While on his way to a literary colloquium with several other Flemish and Dutch poets and writers (amongst them Hugo Claus, Anna Enquist and Gerrit Komrij), Herman de Coninck collapsed in the streets of Lisbon, Portugal on May 22, 1997.
On his journey to a literary conference with other Flemish and Dutch authors like Hugo Claus, Anna Enquist, and Gerrit Komrij, Herman de Coninck collapsed in the streets of Lisbon, Portugal on May 22, 1997.