In 1957, Hermans worked as volunteer assistant to photographer Nico Jesse while writing his The Darkroom of Damocles (De donkere kamer van Damocles) which features a mysteriously blank photograph.Scheen 1969-1970 , dl. 1, p. 467 (als: Hermans, Willem Frederik;*)René Marres, Over de interpretatie van De donkere kamer van Damokles van Willem Frederik Hermans. Dimensie Boeken, Leiden 1996 In 1958, he was appointed reader in physical geography at Groningen University. In 1972, after accusations by among others the Calvinist Member of Parliament and later minister Jan de Koning that Hermans was using his time writing instead of lecturing, a parliamentary committee was set up to investigate the matter. The committee found that Hermans's chief crime was his use of university stationery for writing his notes.
