[1] Born in Groningen on 22 March 1949, Grit moved to Friesland in his early teens and was educated in the Drachtster Lyceum.
He went on to study Dutch at the University of Groningen, taking Danish and Norwegian as minors.
In 1994 he completed a doctorate at Maastricht University on the literary relations between the Netherlands and Scandinavia, Driewerf zalig Noorden - Over literaire betrekkingen tussen de Nederlanden en Scandinavië.
[2] He was a prolific book reviewer, particularly for the Tijdschrift voor Skandinavistiek.
He translated ten books in collaboration with Edith Koenders, including the letters of Søren Kierkegaard.