Carolus Petrus Eduardus Maria "Karel" van de Woestijne (Dutch:[ˈkaːrəlvɑndəʋuˈstɛinə];
Ghent, 10 March 1878 –
Zwijnaarde, 24 August 1929) was a
Flemish writer and brother of the painter
Gustave van de Woestijne. He went to highschool at the Koninklijk Athenaeum (E:Royal Athenaeum) at the
Ottogracht in Ghent. He also studied Germanic philology at the
University of Ghent, where he came into contact with
French symbolism. He lived at
Sint-Martens-Latem from April 1900 up to January 1904, and from April 1905 up to November 1906. Here he wrote Laetemsche brieven over de lente, for his friend
Adolf Herckenrath (1901). In 1907 he moved to Brussels, and in 1915 he moved to Pamel, where he wrote De leemen torens together with
Herman Teirlinck.
From 1906 he was correspondent of the
Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant in
Brussels. Between 1920 and 1929 he taught history of Dutch literature at the University of Ghent. He was editor of successively the illustrated magazines of
Van Nu en Straks (second range, 1896-1901) and Vlaanderen (1903-1907). Of the illustrated magazine Vlaanderen he became secretary of the redaction in 1906. From 1925 until his death in 1929, he lived in Zwijnaarde, nearby Ghent. He was buried in the Cemetery of
Campo Santo.