Ronald Andrew Zook (; born April 28, 1954) is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the defensive coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. He was the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2004 and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 2005 to 2011.

Zook is a native of Ohio and an alumnus of Miami University, where he played college football. He has worked as an assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL) with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1996–1998), Kansas City Chiefs (1999), and New Orleans Saints (2000–2001). In August 2012, he was hired as a college football studio analyst by CBS Sports. He was also employed as the special teams coach for the Green Bay Packers. In 2019, he was the special teams coordinator and secondary coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football (AAF).

Early life
Ronald Andrew Zook was born in Ashland, Ohio and raised in nearby Loudonville. At Loudonville High School, Zook played basketball, track, and football. Upon graduating, he was offered a track scholarship to Purdue University and received offers to play football at several small colleges in the Midwest. However, Zook wanted to play Division I football, so he decided to walk on at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He made the team, and by his senior season, Zook was a starting defensive back and a co-captain for the Miami Redskins. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in comprehensive science in 1976.

Coaching career

High school assistant
Zook started coaching football immediately upon graduating from college, beginning his career in 1976 as the defensive backs coach at Orrville High School in Orrville, Ohio under head coach Mo Tipton.

College assistant

In 1978, Zook began his college football coaching career when he became a graduate assistant at Murray State University. Through the 1980s, Zook held coaching positions with a number of college football teams, serving as a defensive coordinator at Cincinnati and Kansas and as a position coach at Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and Ohio State.

Beginning in 1991, Zook served as defensive coordinator for three seasons at the University of Florida under head coach Steve Spurrier. After the 1993 season, Spurrier reassigned Zook to be the special teams coordinator, a move considered by many to be a demotion due to the team's unsatisfactory performance on pass defense. Zook's special teams units performed well enough during the 1994 season that he was offered the defensive coordinator position at Michigan State, prompting Spurrier to give him the title of associate head coach to help keep him at Florida.

Florida defensive coordinator Bobby Pruett left to become the head coach at Marshall University in January 1995 and Zook was promoted to take his place, becoming Florida's defensive coordinator once again. However, the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers offered Zook the job of special teams coordinator just one month later and he accepted, leaving the college game for a time. With Zook leaving, Bob Stoops was brought in to run Florida's defense.

NFL assistant
After leaving Florida, Zook served three seasons as special teams coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, then was the defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1999. KC finished with a 9-7 record, 16th in passing yards allowed, and James Hasty had seven interceptions and Cris Dishman finished with five interceptions. In the 2000 and 2001 seasons, Zook served as the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. In 2000, the Saints finished 10–6 with Zook's defense ranking tenth in points allowed. DT La'Roi Glover led the team with 17 Sacks followed by 12 from DE Joe Johnson and 11 by DE Darren Howard.

College head coach

University of Florida
In January 2002, Steve Spurrier resigned from Florida to explore head coaching opportunities in the NFL, eventually signing with the Washington Redskins. Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley sought to replace him with either Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan or Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, but each decided to remain with their respective teams. Foley's next choice was Zook, who accepted the job. Given the success of Spurrier's 12-year tenure, expectations at Florida were high, and seemingly settling for Zook was not popular with many students and supporters. Others did not understand why the university would hire a man who was demoted as a coordinator on the same staff to be head coach. Within a day of Zook's hiring, one fan started a website called FireRonZook.com that gained national media attention. Many fraternity houses hung banners from week to week either praising Zook or calling for his firing.

Zook was head coach at Florida for three seasons. The Gators compiled records of 8–5 (2002), 8–5 (2003) and 7–5 (2004). While Zook's tenure saw modest success, it was well short of what Gator fans had come to expect. In his three seasons, the Gators lost six games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. By comparison, Spurrier lost only five home games in 12 years. Many of the losses were fourth quarter comebacks by the opposition, causing many fans to question the prevent defense that was employed. Zook did not beat a ranked opponent at home during his time at Florida. Zook was fired before the end of the 2004 season after a 38–31 road loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (who were 1–5 prior to the game, including a home loss to Division I-AA Maine). He did not help his cause by getting into a heated argument with several fraternity members a few weeks earlier after being called in to defuse a dispute between the brothers and his players. Zook finished the regular season, but he did not coach the Gators in the Peach Bowl because he had already accepted the head coaching job at Illinois. Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong coached the Gators in the Peach Bowl. After Zook's departure, his successor Urban Meyer won a national title in 2006, largely with players whom Zook had recruited.

During his time at Florida, Zook did have some notable accomplishments. He handed both the 2002 Georgia Bulldogs and 2003 LSU Tigers their only loss of the year. His Gators defeated three highly ranked teams in succession in 2003, all away from home (LSU, Arkansas and Georgia). In his final game he defeated the Florida State Seminoles at Tallahassee, something that Steve Spurrier never accomplished. That victory occurred on the night when FSU dedicated Bobby Bowden Field, leading Gator fans to refer to it as Ron Zook Field. Zook had winning records against SEC foes Georgia (2–1) and Auburn (1–0). Zook was regarded as a fine recruiter who brought a great deal of talent to Florida during his tenure as head coach. Following the Gators' victory over Ohio State in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game, Urban Meyer praised Zook for recruiting the large class of seniors who played in the game. Twenty-two of the 24 starters were recruited to Florida by Zook.

University of Illinois
In 2005, the University of Illinois hired Zook to replace Ron Turner as the head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini football team. Zook inherited a program which had become a disaster since winning the Big Ten championship in 2001. They had only won nine games in the three seasons since, and only five games in Big Ten play. In Zook's inaugural season of 2005, Illinois finished with an overall record of 2–9, and a record of 0–8 in Big Ten games.

Despite his team's past struggles, Zook improved the ability of Illinois to recruit top football talent. According to one source, the 2006 recruiting class was one of the 30 best in college football. Despite this, they finished the 2006 season 1–7 in the conference and 2–10 overall. While the record did not improve, the play on the field did as the Illini nearly upset top ranked Ohio State in Champaign before losing 17–10. Additionally, the Illini played well against Iowa, Wisconsin, and Penn State (they lost 63–10 the year before; Penn State led 56–3 at halftime) but ended up losing close games (they were down 15–12 at Penn State until Penn State broke open a close game to make it 26–12).

The 2006 recruiting class included Isiah "Juice" Williams of Chicago Vocational High School, considered to be one of the top quarterback recruits in the country. In late 2006, Zook signed Arrelious Benn, one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2007 class. More recently, Zook also won over Simeon High School standout Martez Wilson along with Florida prospect D'Angelo McCray. This class was one of Illinois' best in recent memory, being rated within the top 25 nationally by some experts.

2007 season

Zook's recruiting success finally began to pay dividends during the 2007 season. After losing a close game on neutral turf to a Missouri squad which went on to be ranked as high as #1, the Illini ran off five straight wins, including back-to-back home wins over Penn State and Wisconsin. Illinois' 5–1 start gave them a #18 ranking in the AP Poll. This was Illinois' first ranking in the AP Poll since the end of the 2001 season. However, the ranking proved to be short-lived after consecutive losses to Iowa and Michigan. A homecoming win over Ball State gave the Illini bowl eligibility and a blowout win at Minnesota all but assured Zook's first bowl appearance as coach of the Illini. On November 10, the then-unranked Illini defeated #1-ranked Ohio State in Columbus. The Illini finished the 2007 regular season by defeating Northwestern to finish 9–3 overall, 6–2 in the Big Ten. Because Big Ten champion Ohio State played in the BCS National Championship game, Illinois received a bid to play in the Rose Bowl as the second ranked team in the Big Ten. Their improvement of seven wins over the 2006 season was the largest such increase of any Division I team. His success earned Zook a contract extension in October 2007, which paid him approximately $1.5 million through the 2013 season. Zook's success on recruiting trail continued as well, with Illinois having the #17 recruiting class in 2008 according to rivals.com.

On November 20, 2007, Ron Zook was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year. Zook also was awarded the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award following the 2007 season. After making the 2008 Rose Bowl, Illinois was squashed 49–17 by the USC Trojans, putting a damper on an otherwise great season.

2008 season

Expectations were high for 2008, but Illinois didn't live up to those expectations early on, as they lost to Missouri, 52–42, in their season opener and to Penn State, 38–24. After a 27–20 loss to Minnesota, Illinois crushed Indiana, 55–13. However, the Fighting Illini fell to Wisconsin the very next week; Wisconsin had been winless in Big Ten play prior to that game. While Zook's team was able to upset Iowa 27–24 a week after their loss to Wisconsin, the Illini finished 2008 with a three-game losing streak at the hands of Western Michigan (23–17), Ohio State (30–20), and Northwestern (27–10).

2009 season

Despite a very disappointing 2008 season, Zook's 2009 Fighting Illini team received AP Poll votes. As they had the previous two years, Illinois started off the season with a loss to Missouri, but this time, the result was far more lopsided than the previous affairs; Missouri won 39–7. Illinois stomped Illinois State 45–17 the next week, but then they suffered an embarrassing 30–0 shutout at the hands of Ohio State. Illinois lost their next four games by ten points or more (including a 27–14 loss to Indiana, the Hoosiers' only Big Ten win of the season), sinking to 1–6 overall. Zook's team then put together a stunning blowout of the Michigan Wolverines in Memorial Stadium, and they followed it up with a 35–32 upset of Minnesota the next week. After back-to-back wins, the Illini fell to the rival Northwestern Wildcats, 21–16. To close out the season, the Fighting Illini put up a fight against Cincinnati, who finished the year undefeated, but were unable to pull off the upset; and they fell at home to Fresno State in a wild 53–52 game in the season finale.

At the end of the 2009 season, offensive coordinator Mike Schultz was released from his contract, and co-defensive coordinators Dan Disch and Curt Mallory were demoted to position coaches. Illinois hired Paul Petrino as offensive coordinator, and Vic Koenning as defensive coordinator.

2010 season

After back-to-back disappointing years, the Illini had almost no pre-season expectations entering 2010. Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn were no longer on the team. However, running back Mikel Leshoure was, and he proved to be an invaluable asset on offense, while Illinois started freshman Nathan Scheelhaase at quarterback.

They started off 2010 by losing to Missouri for the fourth consecutive year, 23–13. They held a 13–3 lead that almost lasted the length of the game. After the early loss, Illinois defeated Southern Illinois, 35–3, and Northern Illinois, 28–22. While the Fighting Illini lost to Ohio State in their Big Ten opener, they gave the Buckeyes a scare, knocking out quarterback Terrelle Pryor and holding the Buckeye passing offense almost entirely in check. Illinois then traveled to State College to take on the Nittany Lions, and Illinois had never won in Beaver Stadium prior to 2010. Illinois handed Penn State a stunning 33–13 loss on homecoming.
They went on to win the Texas Bowl in a blowout against Baylor.

2011 season

As the 2011 season begun, the Illini were picked by most experts to finish near the bottom of the newly formed Leaders Division. However, Illinois got off to one of their best starts in history by winning their first six games. After taking care of Arkansas State, 33–15, and blasting South Dakota State, 56–3, the Fighting Illini won a trio of home games by a margin of a field goal over 22nd-ranked Arizona State (17–14), Western Michigan (23–20), and Northwestern (38–35) in a game in which Illinois rallied from a 28–10 deficit in the second half. After defeating Indiana 41–20 in Illinois' first road game of the season, the Illini were 6–0 for the first time since 1951 and they climbed to 15th in the Coaches' Poll and 16th in the AP Poll. However, the Illini lost 17–7 to Ohio State and the season seemed headed towards a downward spiral as Illinois lost a pair of close road games at Purdue (21–14) and Penn State (10–7). Illinois returned home and lost to Michigan, 31–14. On the Tuesday before the Wisconsin game, Zook opened his weekly press conference by warning the reporters not to ask questions about his job status. When reporter Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune asked Zook if he had talked to his players about the rumors pertaining to his future, he walked out of the press conference. The Illini went on to lose to Wisconsin, 28–17, and finished the regular season with a 27–7 loss to Minnesota. With the loss to the Golden Gophers, Illinois became the first team in NCAA Division I FBS history to start a season 6–0, and end it at 6–6. Zook was fired on November 27, 2011. His final record at Illinois was 34–51. The Illini did receive a bowl invitation and they defeated UCLA in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. It was first time in school history that the football team won back-to-back bowl games.

Back to the NFL
After leaving Illinois, Zook spent two seasons out of football, during which time he worked as a college football studio analyst for CBS and took an executive position at a bank in Ocala, Florida.

In 2014, Zook was hired by the Green Bay Packers to the position of assistant special teams coordinator. He was not retained by the team after the 2018 season.

Alliance of American Football
On February 28, 2019, Zook joined the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football as special teams coordinator and secondary coach. The league folded during the  season.

Maryland
In August 2019, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley hired Zook as a senior analyst; Locksley had worked under Zook at Illinois as his offensive coordinator and at Florida as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator.

XFL
In June 2021, Zook was announced as the defensive coordinator under Jim Haslett in the XFL.

Head coaching record

Notes

See also
 List of Miami University people

References

Bibliography
 2012 Florida Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida (2012).
 Carlson Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). .

External links
 Maryland profile
 Illinois profile

1954 births
Living people
American football cornerbacks
College football announcers
Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches
Florida Gators football coaches
Green Bay Packers coaches
Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches
Kansas City Chiefs coaches
Kansas Jayhawks football coaches
Maryland Terrapins football coaches
Miami RedHawks football players
Murray State Racers football coaches
National Football League defensive coordinators
New Orleans Saints coaches
Ohio State Buckeyes football coaches
Pittsburgh Steelers coaches
Salt Lake Stallions coaches
Seattle Sea Dragons coaches
Tennessee Volunteers football coaches
Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches
People from Ashland, Ohio
People from Loudonville, Ohio

Ron Zook


Mordechai Piron (; born Egon Pisk; 28 December 1921 – 28 May 2014) was the second chief military rabbi in the history of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), after his predecessor, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, created the position in 1948. Rabbi Piron served in the position from 1969 to 1980, with a rank of general. Upon his retirement from his IDF position, he relocated to Zürich, to serve till 1992 as rabbi of the Israelitische Cultusgemeinde Zürich (ICZ), the biggest Jewish congregation in Switzerland.

Rabbi Piron has published several books on Jewish philosophy and theology and was the head of the Sapir Center for Jewish Education and Culture in Jerusalem. He was an advocate of interfaith dialogue among world religions, chaired The Israel Jewish Council for Interreligious Relations (IJCIR), and sat on the board of world religious leaders for The Elijah Interfaith Institute.

Life and military career
Born in Vienna, Austria, Piron was the only child of Viennese religious Jewish parents of Eastern European origins. He grew up in the Leopoldstadt, and first went to a religious Jewish school and later to the Sperlgymnasium. He left Vienna for Palestine on 28 October 1938 with the Youth Aliyah and joined its agricultural school Mikveh Yisrael. After a year and a half, he enrolled in Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav Kook, studying under rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook. In 1946 he married Ahuva Gardi and settled in Jerusalem. In 1952 he was ordained as a rabbi.

Piron served in the IDF since 1948, becoming second-in-command to chief military rabbi Shlomo Goren and succeeding him in 1969. He died in Jerusalem on 28 May 2014.

Controversy
Rabbi Piron officiated at the wedding of Chanoch Langer. The disputed legitimacy of this wedding was settled in 1972 with "The Brother and Sister verdict" of Rabbi Goren as chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, a years-long case that made front-page headlines in Israel.

References

1921 births
2014 deaths
Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss to Mandatory Palestine
Israel Defense Forces rabbis
Israeli military chaplains
Israeli Orthodox rabbis
Mercaz HaRav alumni
Burials at Har HaMenuchot

Mordechai Piron


Dirk Kuijt (anglicised to Kuyt, ; born 22 July 1980) is a Dutch former professional footballer and was the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag. Originally starting out as a striker, he played much of his career as a winger.

Kuyt began his professional career with Utrecht in 1998 and quickly became part of its first team. He spent five years at the club, and in his final season he won his first senior honour, the KNVB Cup, and was chosen as the season's Dutch Golden Shoe Winner. Following this, he left Utrecht in a €1 million transfer to Feyenoord. He became the club captain in 2005 and was a prolific goalscorer at the Rotterdam club; he was the club's top scorer for three consecutive seasons, the top goalscorer in the 2004–05 Eredivisie season, and the 2005–06 Dutch Footballer of the Year. Kuyt missed only five games over seven seasons from 1999 until 2006 and appeared in 179 consecutive matches between 2001 and 2006, striking up a fruitful partnership with fellow Feyenoord teammate Salomon Kalou.

He left Feyenoord after three years, having scored 71 league goals in 101 appearances, and joined Premier League side Liverpool for £10 million. He scored in the UEFA Champions League final which Liverpool lost against Milan. He scored several important goals for Liverpool elsewhere, including seven goals in the 2007–08 Champions League, including a goal in the quarter-final against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium and in the semi-final against Chelsea, and two penalty kicks against Everton in the derby the same season. He scored his first hat-trick for Liverpool against Manchester United in March 2011. After coming on as a substitute, his extra time goal at Wembley for Liverpool against Cardiff City in the 2012 League Cup Final helped win the trophy for Liverpool, and was also his only trophy as a Liverpool player.

Kuyt played for the   Netherlands from 2004 to 2014. He represented the nation at five major international tournaments, the 2006, 2010, and 2014 FIFA World Cups and the 2008 and 2012 UEFA European Championships.

Kuyt announced his retirement from football in 2017, having scored a hat-trick in the last game of the season to secure Feyenoord their first title since 1999 three days earlier. He came out the following April, to help out Quick Boys, where he already was the assistant-manager, to fix their shortage on strikers for the remainder of the season.

Early life
Kuyt is the third of four children. His father was a fisherman and he has stated that if he would not have found a career in football he probably would have followed his father into the family business. He grew up in the fishing town of Katwijk aan Zee.

Kuyt's football career began when he joined the local amateur team Quick Boys at age five. He broke into the first team in March 1998, playing the last six games of the season in the Hoofdklasse, and catching the eye of Eredivisie club Utrecht. Kuyt still regularly visits Katwijk and his old club Quick Boys, which benefited from a £300,000 windfall as a result of the player's move to Liverpool.

Club career

Utrecht

Kuyt signed professionally for Utrecht that summer, aged 18, and immediately established himself in the first team. Sometimes, he played as striker, however he was more often than not playing as a winger, as the side preferred to play Montenegrin Igor Gluščević up front.

This continued until the 2002–03 season when Foeke Booy was installed as the club's new manager. Booy played Kuyt as a striker / attacking midfielder (behind the striker) for the entire season, and Kuyt repaid him with 20 league goals. Utrecht also reached the KNVB Cup final, where it met Feyenoord. Although the club was an underdog, Utrecht comfortably won the cup 4–1, with Kuyt scoring one and being given the man of the match award. At the end of the season, Kuyt completed a €1 million move to Feyenoord, where he replaced the out-going Pierre van Hooijdonk.

Feyenoord

At Feyenoord, Kuyt immediately became a fans' favourite with his continued goal scoring success. His first season saw him net another 20 league goals. The opening game of the 2004–05 season marked Kuyt's first ever hat-trick against De Graafschap. He later went on to score three in the 6–3 victory against ADO Den Haag and ended the season as the Eredivisie's top scorer with 29 goals, a career high.

In 2005, Kuyt was handed the Feyenoord club captaincy and went on to have a third successful season with the club, scoring 25 goals in all competitions. He formed a strong partnership with Salomon Kalou, with the duo nicknamed "K2".

Over the summer of 2006, Kuyt was again linked with moves to many top English clubs, most notably Liverpool and Newcastle United. Rumours began in May, with Kuyt stating, "I am happy at Feyenoord but I would like to play in the Premier League." Kuyt completed a move to Liverpool on 18 August for an undisclosed fee.

Kuyt missed only five games over seven seasons from 1999 until 2006, making 233 appearances. Between March 2001 and April 2006, he played 179 consecutive matches.

Liverpool

2006–07 season

Upon joining Liverpool, Kuyt stated, "I only wanted to leave Feyenoord for a really big club, and that is what Liverpool are. They are a fantastic big club and it will be a real pleasure to play here."

Kuyt made his Liverpool debut as a substitute against West Ham United on 26 August 2006. His first start came against PSV in the UEFA Champions League, immediately receiving praise for the new defensive approach by a striker. In his third start for the club, Kuyt scored his first Liverpool goal in a Premier League fixture against Newcastle United at Anfield, and followed up with another against Tottenham Hotspur in the next game. He scored his third goal for Liverpool – with his father watching the game at Anfield – contributing to Liverpool's 3–1 win over Aston Villa. Two weeks later, he bagged a brace as the only scorer in the Reds' 2–0 victory against Reading.

Kuyt won much praise for his early performances, with the Daily Mirror writing, "The Dutch striker has the look of a cult hero in the making," and The People reporting that he is "propelling himself towards iconic status". One of the reasons for his early popularity was his post-match courtesy to the fans; after each match, he would walk to every corner of the ground and applaud the Liverpool supporters.

On 20 January 2007, Kuyt opened the scoring against Chelsea after only 4 minutes as Liverpool went on to defeat the champions 2–0, marking the first time Rafael Benítez had defeated José Mourinho in the Premier League. It was also the first goal scored by Liverpool against a top four club in the league in the 2006–07 season. Kuyt moved his league-goal tally into double figures by scoring the first goal in the game against West Ham on 30 January 2007, opening the scoring in a 2–1 away win at Upton Park.

Kuyt played a key part in Liverpool's penalty shoot-out win over Chelsea in the semi-finals of the 2006–07 Champions League. In extra-time, he had a goal disallowed for offside from Xabi Alonso's strike. Kuyt also scored the winning kick in the shoot-out, and scored a consolation goal in the club's 2–1 defeat to Milan in the final.

2007–08 season

Kuyt scored his first goals of the 2007–08 season in Liverpool's 4–0 Champions League qualifying victory over Toulouse on 28 August 2007. He scored two penalties against Everton in the Merseyside derby to give Liverpool a 2–1 win. His third and final league goal of the season came in a 3–0 away win over Newcastle in November 2007; Kuyt would not score another league goal until October 2008. In all competitions, he failed to score in 13 matches for Liverpool before netting against Barnsley in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

On 19 February 2008, Kuyt scored the first goal in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League against favourites Internazionale in a 2–0 win.

Starting in early 2008, Kuyt began to be employed as a right winger and set up two of Fernando Torres' goals against West Ham in March. He adapted to this new role and soon regained his overall form, playing himself into the starting XI again after putting on various vital team performances. On 2 April 2008, Kuyt scored an equalising goal against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

On 22 April 2008, in the first leg of the Champions League all-English semi-final against Chelsea at Anfield, Kuyt scored the opening goal just before half time.

2008–09 season
Kuyt scored a late extra time goal against Standard Liège in the 2008–09 Champions League qualifying match to put Liverpool through to the group stages of the competition. In his next game, a 2–1 win in the Premier League against Manchester United, he assisted fellow countryman Ryan Babel's winning goal.

Kuyt's goals at vital moments in important games, such as the last minute strike against Standard Liège, an injury time winner against Manchester City on 5 October 2008 and twice in Liverpool's 3–2 comeback win over Wigan Athletic on 18 October 2008, led to his reputation as a "Big Game Player".

The 2008–09 season saw Kuyt score 15 goals, his best return for the club, as they finished runner-up in the Premier League

2009–10 season

As a result of heavy injuries sustained by the Liverpool squad, Kuyt often found himself playing a central striker role. He scored against Stoke City and Burnley in two home 4–0 triumphs. He also scored the winning goal in Liverpool's opening Champions League group game against Hungarian team Debrecen in a 1–0 win. Kuyt's goal against Debrecen means only Ian Rush, Mohammed Salah and Steven Gerrard have scored more goals for the club in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League. It was his 12th goal in Europe's premier club competition.
Kuyt scored his fourth league goal of the season in a 2–0 win against Everton at Goodison Park, in the Merseyside derby. He took his season's goal tally to six, his fifth in the league, by scoring in a 2–1 Premier League loss to Arsenal at Anfield. On 20 January, Kuyt scored both goals at Anfield against Spurs in a 2–0 victory and a week later, scored the opener against Bolton Wanderers.

On 6 February, Kuyt scored his fourth Merseyside derby goal with a header from a corner against Everton in the 55th minute, bringing his tally of goals for Liverpool to 50 in all competitions. He was also awarded man of the match for this game, which Liverpool won 1–0. On 8 April, he scored his 51st goal for Liverpool with a header in the UEFA Europa League against Benfica. The goal, a header direct from a corner, was originally disallowed by the linesmen for offside, but after some heavy protests by the Liverpool players and manager Rafael Benítez that a player cannot be offside directly from a corner, the referee changed his mind and allowed the goal. Kuyt played in his 200th competitive game for Liverpool, against Hull City on the final day of Liverpool's season.

2010–11 season

Kuyt featured in Liverpool's opening game of the season against Arsenal at Anfield, the game finishing 1–1 and both teams finishing with ten men. On 23 August, he played in the team's heavy defeat to Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium and featured in Liverpool's Europa League qualifier against Trabzonspor, netting the winning goal in a 2–1 win three days later. On 29 August, he played in Liverpool's 1–0 win against West Bromwich Albion at Anfield. An injury to his shoulder during a Netherlands training session forced Kuyt out for a month, but returned a week earlier than expected, celebrating by scoring his second goal of the season against Sunderland at Anfield on 25 September in a 2–2 draw.

Kuyt scored a penalty in Liverpool's 3–0 win against West Ham. On 16 January 2011, he scored another penalty to draw Liverpool level 2–2 against Everton, after Tim Howard had fouled Maxi Rodríguez. On 24 February, he headed in from a corner against Sparta Prague to put Liverpool through to the last 16 of the Europa League, winning 1–0 on the night at Anfield and 1–0 on aggregate.

On 6 March, Kuyt scored his first Premier League hat-trick for Liverpool in a 3–1 win at Anfield against the club's biggest rival, Manchester United. Kuyt added another goal to his Liverpool tally on 20 March 2011 with a well placed penalty kick against Sunderland, and scored his 11th goal of the season against Manchester City in a 3–0 win. On 15 April, Kuyt signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until the summer of 2013.

On 17 April, Kuyt scored a 102nd-minute penalty kick to seal a late draw against Arsenal after Robin van Persie had scored a penalty in the 98th minute. The match finished 1–1. On 23 April, Kuyt scored a 23-minute goal against Birmingham City after a tussle inside the box, the match ended 5–0 to Liverpool. On 1 May, Kuyt scored a 59-minute penalty kick against Newcastle United for the second goal in a 3–0 win. On 9 May 2011, he became the first Liverpool player since John Aldridge, in over two decades to score in five consecutive games, after his 16th-minute goal against Fulham that led to a 5–2 victory. Kuyt finished the season as Liverpool's top goal scorer scoring 13 league goals, finishing with a total of 15, equalling his best return for the club in a season.

2011–12 season

On 21 September 2011, Kuyt scored his first goal of the season in a 2–1 win against Brighton & Hove Albion in the 83rd minute in the third round of the League Cup. He did not score for the rest of 2011, missing a chance to get his 50th league goal for the club on 1 October 2011 with a saved penalty against Everton, a game Liverpool went on to win 2–0. On 8 October, Kuyt was announced as having taken up an advisory role with his first club in football, Quick Boys. Kuyt's next goal was a crucial 88th-minute winner in a 2–1 victory against Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup on 28 January 2012. He went on to score his 50th league goal for Liverpool the following week in a 3–0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, becoming only the fifth player to score 50 or more goals for Liverpool in the Premier League.

After coming on as a substitute, Kuyt scored Liverpool's second goal in the 2012 League Cup final against Cardiff City on 26 February; the game finished 2–2 after extra-time, with Liverpool winning after a penalty shoot-out, Kuyt converting his kick.

Fenerbahçe

On 3 June 2012, Fenerbahçe declared on its official website that Kuyt had signed with the club on a three-year contract. The transfer fee was €1 million, the release clause in his contract. Kuyt initially earned €2.85 million per season in addition to a match bonus of €17,500.
He scored his first Fenerbahçe goal in a Champions League qualifier against Romanian side Vaslui in a 4–1 win, netting the second and third goals.
Kuyt also scored on his league debut at league newcomers Elazigspor on 18 August 2012, as the game ended in a 1–1 draw. In the match against Gaziantepspor, Kuyt scored his 250th goal in his career, including international goals.

Return to Feyenoord
In April 2015, Kuyt signed a one-year contract to rejoin his former club Feyenoord for the 2015–16 season.

In the 2016–17 season Kuyt led his team to first Eredivisie title since 1999. On the final day of the season he scored a hat-trick to clinch the title. Three days later, on 17 May, Kuyt announced his retirement from football.

International career

When Marco van Basten took over as coach of the Dutch national team he dropped many established players, including strikers Roy Makaay and Patrick Kluivert. Kuyt benefitted as in September 2004 he made his international debut in Van Basten's first game against Liechtenstein. He became a permanent fixture in the Dutch squad, making the starting line-up for 11 of the Netherlands' 12 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.
Kuyt usually wore the number 7 jersey when representing his country, with exception of UEFA Euro 2008, where he wore number 18, the same number he then wore at his club Liverpool.

2006 World Cup
At the 2006 World Cup, Kuyt found himself dropped to the substitutes' bench. Although he made an appearance as a 69th-minute replacement in the first match against Serbia and Montenegro, he sat out the entire second game. With the team having already qualified for the next round, Van Basten decided to rest many of his first-choice players for the final group stage match against Argentina, and Kuyt was handed a start in the right wing position.

For the Netherlands' round of 16 tie against Portugal, Kuyt was selected to start ahead of regular first-choice striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. However, Kuyt did not have a good game and the Netherlands eventually lost 1–0 in a game that was more notable for its record breaking disciplinary record (4 red cards and 16 yellow cards).

Euro 2008
Kuyt was selected for the Dutch squad for Euro 2008. On 9 June, he played in their opening Group C match, a 3–0 victory over world champions Italy, assisting two goals, his most notable contribution being the header that provided the link between Giovanni van Bronckhorst's crossfield pass and Wesley Sneijder's goal to make the score 2–0 on 31 minutes. On 13 June, Kuyt scored his team's second goal in the next game of Group C, a 4–1 victory over 2006 World Cup finalists France, opening the scoring with a ninth-minute header from a corner, taking his tally of international goals to eight. During Euro 2008, Kuyt was utilised as a winger, partnering Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart in the midfield due to the team's change of formation from 4–3–3/4–4–2 to 4–2–3–1.

2010 World Cup

Kuyt scored three goals in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. During a friendly against England, he opened the scoring less than ten minutes after kick-off, pouncing on Rio Ferdinand's poor back pass.

Kuyt was included in the Netherlands' preliminary squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. On 27 May 2010, the Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the competition.

At the finals, Kuyt scored the Netherlands' second goal in the 85th minute of their 2–0 win over Denmark in its opening group match, slotting in the rebound after Eljero Elia's shot hit the post. In the quarter-final match on 2 July against Brazil, Kuyt flicked a corner on to Wesley Sneijder, who headed the ball into the net to give the Dutch a 2–1 win. Kuyt also assisted the goal scored by Arjen Robben against Uruguay in the semi-finals.

Kuyt started all seven matches for the national team, which finished as runners-up to Spain, and finished the tournament with one goal and three assists.

Euro 2012

On 2 September 2010, Kuyt scored a penalty as the Netherlands began its Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a 5–0 away win against San Marino.
On 12 October 2010, Kuyt injured his ankle in the Netherlands' fourth qualifier against Sweden and was out of action for four weeks with the injury. On 25 March 2011, Kuyt scored the Netherlands' third goal in a 4–0 win against Hungary and, four days later, he scored twice in a 5–3 win against the same opponents. Kuyt scored the fourth goal in the Netherlands' record 11–0 win over San Marino. Kuyt headed in his seventh international goal of 2011 in a 3–2 loss against Sweden. Despite being an undisputed starter in the qualifying campaign, Kuyt lost his spot during Euro 2012, with Arjen Robben preferred on the right wing and Ibrahim Affelay on the left. He made two brief appearances as a substitute for Gregory van der Wiel against Denmark in the 85th minute and for Robben against Germany in the 83rd minute.

2014 World Cup
After Bert van Marwijk resigned as manager of the Netherlands in June 2012, Kuyt was made vice-captain behind Wesley Sneijder by new coach Louis van Gaal. Despite being vice-captain, he did not feature in any games until the match against Andorra on 12 October replacing Jermain Lens as a substitute in the 71st minute. After Kevin Strootman was substituted off four minutes later, Kuyt took the captain's armband. On 14 November, he played the full 90 minutes in a friendly against Germany as a striker, wearing the captain's armband.

Kuyt won his 100th cap in the Netherlands' round of 16 victory over Mexico on 29 June 2014, making him only the seventh Dutch player to play 100 matches. He was selected to start the match in an unfamiliar left wing-back role by Van Gaal, who also positioned the 33-year-old at wingback and centre forward during the course of the match.

In the quarter-final, Kuyt scored the Netherlands' final kick in a 4–3 penalty shootout win over Costa Rica. In the semi-final, Kuyt scored the Netherlands' fourth kick in a penalty shootout against Argentina, but the Oranje went on to lose the shootout 4–2. In the third place play-off, Kuyt made his last international appearance in a 3–0 victory over Brazil, playing the full 90 minutes in the right wing-back position.

Kuyt retired from international football on 3 October 2014. "I want to be important to the Netherlands team, but the coach explained to me that he no longer has the role for me that I would prefer," Kuyt said on the Dutch FA website, knvb.de. "I'm 34 years old, then you should be honest to yourself. I didn't quite fancy investing a lot of energy in the Oranje for another two years without getting to play much. I look back with great pride on 10 wonderful years with the Dutch national team."

Managerial career
On 2 June 2022, ADO Den Haag presented Kuyt as their new head coach, with him signing a one-year contract. He was fired on 24 November 2022, after disappointing results which saw the team sitting in 17th after 16 matches.

Personal life
Kuyt's then-wife Gertrude found favour in the Dutch media for her down-to-earth attitude. She continued to work as a nurse in an old people's home after marrying Kuyt until their daughter, Noelle, was born. Kuyt and his wife went on to carry out extensive charity work off the pitch. Most notably, he and his wife set up the Dirk Kuyt Foundation to help disadvantaged children in his homeland and the developing world. One of the ways the foundation raises money is by selling DK-branded clothes.  The couple divorced in 2020.

Kuyt's father, also named Dirk, died of cancer on 29 June 2007.

Career statistics

Club

International
Source:

International goals

Managerial

Honours

Utrecht
KNVB Cup: 2002–03

Liverpool
League Cup: 2011–12
FA Cup runner-up: 2011-12
UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2006–07

Fenerbahçe
Süper Lig: 2013–14
Turkish Cup: 2012–13
Turkish Super Cup: 2014

Feyenoord
Eredivisie: 2016–17
KNVB Cup: 2015–16

Netherlands
FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2010; third place: 2014

Individual
Dutch Golden Shoe: 2003, 2006
Eredivisie Top Scorer: 2005
Dutch Footballer of the Year: 2006
FIFA World Cup top assist provider: 2010

See also
 List of footballers with 100 or more caps

References

External links

 The Dirk Kuyt Foundation

 Dirk Kuyt at LFChistory.net
 Dirk Kuyt at This is Anfield

1980 births
Living people
Footballers from Katwijk
Dutch men's footballers
Dutch football managers
Men's association football forwards
Quick Boys players
FC Utrecht players
Feyenoord players
Liverpool F.C. players
Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers
Eredivisie players
Premier League players
Süper Lig players
Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers
Netherlands men's international footballers
2006 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2008 players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2012 players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
FIFA Men's Century Club
Dutch expatriate men's footballers
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
ADO Den Haag managers
Eerste Divisie managers

Dirk Kuyt


Torquato Tasso ( , also  , ; 11 March 154425 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, known for his 1591 poem Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered), in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the Siege of Jerusalem of 1099.

Tasso had  mental illness and died a few days before he was to be crowned on the Capitoline Hill as the king of poets by Pope Clement VIII. His work was widely translated and adapted, and until the beginning of the 20th century, he remained one of the most widely read poets in Europe.

Biography

Early life
Born in Sorrento, Torquato was the son of Bernardo Tasso, a nobleman of Bergamo and an epic and lyric poet of considerable fame in his day, and his wife Porzia de Rossi, a noblewoman born in Naples of Tuscan origins. His father had for many years been secretary in the service of Ferrante Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno, and his mother was closely connected with the most illustrious Neapolitan families. When, during the boy's childhood, the prince of Salerno came into collision with the Spanish government of Naples, being subsequently outlawed and deprived of his hereditary fiefs, Tasso's father shared his patron's fate. He was proclaimed a rebel to the state, along with his son Torquato, and his patrimony was sequestered. In 1552 Torquato was living with his mother and his only sister Cornelia at Naples, pursuing his education under the Jesuits, who had recently opened a school there. The precocity of intellect and the religious fervour of the boy attracted general admiration. At the age of eight he was already famous.

Soon after this date he was allowed to join his father, who then lived in great poverty and unemployment in exile in Rome. News reached them in 1556 that Porzia Tasso had died suddenly and mysteriously at Naples. Her husband was firmly convinced that she had been poisoned by her brother with the object of getting control over her property.

As it subsequently happened, Porzia's estate never descended to her son; and the daughter Cornelia married below her birth, at the instigation of her maternal relatives. Tasso's father was a poet by predilection and a professional courtier. Therefore, when an opening at the court of Urbino was offered in 1557, Bernardo Tasso gladly accepted it.

The young Torquato, a handsome and brilliant lad, became the companion in sports and studies of Francesco Maria della Rovere, heir to the duke of Urbino. At Urbino a society of cultivated men pursued the aesthetic and literary studies which were then in vogue. Bernardo Tasso read cantos of his poem L'Amadigi to the duchess and her ladies, or discussed the merits of Homer and Virgil, Trissino and Ariosto, with the duke's librarians and secretaries. Torquato grew up in an atmosphere of refined luxury and somewhat pedantic criticism, both of which gave a permanent tone to his character.

At Venice, where his father went to superintend the printing of his own epic, Amadigi (1560), these influences continued. He found himself the pet and prodigy of a distinguished literary circle but Bernardo had suffered in his own career so seriously from dependence on his writings and the nobility, that he now determined on a lucrative profession for his son. Torquato was sent to study law at Padua. Instead of applying himself to law, the young man bestowed all his attention upon philosophy and poetry. Before the end of 1562, he had produced a twelve-canto epic poem called Rinaldo, which was meant to combine the regularity of the Virgilian with the attractions of the romantic epic. In the attainment of this object, and in all the minor qualities of style and handling, Rinaldo showed marked originality, although other parts seem unfinished and betray the haste in which the poem was composed. Nevertheless, its author was recognized as the most promising young poet of his time. The flattered father allowed the work to be printed; and, after a short period of study at Bologna, he consented to his son's entering the service of Cardinal Luigi d'Este. Even before that date, the young Tasso had been a frequent visitor at the Este court in Ferrara, where in 1561 he had encountered Lucrezia Bendidio, one of Eleanora d'Este's ladies-in-waiting, and fallen in love with her. She became the addressee of his first series of love sonnets, to be followed in 1563 by Laura Peperara, the next object of Tasso's affections. Both Lucrezia and Laura had in the meantime become well known singers, and for a while Tasso seems to have courted them both.

France and Ferrara
From 1565, Tasso's life was centered on the castle at Ferrara, the scene of many later glories and cruel sufferings. After the publication of Rinaldo he had expressed his views upon the epic in some Discourses on the Art of Poetry, which committed him to a distinct theory and gained for him the additional celebrity of a philosophical critic. The next five years seem to have been the happiest of Tasso's life, although his father's death in 1569 caused his affectionate nature profound pain. Young, handsome, accomplished in all the exercises of a well-bred gentleman, accustomed to the society of the great and learned, illustrious by his published works in verse and prose, he became the idol of the most brilliant court in Italy. The first two books of his five-hundred-odd love poems were addressed to Lucrezia Bendidio and Laura Peverara. The princesses Lucrezia and Eleonora d'Este, both unmarried, both his seniors by about ten years, took him under their protection. He was admitted to their familiarity. He owed much to the constant kindness of both sisters. In 1570 he traveled to Paris with the cardinal.

Frankness of speech and a certain habitual want of tact caused a disagreement with his worldly patron. He left France next year, and took service under Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara, the Cardinal's brother. The most important events in Tasso's biography during the following four years are the completion of Aminta in 1573 and Gerusalemme Liberata in 1574. Aminta is a pastoral drama of very simple plot, but of exquisite lyrical charm. It appeared at the moment when music, under the influence of composers like Palestrina, Monteverdi, Marenzio and others, was becoming the dominant art of Italy. The honeyed melodies and sensuous melancholy of Aminta exactly suited and interpreted the spirit of its age. Its influence, in opera and cantata, was felt through two successive centuries. Aminta, played by courtiers in an island of Po river where the duke had his Giardino di delizie, was first printed by Aldus Manutius the Younger in Venice in January 1581. A Croatian translation of Aminta by the poet Dominko Zlatarić, Ljubmir, pripovijest pastijerska, was printed one year before the original, also in Venice.

The Gerusalemme Liberata
The Gerusalemme Liberata or Jerusalem Delivered occupies a larger space in the history of European literature, and is a more considerable work. Yet the commanding qualities of this epic poem, those which revealed Tasso's individuality, and which made it immediately pass into the rank of classics, beloved by the people no less than by persons of culture, are akin to the lyrical graces of Aminta.

In the Gerusalemme Liberata, as in the Rinaldo, Tasso aimed at ennobling the Italian epic style by preserving strict unity of plot and heightening poetic diction. He chose Virgil for his model, took the first crusade for subject, infused the fervour of religion into his conception of the hero, Godfrey. But his natural bent was for romance.

As he had done in Rinaldo, Tasso adorned Gerusalemme Liberata with a number of romantic episodes, which have proved more popular and influential than the grand sweep of the main theme. Thus, while the nominal hero of Gerusalemme Liberata is Godfrey of Bouillon ("Goffredo"), the leader of the First Crusade and the climax of the epic is the capture of the holy city. But Tasso's Goffredo, who is a mixture of Virgil's pious Aeneas and Tridentine Catholicism, is not the real hero of the epic. Instead, the reader is attracted to the stories of Ruggiero, fiery and passionate Rinaldo, melancholy and impulsive Tancredi, and also by the chivalrous Saracens with whom they clash in love and war.

The action of the epic turns on three stories of interaction between noble beautiful pagan women and these Crusaders. Armida, a beautiful witch, is sent forth by the infernal senate to sow discord in the Christian camp. Instead, she is converted to the true faith by her adoration for a crusading knight, and quits the scene with a phrase of the Virgin Mary on her lips. Clorinda, a brave female warrior, dons armor like Ariosto's Marfisa, fights a duel with her devoted lover, and receives baptism at his hands as she lies dying. Finally, Erminia, hopelessly in love with Tancredi, seeks refuge in the shepherds' hut.

These stories rivet the reader's attention, while the battles, religious ceremonies, conclaves and stratagems of the campaign are less engaging. Tasso's great invention as an artist was the poetry of sentiment. Sentiment, not sentimentality, gives value to what is immortal in the Gerusalemme. It was a new thing in the 16th century, something concordant with a growing feeling for woman and with the ascendant art of music. This sentiment, refined, noble, natural, steeped in melancholy, exquisitely graceful, pathetically touching, breathes throughout the episodes of the Gerusalemme, finds metrical expression in the languishing cadence of its mellifluous verse, and sustains the ideal life of those seductive heroines whose names were familiar as household words to all Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The epic was finished in Tasso's thirty-first year; when the manuscripts lay before him the best part of his life was over, his best work had been already accomplished. Troubles immediately began to gather round him. Instead of having the courage to obey his own instinct, and to publish the Gerusalemme as he had conceived it, he yielded to the excessive scrupulosity which formed a feature of his paranoid character. The poem was sent in manuscript to a large committee of eminent literary men, Tasso expressing his willingness to hear their strictures and to adopt their suggestions unless he could convert them to his own views. The result was that each of these candid friends, while expressing in general high admiration for the epic, took some exception to its plot, its title, its moral tone, its episodes or its diction, in detail. One wished it to be more regularly classical; another wanted more romance. One hinted that the Inquisition would not tolerate its supernatural machinery; another demanded the excision of its most charming passages, the loves of Armida, Clorinda and Erminia. Tasso had to defend himself against all these ineptitudes and pedantries, and to accommodate his practice to the theories he had rashly expressed.

Tasso's self-chosen critics were not men to admit what the public has since accepted as incontrovertible. They vaguely felt that a great and beautiful romantic poem was imbedded in a dull and not very correct epic. In their uneasiness they suggested every course but the right one, which was to publish the Gerusalemme without further dispute.

Tasso, already overworked by his precocious studies, by exciting court life and exhausting literary industry, now grew almost mad with worry. His health began to fail him. He complained of headache, malarious fevers, and wished to leave Ferrara. The Gerusalemme was laid in manuscript upon a shelf. He opened negotiations with the court of Florence for an exchange of service. This irritated the duke of Ferrara. Alfonso hated nothing more than to see courtiers (especially famous ones) leave him for a rival duchy. Moreover, Alfonso was married to a French Calvinist princess and thus justly worried about antagonizing the more orthodox powers in Italy, concentrated in Florence and Rome.

Difficult relationships in the Court of Ferrara

Alfonso thought, moreover, that, if Tasso were allowed to go, the Medici would get the coveted dedication of that already famous epic. Therefore, he bore with the poet's humours, and so contrived that the latter should have no excuse for quitting Ferrara. Meanwhile, through the years 1575, 1576 and 1577, Tasso's health grew worse.

Jealousy inspired the courtiers to malign and insult him. His irritable and suspicious temper, vain and sensitive to slights, rendered him only too easy a prey to their malevolence.

In the course of the 1570s Tasso developed a persecution mania which led to legends about the restless, half-mad, and misunderstood author.
He became consumed by thoughts that his servants betrayed his confidence, fancied he had been denounced to the Inquisition, and expected daily to be poisoned. Literary and political events surrounding him upset his mental state, escalating his stress and social troubles.

In the autumn of 1576 Tasso quarrelled with a Ferrarese gentleman, Maddalo, who had talked too freely about some same-sex love affair; the same year he wrote a letter to his homosexual friend Luca Scalabrino dealing with his own love for a 21-year-old young man Orazio Ariosto; in the summer of 1577 he drew his knife upon a servant in the presence of Lucrezia d'Este, duchess of Urbino. For this excess he was arrested; but the duke released him, and took him for a change of air to his country seat of Villa Belriguardo. What happened there is not known. Some biographers have surmised that a compromising liaison with Leonora d'Este came to light, and that Tasso agreed to feign madness in order to cover her honour, but of this, there is no proof. It is only certain that from Belriguardo he returned to a Franciscan convent at Ferrara, for the express purpose of attending to his health. There the dread of being murdered by the duke took a firm hold on his mind. He escaped at the end of July, disguised himself as a peasant, and went on foot to his sister at Sorrento.

The conclusions were that Tasso, after the beginning of 1575, developed a mental malady, which, without amounting to actual insanity, rendered him fantastical and insupportable, a cause of anxiety to his patrons.
There is no evidence whatsoever for the later romantic myth that this state of things was due to an overwhelming passion for Leonora. The duke, contrary to his image as a tyrant, showed considerable forbearance. Though a rigid and unsympathetic man, as egotistical as any princeling of his era, to Tasso he was never cruel; unintelligent perhaps, but far from being that monster of ferocity as which was later portrayed. The subsequent history of his connection with the poet corroborates this view.

While with his sister at Sorrento, Tasso yearned for Ferrara. The court-made man could not breathe freely outside its charmed circle. He wrote humbly requesting to be taken back. Alfonso consented, provided Tasso would agree to undergo a medical course of treatment for his melancholy. When he returned, which he did with alacrity under those conditions, he was well received by the ducal family.

All might have gone well if his old maladies had not revived. Scene followed scene of irritability, moodiness, suspicion, wounded vanity and violent outbursts.

In the madhouse of St. Anna
In the summer of 1578 he ran away again, traveling through Mantua, Padua, Venice, and Urbino Lombardy. In September he reached the gates of Turin on foot and was courteously entertained by Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy. Wherever he went, wandering like the world's rejected guest, he met with the honour due his illustrious name. Great folk gladly opened their houses to him, partly in compassion, partly in admiration of his genius. But he soon wearied of their society and wore their kindness thin by his querulous peevishness. It seemed, moreover, that life was intolerable to him outside Ferrara. Accordingly, he once more opened negotiations with the duke; and in February 1579 he again set foot in the castle.

Alfonso was about to contract his third marriage, this time with a princess of the house of Mantua. He had no children, and unless he got an heir there was a probability that his state would fall to the Holy See, as in fact it eventually did. The nuptial festivals, on the eve of which Tasso arrived, were therefore not an occasion of great rejoicing for the elderly bridegroom. As a forlorn hope Alfonso had to wed a third wife; but his heart was not in it and his expectations were far from sanguine.

Tasso, preoccupied as always with his own sorrows and his own sense of dignity, made no allowance for the troubles of his master. Rooms below his rank, he thought, had been assigned him; the Duke was engaged. Without exercising common patience, or giving his old friends the benefit of the doubt, Tasso broke into terms of open abuse, behaved like a lunatic, and was sent off without ceremony to the madhouse of St. Anna. This happened in March 1579, and there he remained until July 1586. Duke Alfonso's long patience at last had given way. He firmly believed that Tasso was insane, and he felt that if he were so St. Anna was the safest place for him.

After the first few months of his incarceration, he obtained spacious apartments, received the visits of friends, went abroad attended by responsible persons of his acquaintance, and was allowed to correspond freely with others. The letters written from St. Anna to the princes and cities of Italy, to warm well-wishers, and to men of the highest reputation in the world of art and learning, form the most valuable source of information, not only on his then condition, but also on his temperament at large. It is singular that he spoke always respectfully, even affectionately, of the Duke.
Some critics have attempted to make it appear that he was hypocritically kissing the hand which had chastised him, with the view of being released from prison, but no one who has impartially considered the whole tone and tenor of his epistles will adopt this opinion. What emerges clearly from them is that he laboured under a serious mental disease, and that he was conscious of it.

Meanwhile, he occupied his uneasy leisure with copious compositions. The mass of his prose dialogues on philosophical and ethical themes, which is very considerable, belong to the years of imprisonment in St. Anna.
Except for occasional odes or sonnets—some written at request, others inspired by his keen sense of suffering and therefore poignant, he neglected poetry. In the year 1580, he heard that part of the Gerusalemme was being published without his permission and without his corrections. The following year, the whole poem was given to the world, and in the following six months seven editions issued from the press.

The prisoner of St. Anna had no control over his editors; and from the masterpiece which placed him on the level of Petrarch and Ariosto he never derived one penny of pecuniary profit. A rival poet at the court of Ferrara undertook to revise and edit his lyrics in 1582. This was Battista Guarini; and Tasso, in his cell, had to allow odes and sonnets, poems of personal feeling, occasional pieces of compliment, to be collected and emended, without lifting a voice in the matter.

A few years later, in 1585, two Florentine pedants of the Crusca Academy declared war against the Gerusalemme. They loaded it with insults, which seem to those who read their pamphlets now mere parodies of criticism. Yet Tasso felt bound to reply; and he did so with a moderation and urbanity which prove him to have been not only in full possession of his reasoning faculties, but a gentleman of noble manners also. The man, like Hamlet, was distraught through ill accommodation to his circumstances and his age; brain-sick he was undoubtedly; and this is the Duke of Ferrara's justification for the treatment he endured. In the prison, he bore himself pathetically, peevishly, but never ignobly.

What remained over, untouched by the malady, unoppressed by his consciousness thereof, displayed a sweet and gravely-toned humanity. The oddest thing about his life in prison is that he was always trying to place his two nephews, the sons of his sister Cornelia, in court service. One of them he attached to Guglielmo I, Duke of Mantua, the other to Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma.

Late years

In 1586 Tasso left St. Anna at the solicitation of Vincenzo Gonzaga, Prince of Mantua. He followed his young deliverer to the city by the Mincio, basked awhile in liberty and courtly pleasures, enjoyed a splendid reception from his paternal town of Bergamo, and reworked his 1573 tragedy Galealto Re di Norvegia into a classical drama entitled Torrismondo. But only a few months passed before he grew discontented. Vincenzo Gonzaga, succeeding to his father's dukedom of Mantua, had scanty leisure to bestow upon the poet. Tasso felt neglected. In the autumn of 1587, he journeyed through Bologna and Loreto to Rome where he took up quarters with an old friend, Scipione Gonzaga, now Patriarch of Jerusalem. The following year he wandered off to Naples, where he wrote several religious poems including Monte Oliveto. In 1589 he returned to Rome and took quarters again with the patriarch of Jerusalem. But the servants found Tasso insufferable and turned him out of doors. He fell ill and went to a hospital. The patriarch in 1590 again received him, but Tasso's restless spirit drove him forth to Florence. The Florentines said, "Actum est de eo." Rome once more, then Mantua, then Florence, then Rome, then Naples, then Rome, then Naples—such is the weary record of the years 1590–94. He endured a veritable Odyssey of malady, indigence and misfortune. To Tasso, everything was amiss. Though the palaces of princes, cardinals, patriarchs, nay popes, were always open to him, he could rest in none.

His health grew ever feebler and his genius dimmer. In 1592 he published a revised version of the Gerusalemme, Gerusalemme Conquistata. All that made the poem of his early manhood charming he rigidly erased. The versification became more pedantic; the romantic and magical episodes were excised; the heavier elements of the plot underwent dull rhetorical development. During the same year a blank-verse retelling of Genesis, called Le Sette Giornate, saw the light.

Though mental disorder, physical weakness, and a decline in inspiration seemed to doom Tasso to oblivion, hope cheered his last years. Pope Clement VIII ascended the papal chair in 1592. He and his nephew, Cardinal Aldobrandini of San Giorgio, were determined to befriend the poet. In 1594 they invited him to Rome. There Tasso was to receive the crown of laurels, as Petrarch had been crowned, on the Capitol.

Worn out with illness, Tasso reached Rome in November. The ceremony of his coronation was deferred because Cardinal Aldobrandini had fallen ill. But the pope assigned Tasso a pension. Also, under pontifical pressure, Prince Avellino (who held Tasso's maternal estate) agreed to discharge a portion of his claims against Tasso by payment of a yearly stipend.

At no time since Tasso left St. Anna had the heavens so smiled upon him. Capitolian honours and money were now at his disposal. Yet fortune arrived too late. Before he donned the crown of poet laureate and received his pensions, Tasso went to the hilltop convent of Sant'Onofrio on a stormy 1 April 1595. After his coach toiled up the steep Trasteverine Hill and the monks came to the door to greet it, Tasso stepped out and announced to the prior that he had come there to die.

Tasso died in Sant'Onofrio in April 1595 aged 51. The last twenty years of his existence had been practically and artistically unsatisfying.

Other works
Rime (Rhymes), nearly two thousand lyrics in nine books, were written between 1567 and 1593, influenced by Petrarch's Canzoniere (Songbook).

Galealto re di Norvegia (1573–4) is an unfinished tragedy, which was later finished under a new title: Re Torrismondo (1587). It is influenced by the tragedies of Sophocles and Seneca, and tells the story of princess Alvida of Norway, who is forcibly married off to the Goth king Torrismondo, when she is devoted to her childhood friend, king Germondo of Sweden.

Dialoghi (Dialogues), written between 1578 and 1594. These 28 texts deal with issues from morality (love, virtue, nobility) to the mundane (masks, play, courtly style, beauty). Sometimes Tasso touches on major themes of his time, such as religion vs. intellectual freedom; Christianity vs. Islam at Lepanto.

Discorsi del poema eroico, published in 1594, is the main text for Tasso's poetics. It was probably written in the years while he was working on Gerusalemme Liberata.

Mental illness

The disease Tasso had is now believed to be bipolarity. Legends describe him wandering the streets of Rome half-mad, convinced that he was being persecuted. After his lengthy imprisonment in Ferrara's Santa Anna lunatic asylum, he was able to resume his writing, although he never fully recovered.

Influence
Tasso's lyric poetry may have had some influence in late Renaissance France on Desportes and Ronsard (whom Tasso met in Paris). It almost certainly influenced a number of English Elizabethans, including Sir Philip Sidney, Abraham Fraunce and Samuel Daniel.
Claudio Monteverdi composed Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda upon the text of Gerusalemme Liberata, canto XII. He also composed music over some of Tasso's Rime, particularly madrigals.
Giaches de Wert and Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa put into music many texts from Tasso's Rime and Gerusalemme.
The German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote a play, Torquato Tasso, in 1790, which explores the struggles of the artist. He also composed a cantata text, "Rinaldo", inspired by canto XVI of Jerusalem Delivered, later set to music by Johannes Brahms.
 Giacomo Leopardi wrote Dialogo di Torquato Tasso e del suo Genio familiare  (Operette morali, 1824), a prose about the long stay in St. Anna. The main theme is a comparison between pain and boredom, expressed in a dialogue between Tasso and a "Genius", or ghost, said to be visiting him in his loneliness.
Among the numerous operas based on Jerusalem Delivered are works by Lully, Alessandro Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn, Salieri, Cherubini, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Rossini and Dvořák. An experimental modern opera on the theme, by Judith Weir, transposes the scene into contemporary Iraq.
Both Edmund Spenser and John Milton were greatly influenced by Tasso's work.
Lord Byron's poem "The Lament of Tasso" narrates Tasso's spell in St. Anna's hospital.
The Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti wrote an opera on the subject of Torquato Tasso (1833) and incorporated some of the poet's writing into the libretto.
Felicia Hemans's poem Tasso's Coronation records the poet's death immediately prior to his intended crowning.
Letitia Elizabeth Landon published her poem Tasso's last interview with the Princess Leonora as a Metrical Fragment in 1826.
Franz Liszt composed a symphonic poem, Tasso, Lamento e Trionfo, in commemoration of the centenary of Goethe's birth.
Artists inspired by both Jerusalem Delivered and Aminta have been legion and include Tintoretto, the Carracci, Guercino, Pietro da Cortona, Domenichino, Cigoli, Van Dyck, Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Tiepolo, Boucher, Fragonard, Johann Friedrich Overbeck, Hayez and Delacroix.

English translations
During the Renaissance, the first (incomplete) translation of Jerusalem Delivered was brought out by Richard Carew (1594). A complete version by Edward Fairfax appeared under the title Godfrey of Bouillon in 1600. John Hoole's version in heroic couplets followed in 1772, and Jeremiah Holmes Wiffen's (in Spenserian stanzas) in 1821. There were several 20th- and 21st-century versions, including by Anthony Esolen (2000) and by Max Wickert, published as The Liberation of Jerusalem by Oxford University Press (2009). Aminta, also his early love poems, as Love Poems for Lucrezia Bendidio, ed. and trans. by Max Wickert. New York: Italica Press, 2011, and as Rhymes of Love, ed. M.H. and S. Acocella, trans. by Maria Pastore Passaro (Ottawa: Legas, 2011). Several of the "Dialogues", "Torrismondo," and some of the late religious works have also been issued in English.

Legacy
Tasso is commemorated by monuments in Bergamo and Sorrento. There are streets named after him in virtually every major Italian city, most notably in Bergamo, Posillipo (Naples), Rome, Turin, Palermo and Catania, as well as in Paris and Palo Alto, California.

See also
Ludovico Ariosto
Orlando Furioso

Notes

References

Sources

 Luigi Ugolini, The Poet of Sorrento: Torquato Tasso (Il Poeta di Sorrento), Società Editrice Internazionale, 1995.
 Peter Brand, Charles Peter Brand, Lino Pertile, The Cambridge History of Italian Literature, Cambridge University Press, 1999, .

External links

 Project Gutenberg e-text of Jerusalem Delivered (translated by Edward Fairfax)
 Project Gutenberg e-text of Torquato Tasso by Goethe
 http://www.museodeitasso.com/
 http://www.sorrentoweb.com/uk/personages/index.htm
 Torquato Tasso – Discorsi dell'arte poetica ed in particolare sopra il poema eroico (Italian)
 Querelle: Torquato Tasso – Querelle.ca is a website devoted to the works of authors contributing to the pro-woman side of the querelle des femmes.

1544 births
1595 deaths
People from the Province of Naples
People from Sorrento
Italian male poets
Catholic poets
16th-century Italian LGBT people
Crusade literature
Italian LGBT poets
Sonneteers
16th-century Italian writers
16th-century male writers
Torquato Tasso
Italian Roman Catholics
LGBT Roman Catholics
People with mood disorders
Renaissance writers

Torquato Tasso


Villa Nueva is a City in the Guatemala department of Guatemala. The city centre of Villa Nueva at Villa Nueva Central Park is located 16 kilometres (10 mi) south of Guatemala City. The city has a population of 618,397 (2018 census),[2] making it the second largest in Guatemala Department, after Guatemala City. It was founded on 17 April 1763, long before Guatemala declared its independence from the Spanish Empire. The local economy largely depends on industry, with the municipality having some 100 factories that produce such products as textiles, metallurgical goods, and plastics. The area's agricultural products include rice, dairy, fruits, and vegetables.

Villa Nueva City

Ciudad de Villa Nueva

Villa Nueva City, Guatemala.

Seal

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

Villa Nueva City, Guatemala.

Villa Nueva City

Location in Guatemala

Coordinates: 14°31′37″N 90°35′15″WCountry GuatemalaDepartmentGuatemalaGovernment

 • Mayor (2020–2024)Javier Gramajo[1]Area

 • Total44 sq mi (114 km2)Population

 (2018 census)

 • Total618,397 • Density14,000/sq mi (5,400/km2)ClimateAw

Mayor Salvador Gándara, serving from 2000 to 2011, was longlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award;[3] Sites of interest include the Naciones Unidas National Park, .[4] and several malls, like Metrocentro and Santa Clara

Cities in Central America
Settlements in Guatemala
Establishments in Guatemala
1760s establishments in North America
1763 establishments

Villa Nueva, Guatemala


Manure is organic matter used as fertilizer in agriculture. Manures improve the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and lots of nutrients, such as nitrogen that is trapped by bacteria in the soil. Higher organisms then feed on the fungi and bacteria in a chain of life.

The term "manure" was used for inorganic fertilizers in the past, but this usage is now very rare.  Manure from birds and bats is called guano.

Etymology
The word manure came from Middle English "manuren" meaning "to cultivate land," and initially from French "main-oeuvre" = "hand work" alluding to the work which involved manuring land.

Types

There are two classes of manures in soil management: green manures and animal manures. Compost is distinguished from manure in that it is the decomposed remnants of organic materials (which may, nevertheless, include manure).

Most animal manure is feces–excrement of plant-eating mammals (herbivores) and plant material (often straw) which has been used as bedding for animals and thus is heavily contaminated with their feces and urine.

Green manures are crops grown for the express purpose of plowing them under. In so doing, fertility is increased through the nutrients and organic matter that are returned to the soil.

Uses of manure

Manure has been used for centuries as a fertilizer for farming, as it is rich in nitrogen and other nutrients which facilitate the growth of plants.  Liquid manure from pig/hog operations is usually knifed (injected) directly into soil to reduce the unpleasant odors. Manure from hogs and cattle is spread on fields using a manure spreader. Due to the relatively lower level of proteins in grasses, which herbivores eat, cattle manure has a milder smell than the dung of carnivores–for example, elephant dung is practically odorless. However, due to the quantity of manure applied to fields, odor can be a problem in some agricultural regions.  Poultry droppings are harmful to plants when fresh but after a period of composting are valuable fertilizers.

The dried manure of animals has been used as fuel throughout history. Dried manure (usually known as dung) of cows was, and still is, an important fuel source in countries such as India, while camel dung may be used in treeless regions such as deserts. On the Oregon Trail, pioneering families collected large quantities of "buffalo chips" in lieu of scarce firewood. It has been used for many purposes, in cooking fires and to combat the cold desert nights.

Another use of manure is to make paper. This has been done with dung from elephants where it is a small industry in Africa and Asia, and also horses, llamas, and kangaroos. Other than the llama, these animals are not ruminants and thus tend to pass plant fibres undigested in their dung.

Further reading

Related pages
Biomass

Notes

Fertilizers

Manure


Alfred Perceval Graves (22 July 184627 December 1931), was an Anglo-Irish poet, songwriter and folklorist. He was the father of British poet and critic Robert Graves.

Early life
Graves was born in Dublin and was the son of The Rt Rev. Charles Graves, Church of Ireland Lord Bishop of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe, and his wife Selina, the daughter of Dr John Cheyne (1777–1836), the Physician-General to the British Forces in Ireland. His sister was Ida Margaret Graves Poore. His paternal grandmother Helena was a Perceval, and the granddaughter of the Earl of Egmont. His grandfather, John Crosbie Graves, was a first cousin of "Ireland's most celebrated surgeon", Robert James Graves.

Alfred was educated both in England, at Windermere College, Westmorland, and in Ireland, at Trinity College Dublin. As an undergraduate he contributed to the literary magazine Kottabos, starting in 1869.

His first poem appeared in the Dublin University Magazine in 1863. He graduated with a Master of Arts degree. In 1869, he entered the Civil Service as clerk in the British Home Office, where he remained until he became an Inspector of Schools in 1874.

Author
Graves was a contributor of prose and verse to The Spectator, Athenaeum, John Bull, and Punch.

For a time he lived at Red Branch House on Laurieton Road, Wimbledon, London.

He took a leading part in the late 19th-century renewal of Irish literature. He was for several years president of the Irish Literary Society, and he was the author of the comic song Father O'Flynn and many other songs and ballads. In collaboration with Charles Villiers Stanford, he published Songs of Old Ireland (1882) and Irish Songs and Ballads (1893), the airs of which are taken from the Petrie manuscripts; the airs of his Irish Folk-Songs (1897) were arranged by Charles Wood with whom he also collaborated on Songs of Erin (1901). Composer Mary Augusta Wakefield also set at least one of his poems to music.

He published an autobiography, To Return to All That, in 1930, as a response to his son Robert's World War I memoir, Good-Bye to All That.

Later life
Graves built a large house, named "Erinfa", near Harlech, Wales, which he used as a summer retreat and where he spent his retirement. He had a keen interest in the Welsh language and the culture of Wales; he was elected as a Welsh bard in the National Eisteddfod of Wales at Bangor in 1902.

He died in Harlech in 1931.

Legacy
Graves' obituary in The Spectator concluded: "Mr Graves not only wrote songs but stirred up fresh public interest in the old folk-songs of Ireland, Wales and the Highlands, and, moreover, induced musicians and singers to become interested too. Keeping clear of politics, he did a great work for the popularizing of good music and good poetry in which Celt and Saxon may share."

Family
Graves' marriage to Jane Cooper, (29 December 187424 March 1886) of Cooper's Hill, County Limerick, resulted in five children:

 Philip Perceval, b. 25 February 1876 (or 1870), m. Millicent Gilchrist. Died in 1953.
 Mary, b. 6 June 1877, d. circa 1949. m. Arthur Sansome Preston.
 Richard Massie, b. 14 September 1880, d. 14 August 1960, m. Eva Wilkinson, 1912.
 Alfred Perceval ("Bones"), b. 14 December 1881, m. Eirene Gwen Knight, singer.
 Susan Winthrop Savatier Graves, b. 23 March 1885, m. Kenneth Macaulay.

After the death of his first wife, Graves married Amalie (Amy) Elizabeth Sophie (or Sophia) von Ranke, on 30 December 1891. The couple had five children:

 Clarissa, b. 29 November 1892. Poet, artist and Christian Science practitioner.
 Rosaleen-Louise, b. 7 March 1894, d. 3 August 1989. m. James Francis Cooper.
 Robert Graves, also known as Robert von Ranke, b. 24 July 1895, d. 7 December 1985, poet, critic and author of I, Claudius, Good-Bye to All That and other novels.
 Charles Patrick Ranke Graves, b. 1899, d. 1971, journalist and writer.
 John Tiarks Ranke, b. 1903, d. 1980. m. Mary Wickens.

References

External links

 Songs of Old Ireland: A Collection of Fifty Irish Melodies with words by Alfred Perceval Graves and music arranged by Charles Villiers Stanford

1846 births
1931 deaths
Irish Anglicans
Graves, AP
Irish folklorists
Graves family
People from Harlech

Alfred Perceval Graves


Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born 7 June 1957) is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. He has sold 15 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 23 Latin Grammy Awards, three
Grammy Awards, and one Latin Billboard Music Award. He won 3 Latin Grammy Awards in 2010, including Album of the Year. In 2012, he won the Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year.

Guerra is one of the most internationally recognized Latin artists of recent decades. His popular style of merengue and Latin fusion has garnered him considerable success throughout Latin America. He is also credited for popularizing bachata music on a global level and is often associated with the genre, although his distinct style of bachata features a more traditional bolero rhythm and aesthetic mixed with bossa-nova influenced melodies and harmony in some of his songs. He does not limit himself to one style of music, instead, his music incorporates a wide arrange of diverse rhythms such as merengue, bachata, bolero, balada, fusion, salsa, cumbia, mambo, cha-cha-cha, pop, rock and roll, reggae, classical, R&B, folk, blues, jazz, funk, soul, rock, hip-hop/rap, son cubano, and religious, amongst many others. "Ojalá Que Llueva Café" ("I Wish That It Rains Coffee") is one of his most critically acclaimed pieces.

Early life
Born Juan Luis Guerra Seijas, his parents were Gilberto Guerra Pacheco, and Olga Seijas Herrero. He has two brothers, José Gilberto, a plastic surgeon, and Diego Esteban, a graduate in business administration. He was a student at La Salle and Santa Teresita school, where he stood out for his love of sports. Before becoming interested in music, Guerra studied Philosophy and Literature at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. He later studied guitar and music theory at the Dominican Republic's Conservatorio Nacional de Música (National Conservatory of Music) in Santo Domingo, and then decided to go to the United States to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, from which he graduated in 1982 with a diploma in jazz composition. He then returned to the Dominican Republic and formed a band with local musicians from his community.

Career

1980s
Guerra released his first album, Soplando (1984), with local musicians who became known as Juan Luis Guerra y 440. The number refers to the standard tuning of A440. The band's name in Spanish is Cuatro Cuarenta ("Four Forty"). According to Guerra, this first album was based on jazz tunes and concepts he had learned at Berklee, and it "wasn't intended to be a commercial hit." Subsequently, however, he began to write more merengues.

In 1983, after a performance in front of the Dominican entrepreneur Bienvenido Rodríguez, Juan Luis Guerra was signed to Karen Records. This marked a radical shift in Guerra's musical style toward merengue. In this period, he recorded two albums, Mudanza y Acarreo in 1985 and Mientras Más Lo Pienso...Tú in 1987. These works gained more recognition, and the band was nominated to attend the OTI (Organization of Iberoamerican Television) Festival to represent the Dominican Republic.

In 1988, during the recording of the album Ojalá Que Llueva Café, Guerra became the dominant vocalist of 440. This album also began his international recognition; the album's sales topped the charts in many Latin American countries.

1990s
In 1990, 440 released their next album, Bachata Rosa, which became a major hit and earned Guerra his first Grammy award. With sales over five million, the album let Guerra keep touring Latin America, USA and Europe. It contains memorable love songs such as "Burbujas de amor" (Bubbles of Love), "Bachata Rosa", "Rosalía", "Como abeja al panal" (Like a Bee to the Honeycomb), "A pedir su mano" (Asking For Her Hand), "Carta de amor" (Love Letter), and "Estrellitas y duendes" (Little stars and elves).

Guerra attracted controversy in 1992 after he released his next album, Areíto (which is a Taíno word for song and dance). It featured the hit single "El costo de la vida" (The Cost of Living), whose video clearly has an anti-capitalist message. Other songs included in this album protest the poor conditions in many Latin American countries, the celebration of the 'discovery' of the Americas ("1492"), and the double standards of first-world nations. "El costo de la vida" was his first number-one hit in the Hot Latin Tracks.

His next album, Fogaraté (1994) avoided such controversy. It focuses on more rural and lesser known types of Dominican music, like Perico Ripiao.

Guerra's 1998 release Ni es lo mismo ni es igual (Neither The Same Nor Equal) won three Latin Grammys in 2000 for Best Merengue Performance, Best Tropical Song, and Best Engineered Album. Its hits include "Mi PC" (lit. "My PC", My Computer),  "Palomita Blanca" (Little White Dove), and "El Niágara en Bicicleta" (The Niagara on Bicycle).

2000s
In 2004, Guerra signed a one-off deal with Vene music and released his first new album in six years. Entitled "Para Tí" (For you), the album's songs are mostly Christian, it debuted at number one in US Top Latin Albums and at 110 of US Billboard 200. It was three times certified platinum by the RIAA for selling 300,000 copies and sold half a million copies worldwide. It was certified gold in Argentina and Central America and as platinum in Venezuela. This album won two awards at the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, in the categories of Gospel-Pop and Tropical-Merengue, for the hit single Las Avispas (The wasps), the first time ever that one song has won these two categories at the same time. Other hits included "Para Tí" and "Soldado" (Soldier). In the same ceremony, Guerra was awarded Spirit of Hope Award for his philanthropic work. At the same time, Guerra was honored with the Latino Special Award for the Music Academy of Spain for his contributions to the music of his country and the Caribbean in the last 20 years. In the same year, Guerra embarked on his 20-year anniversary tour, "Tour 20 años". In the United States, he visited cities including Miami, Chicago, Washington D.C., Orlando, Boston and a concert at New York`s Madison Square Garden. In November 2005, Guerra was awarded with two awards at the 6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards for Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) and Best Tropical Song for "Las Avispas".

In January 2006, Guerra performed at Berklee's 60th anniversary, along with other artists such as Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock, Michel Camilo and Chiara Civello. That same year, he recorded with Diego Torres in "Abriendo Caminos" (Opening roads) and with Maná in "Bendita Tu Luz" (Blessed Be Your Light). On 6 April 2006, Guerra was honored as a BMI Icon at the 13th annual BMI Latin Awards. Named BMI's 1995 Latin Songwriter of the Year, Guerra's songwriting has garnered 14 BMI Latin Awards.

Guerra set records for the highest-grossing music tour when he opened for The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour at their San Juan, Puerto Rico show in February 2006. He was also invited by Sting to sing with him at a concert at Altos de Chavón, La Romana in the Dominican Republic in 2006.

At the Premio Lo Nuestro awards in 2007, he was given the honorary lifetime achievement award. He also performed the lead single of his new album, "La Llave De Mi Corazón", released in March 2007. Guerra won more than 20 awards with this CD, including 5 Latin Grammy Awards, 6 Premios Casandra awards, 4 billboard Awards, 2 lo nuestro, and one Grammy Award.

In 2007,Guerra was awarded the Excellence Award at the 2007 Lo Nuestro Awards. Guerra was honored at the Latin Grammy Awards in the same year with 5 awards, sweeping each category he was nominated in: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Tropical Song, and Best Merengue Album. Its engineers, Allan Leschhorn, Luis Mansilla, Ronnie Torres, and Adam Ayan, were also awarded Best Engineered Album. The night before the Latin Grammy Awards, he received the Academy's Person of the Year Award for his contribution to Latin music and for his philanthropy.

On 10 March 2008, Guerra was honored with 6 awards in los Premios Casandra, the most important award event in the Dominican Republic. He won for Orchestrator of the year, Outstanding artist abroad, Music album of the year for "La Llave de mi Corazón" (The Key to My Heart) and "El Soberano" (The Sovereign).

On 16 March 2008, he and other artists participated in the Paz Sin Fronteras concert organized by Juanes, celebrating the end of the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis between Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.

On 11 April 2008, Guerra was the Billboard Latin awards big winner, with 7 nominations and 3 awards.

On 15 September 2008 Guerra was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace "in recognition of his efforts for the benefit of children with disabilities and children in need."

On 9 May 2009, Guerra was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Berklee College of Music at its commencement ceremony.

2010s
On 5 April 2010, Guerra released the official video for his new single "Bachata en Fukuoka". The video was filmed in various locations in the city of Los Angeles, and was directed by Colombian director Simon Brand. On 8 June 2010, Guerra released A son de Guerra which contains eight musical rhythms (bachata, merengue, bolero, Mambo, funk, Rock, Jazz, reggae) and includes the collaboration of Juanes among others. The album contains hits including "La Guagua", "La Calle", and "Bachata en Fukuoka". The first single from his new production, "Bachata en Fukuoka", placed in the # 1 position on the Hot Latin Tracks, Tropical Songs, and Latin Pop Airplay Songs of the Billboard charts. Simultaneously, the collaboration of Guerra with Enrique Iglesias on "Cuando me Enamoro" was in the #2 spot on the Rhythm Airplay Chart.

In January 2012, the video for his single "En el cielo no hay Hospital" premiered on YouTube. This song belonged to his new album "Colección Cristiana". Later that year, he collaborated with the Spanish singer Miguel Bosé on his album Papitwo, in the song "Yo creo en Ti".

On 25 April 2014, "Tus Besos" was released. It is a bachata song with a music video inspired by the rock and roll of the 1950s. This video was directed by his son Jean Gabriel.

In 2019 during the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Spain, Juan Luis Guerra surpassed the record reached in 1987 by Celia Cruz by bringing together more than 400,000 people as the largest congregation of people in an open-air plaza to attend a concert.

Singing in other languages
Guerra has recorded several songs in English, like "July 19th" on his 1994 album Fogaraté, and more recently "Medicine for My Soul" and "Something Good" with Italian singer Chiara Civello. Some of his songs have verses in both English and Spanish such as "Woman del Callao", "Guavaberry", "Señorita" on his 1995 compilation album Grandes Exitos as a bonus track and more recently "La Llave de Mi Corazón". The album Areíto featured two songs, the cover-title song "Areíto" and "Naboria daca, mayanimacaná", which are sung in the Arawak language of the extinct Taino natives of Hispaniola. Juan Luis Guerra also recorded the album "Bachata Rosa" in Portuguese. He uses Japanese words in Bachata en Fukuoka (Bachata in Fukuoka), 2010 Latin Grammy winner for Best Tropical Song.

As a composer for other artists
In 1988, he made his debut as a songwriter for other artists such as fellow Dominican musician Taty Salas, for whom he wrote the music for De tu boca, a song with which he participated in the now defunct OTI Festival, reaching the top 3 category. He also composed songs for Mexican artists like Emmanuel (No he podido verte, recorded in 1990) and Luis Miguel (Hasta que me olvides 1993 and Te necesito 2003). He also composed for the Puerto Rican salsa singer Gilberto Santa Rosa in 1994 (Te Propongo).

Lyrical style
Being a native Dominican, his music is heavily influenced by native Caribbean rhythms, such as merengue and bachata.

His lyrics are often charged with intentionally simple, heavily metaphorical, or popular expressions, such as "Burbujas de Amor" (Bubbles of Love). His lyrics also reflect in political issues, but from a deeply human perspective, that is, centering the lyrics in the human drama that social injustice generates. This is seen in "Visa Para un Sueño" about the broken dream of a visit to America. "El Niágara en Bicicleta" — a title based on the Cuban idiom, "al pasar el Niagara en bicicleta", meaning a difficult task — describes the negligence that destroys the social health services. "El Costo de La Vida" describes the effects of globalization on the working-class people; "Acompáñeme Civil" ("Accompany me Civilian") is about police and military corruption that exploits the people that they should care for.

Discography

 Soplando (1984)
 Mudanza y Acarreo (1985)
 Mientras Más Lo Pienso...Tú (1987)
 Ojalá Que Llueva Café (1989)
 Bachata Rosa (1990)
 Areíto (1992)
 Fogaraté (1994)
 Ni es lo mismo ni es igual (1998)
 Para Ti (2004)
 La Llave de Mi Corazón (2007)
 A Son de Guerra (2010)
 Colección Cristiana (2012)
 Todo Tiene Su Hora (2014)
 Literal (2019)

Tours
 Ojala Que Llueva Cafe Tour (1990–91)
 Bachata Rosa World Tour (1991–92)
 Areito World Tour (1993)
 Tour 20 años (2004–06)
 La Travesia Tour (2008–09)
 A Son de Guerra World Tour (2011–13)
 Todo Tiene Su Hora Tour (2015–17)
 Literal Tour Grandes Éxitos (2019)
 Entre Mar y Palmeras Tour (2022)

Awards
The following is a list of Guerra's Grammy Awards wins and nominations:

440 band members
Janina Rosado
Roger Zayas-Bazán
Maridalia Hernández
Mariela Mercado
Marco Hernández (replaced Maridalia Hernández)
Adalgisa Pantaleón (replaced Mariela Mercado)
Quico Rizek (replaced Marco Hernández)

Personal life
Guerra is the son of Gilberto Guerra Pacheco and Olga Seijas Herrero; he has two brothers, José Gilberto Guerra Seijas, plastic surgeon, and Diego Esteban Guerra Seijas, economist. He is married to Nora Clementina Altagracia Vega Rasuk, and has two children. His wife is the sister of Otto Miguel Vega Rasuk, who is the father of Miss Universe 2003 Amelia Vega Polanco.

On 17 October 2008, he participated as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO in an event called "Levántate y Actúa contra la Pobreza y por los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio", in Bavaro, Dominican Republic, during the International Conference of the Americas.

On 18 April 2010, he organized a concert to raise money for those who were affected by the 2010 Haiti earthquake. After this successful event was held, a children's hospital was later built in Haiti.

Sources

See also
List of best-selling Latin music artists

References

Bibliography

Hutchinson, Sydney. "Guerra, Juan Luis." Grove Dictionary of American Music, 2nd ed., 2013.

External links

Biography of Juan Luis Guerra

Encarta bio (Archived  2009-10-31)

1957 births
Living people
Musicians from Santo Domingo
Berklee College of Music alumni
Dominican Republic people of Canarian descent
Dominican Republic people of Catalan descent
Latin music record producers
Latin music songwriters
People named in the Panama Papers
Bachata musicians
Dominican Republic composers
20th-century Dominican Republic male singers
Dominican Republic singer-songwriters
Male songwriters
Grammy Award winners
Latin Grammy Award winners
Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year
Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees
Merengue musicians
Dominican Republic Protestants
Dominican Republic performers of Christian music
Universal Music Latin Entertainment artists
Capitol Latin artists
White Dominicans
21st-century Dominican Republic male singers
Bachata singers

Juan Luis Guerra