Willem Kloos

As part of this movement, Kloos criticized mainstream literary style as bookish and overly wrought, and instead sought to write poetry in which the form matched the content, so that intimate experiences should be conveyed with a natural intimacy of expression.

The Tachtigers' primary literary vehicle was a journal co-founded by Kloos called De Nieuwe Gids (The New Guide), first published in October 1885.

The title was intended as a sarcastic anti-tribute to the prevailing literary journal in Amsterdam, De Gids (The Guide), which had usually rejected submissions by Kloos and other Tachtigers.

Starting in 1888 Kloos sought psychiatric treatment from his Tachtiger friend and fellow editor at The New Guide, and psychiatrist, Frederik van Eeden.

However, even while Kloos's ongoing efforts were largely ignored, his early works continued to gain an ever-wider appreciation, eventually earning him several literary honors and prizes.