Cees Nooteboom, nato all’Aja nel 1933, vive tra Olanda, Spagna e Germania. Sin da giovane fa del viaggiare la sua filosofia di vita: tra appassionate frequentazioni dell’Oriente, numerosi soggiorni in vari paesi del mondo, tra cui l’Italia, Nooteboom si è ritrovato cronista privilegiato in molti momenti cruciali della storia europea. La sua biografia si intreccia strettamente con la produzione letteraria, fondata sull’uso di molteplici registri narrativi: autore di romanzi, poesie, saggi, opere teatrali e resoconti di viaggi, come Verso Santiago e Il Buddha dietro lo steccato, è ormai ritenuto uno dei più importanti e originali autori contemporanei.
Si rivela a soli ventidue anni con Philip e gli altri, 1955, considerato dalla critica un’anticipazione degli ideali nomadi della Beat Generation e antesignano di Sulla Strada di Jack Kerouac. Il romanzo è la storia, in parte autobiografica, di un uomo che viaggia in autostop dall’Olanda alla Provenza, attraverso la Francia e l’Europa del Nord, sulle tracce di una misteriosa ed evanescente ragazza cinese, simbolo della felicità e dell’inaudito. 
Il successo internazionale arriva con Rituali, 1980, e Il canto dell’essere e dell’apparire, 1981. Un anno dopo esce Mokusei, 1982 e nel 1984 Le montagne dei Paesi Bassi. La contrapposizione tra banalità dello spazio reale e avventura nello spazio spirituale, è rappresentata con particolare efficacia nel romanzo breve La storia seguente, 1991: l’opera vale a Nootemboom il Premio Grinzane Cavour 1994 e il Premio Aristeion della Comunità Europea. Nel 1994 esce Verso Santiago, una collezione di testi scritti dal 1981 al 1992. La seduzione del viaggio rimane una costante nell’opera di questo “spettatore del mondo”, come egli ama definirsi. 
La bibliografia completa delle opere pubblicate in italiano, comprende: Il canto dell’essere e dell’apparire (Een lied van schijn en wezen, 1981, trad. it. Fulvio Ferrari), Iperborea, 1991. Rituali (Rituelen, 1980, trad. it. Fulvio Ferrari), Iperborea, 1993. Mokusei (Mokusei! Een liefdesverhaal, 1982, trad. it. Fulvio Ferrari), Iperborea, 1994. Verso Santiago (De omweg naar Santiago, 1992, trad. it. Laura Pignatti), Feltrinelli, 1994. Come si diventa europei? (Wie wird man Europaer?, 1993, trad. it. Anna Martini Lichtner), Linea d’Ombra, 1994. Il Buddha dietro lo steccato (De Boeddha achter de schutting, 1986, trad. it. Laura Pignatti), Feltrinelli, 1997. Le montagne dei Paesi Bassi (In Nederland, 1984, trad. it. Fulvio Ferrari), Iperborea, 1996. Autoritratto di un altro. Sogni dell’isola e della città d’un tempo (Zelfportret van een ander. Dromen van het eiland and de stad van vroger, 1993, trad. it. Fulvio Ferrari), Crocetti, 1998. La storia seguente (Het volgende verhaal, 1991, trad. it. Fulvio Ferrari), Iperborea, 2000. Il giorno dei morti (Allerzielen, 1999, trad. it. Fulvio Ferrari), Iperborea, 2001. Hotel nomade (Nootebooms hotel, 2002, trad. it. Franco Paris, Claudia di Palermo), Feltrinelli, 2003. Philip e gli altri (Philip en de anderen, 1955, trad. it David Santoro), Iperborea, 2005. Perduto il Paradiso (Paradijs verloren, 2004, trad. it. Fulvio Ferrari), Iperborea, 2006. Le volpi vengono di notte, (‘s Nachts komen de vossen, 2009, trad. it. Fulvio Ferrari), Iperborea, 2010. Avevo mille vite e ne ho preso una sola, (Ich hatte tausend Leben und nahm nur eins, 2008, trad. it. di Marco Agosta, Fulvio Ferrari, Laura Pignatti), Iperborea 2011. Lettere a Poseidon (Brieven aan Poseidon, 2013, trad. Fulvio Ferrari), Iperborea, 2014. Tumbas (Tubas, 2010, trad. it. Fulvio Ferrari), Iperborea, 2015. Cerchi Infiniti, Iperborea, 2017. 533 Il libro dei giorni, Iperborea, 2019.
Le opere poetiche tradotte in italiano di Cees Nooteboom sono: L’occhio del monaco (trad. it Fulvio Ferrari), Einaudi 2015. Luce ovunque, (trad. it Fulvio Ferrari), Einaudi 2015. Le porte della notte. Poesie, a cura di Fulvio Ferrari, Edizioni del Leone, 2003.
Pluripremiato e apprezzato in tutto il mondo, più volte candidato al Nobel, lo scrittore ha ricevuto numerosissimi altri riconoscimenti, tra cui il Premio LericiPea “alla Carriera” nel 2016, il Constantijn Huygens Prijs, il Premio Anna Frank, il P.C. Hooft Prijs, il Premio Sandro Onofri, il Premio Gruppo Compostela, il Premio Letteratura Nederlandese, il Premio Europeo di Poesia, 2008, e il Premio Chatwin 2010.

Cees Nooteboom, born in The Hague in 1933, lives between Holland, Spain and Germany. Since his youth he has been making traveling his modus vivendi: from passionate journeys to the Orient to numerous stays in several countries of the world, including Italy, Nooteboom has always been a privileged reporter of crucial moments during the European history. His biography is closely intertwined with literary production, based on the use of multiple narrative registers: author of novels, poems, essays, plays and travel reports, such as Roads to Santiago and The Buddha behind the fence, Nooteeboom is now considered one of the most important and original contemporary authors.
He starts his writing career at the age of twenty-two with Philip and the others, 1955, considered by the critics an anticipation of the nomadic ideals of the Beat Generation, as well as a forerunner of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. The novel is partly autobiographic, and it tells the story of a man who travels hitchhiking from Holland to Provence, going through France and Northern Europe, following the trail of a mysterious and evanescent Chinese girl. A lively and dream-like book focused preceding the myth of hitchhiking as a journey of initiation. His international success begins with Rituals, 1980, and A Song of Truth and Semblance, 1981. A year later he publishes Mokusei, 1982 and 1984 In the Dutch Mountains. The contrast between the banality of the reality and the adventure of the spirituality is represented with particular efficacy in the short novel The following story, 1991: the book was awarded  the Grinzane Cavour Prize in 1994 and the Aristeion Prize of the European Community. Roads to Santiago was published in 1994, and it is a collection of texts written from 1981 to 1992. The journey remains a constant topic in the works of this “world viewer”, as he loves to define himself — on one hand it describes the endless thirst for knowledge and discovery, and on the other it is an opportunity to stay alone and reflect on what to write.
His bibliography translated into English includes: All souls day English / translated from the Dutch by Susan Massotty. Ill.: . Harcourt, Inc., 2001. Fiction, gebonden. Original title: Allerzielen. Amsterdam: Atlas, 1998; Roads to Santiago English / translated from the Dutch by Ina Rilke. Ill.: . Harvill, 1997. Travel Literature, gebonden. Original title: De omweg naar Santiago; The knight has died English / translated from the Dutch by Adrienne Dixon. Ill.: . Louisiana State University Press, 1990. Fiction, gebonden. Original title: De ridder is gestorven; Basho English / translated from the Dutch by J.M. Coetzee. Ill.: In: The New York Review of Books, vol.50 (november 2003) nr.18, p.15. Poetry. Original title: Een keuze uit de gedichten. . . Vert. van het gedicht: Bashô II; The captain of the butterflies English / translated from the Dutch by Leonard Nathan – Herlinde Spahr. Ill.: . Sun & Moon Press, 1997. Poetry, paperback. Original title: Een keuze uit de gedichten; My ten most European experiences English / translated from the by . Ill.: . In: New European, jrg.1 (1988) nr.3, p.4-7. Travel Literature. Original title: Een keuze uit het werk; A song of truth and semblance English / translated from the Dutch by Adrienne Dixon. Ill.: . Penguin, 1990. Fiction, paperback. Original title: Een lied van schijn en wezen. Amsterdam: De Arbeiderspers, 1981. . 1e druk: 1984; The following story English / translated from the Dutch by Ina Rilke. Ill.: . Harvill, 1996. Fiction, paperback. Original title: Het volgende verhaal.; In the Dutch mountains English / translated from the Dutch by Adrienne Dixon. Ill.: . Louisiana State University Press, 1987. Fiction, paperback. Original title: In Nederland; Mokusei! English / translated from the Dutch by Adrienne Dixon. Ill.: . Bridges Books, 1985. Fiction, paperback. Original title: Mokusei!; Unbuilt Netherlands English / translated from the Dutch by Adrienne Dixon. Ill.: . Rizzoli International Publications, 1985. Non-Fiction, gebonden. Original title: Nooit gebouwd Nederland; Nomad’s hotel English / translated from the Dutch by Ann Kelland. Ill.: . Harvill Secker, 2006. Travel Literature, gebonden. Original title: Nootebooms hotel; Lost paradise English / translated from the Dutch by Susan Massotty. Ill.: . Vintage, 2008. Fiction, paperback. Original title: Paradijs verloren; Philip and the others English / translated from the Dutch by Adrienne Dixon. Ill.: . Louisiana State University Press, 1988. Fiction, gebonden. Original title: Philip en de anderen; Rituals English / translated from the Dutch by Adrienne Dixon. Ill.: . Louisiana State University Press, 1983. Fiction, gebonden. Original title: Rituelen; Self-Portrait of an Other English / translated from the Dutch by Duncan Dobbelmann. Ill.: . In: Grand Street, nr. 67 (1999), 126 . Fiction. Original title: Zelfportret van een ander.
Award-winning and appreciated all over the world, he was repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize and has received a lot of awards, including the LericiPea “alla Carriera” Poetry Prize in 2016, the Constantijn Huygens Prijs, the Anne Frank Prize, the P.C. Hooft Prijs, the Sandro Onofri Prize, the Compostela Group Prize, the Dutch Literature Prize, the European Poetry Prize, and the Chatwin Prize.

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