle, Porta Nigra, dominated by the idea of death, appeared in 1934. His last book of verse, Tempel en kruis (1940; “Temple and Cross”), an autobiographical account of the poet’s development, reaffirms humanistic ideals.
After obtaining a Portuguese visa in Bordeaux, France, on June 18, 1940 from the Consul-General Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Marsman boarded a ship bound for England. Tragically, he drowned three days later when the ship sunk after an explosion in the English Channel. His wife survived as the only passenger.
His poetry is vitalistic and expressionistic, and (fear of) death, as a metaphor for defeat in life, is a recurring theme. His "Herinnering aan Holland" (Remembrance of Holland): "Denkend aan Holland zie ik breede rivieren traag door oneindig laagland gaan," Thinking about Holland, I see broad rivers slowly moving through endless lowlands. In 2000, the Dutch people chose this as the "Dutch Poem of the Century."
Er zaten hier en daar wel pareltjes tussen, maar de meeste gedichten konden me niet grijpen, zeker uit zijn eerste en tweede periode niet. Het voelde statisch en geforceerd voor mij, het las niet vloeiend door en dat vind ik wel belangrijk bij poëzie.