Because modern Belgium is a multilingual country, Belgian literature is often treated as a branch of French literature or Dutch literature. Some writing also exists in the regional languages of Belgium, with published works in both the Walloon language, closely related to French, and also in various regional Flemish or Dutch-related dialects. German is the third official language in Belgium and is spoken by a small community of about 70,000 German-speakers of the German-speaking Community of Belgium in the border region Eupen-Malmedy. See :de:Belgische_Literatur#Die_deutsche_Literatur_in_Belgien. Dutch/Flemish writers Hendrik Conscience (1812 – 1883), author of The Lion of Flanders'' (1838) Guido Gezelle (1830 – 1899), noted for his use of West Flemish dialect Cyriel Buysse (1859 – 1932) Willem Elsschot (pseudonym of Alphonsus Josephus de Ridder, 1882 – 1960) Marnix Gijsen (pen name of Joannes Alphonsius Albertus Goris, 1899 – 1984) Louis Paul Boon (1912 – 1979) Hugo Claus (1929 – 2008) Jef Geeraerts (1930 – 2015) Eric de Kuyper (born 1942) Herman de Coninck (1944 – 1997) poet Herman Brusselmans (born 1957) Tom Lanoye (born 1958) Erwin Mortier (born 1965) Dimitri Verhulst (born 1972) See also Flemish Community Lijst van Vlaamse schrijvers (list of Flemish authors) Belgian literature in French Nicolas Ancion Charles De Coster Michel de Ghelderode André-Paul Duchâteau Maurice Grevisse Georges Simenon Alain Le Bussy Francis Baudouin Suzanne Lilar Maurice Maeterlinck Thierry Martens Pierre Mertens Henri Michaux Amélie Nothomb Jean Ray aka John Flanders for his works in Dutch J.H. Rosny and J.-H. Rosny aîné & J.-H. Rosny jeune Stanislas-André Steeman Jean-Philippe Toussaint Emile Verhaeren Henri Vernes Arthur Xhignesse Marguerite Yourcenar Francophone literature Belgian French French Community of Belgium Belgian literature in Walloon Literature in Walloon has been printed since the 16th century or at least since the beginning of the 17th century. Its golden age was in the 19th century: 'That period saw an efflorescence of Walloon literature, plays and poems primarily, and the founding of many theaters and periodicals.' Yves Quairiaux counted 4800 plays for 1860–1914, published or not. In this period plays were almost the only popular show in Wallonia. But this theater remains popular in present-day Wallonia: Theatre is still flourishing with over 200 non-professional companies playing in the cities and villages of Wallonia for an audience of over 200,000 each year. Jacques Ancion wanted to develop a regular adult audience. This regional literature most commonly deals with local folklore and ancient traditions, the most