Guido Gezelle, one of the greatest Flemish poets, had close ties to the English Monastery. He served as its rector and taught there as well. The peaceful monastic setting provided him with the space for study, reflection and creativity. It was here that he wrote several of his poems, in which his love of nature and his subtle sense of language are clearly evident. Gezelle spent the final months of his life at the monastery and died there in 1899, making the English Monastery an important place of remembrance for his life and work. His last words were ‘I loved to hear the little birds chirping’.