2024-03-28T09:05:12Z
https://letterkunde.africa/oai
oai:journals.assaf.org.za/oai:article/409
2015-11-27T15:19:40Z
tvl:ART
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/413
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/413
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 54 No. 2 (2017); 5-25
Intellectualisation of isiXhosa literature: the case of Jeff Opland
Kaschula, Russell Harold; Rhodes University
2017-09-04
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/413
history of isiXhosa literature
intellectualisation
isiXhosa literary archive
isiXhosa literature
Jeff Opland
oral literature
en_US
The origins of the intellectualisation of written isiXhosa literature are often attributed to the missionaries John Ross and John Bennie. They set up a printing press in the Tyhume Valley which later became known as Lovedale Press. They introduced written isiXhosa in 1823 and for this they are acknowledged as the first to write and publish in isiXhosa. This article attempts to trace this intellectualisation process of isiXhosa literature, concentrating on a critique and assessment of the life-long work of Professor Jeff Opland, who has contributed enormously to the present understanding of both oral and written isiXhosa literature. It is argued in this article that his corpus of books and academic articles require some contextualisation within the broader debate of the continued intellectualisation of isiXhosa language and literature. Reference is also made to the Opland isiXhosa literature archive and its contribution to the further intellectualisation of isiXhosa literature. It is suggested in this article that Opland is one of the greatest contributors to academic debates concerning isiXhosa literature and history. Izibongo or oral poems written by, and about Jeff Opland are analysed to further enhance the context of his contribution.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/435
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/435
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 54 No. 2 (2017); 26-41
Breyten Breytenbachs poëzie in Raster
Bourgeus, Camille; University of Antwerpen
T'Sjoen, Yves; Universiteit GentUniversity of Stellenbosch
2017-09-04
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/435
aesthetics and politics
Afrikaans poetry
Breyten Breytenbach
Dutch poetry
experimental literature
literary engagement
Raster
en_US
From 1969 until 1972 the South-African writer and graphic artist Breyten Breytenbach published 29 poems, prose texts and three drawings in the Dutch experimental periodical Raster (first edition: 1967). H. C. ten Berge, writer, poet and Raster's main editor, attributed Breytenbach an unusually prominent position in his magazine. In the Dutch language area of the late sixties and early seventies, Breytenbach was mostly known for his political engagement within the anti-apartheid movement. Ten Berge, however, also praised his work for its formal and experimental aesthetic qualities. According to Ten Berge experiment and engagement are related to one another in a very unique way. By examining the position of Breytenbach in Raster, the paper presents a documentation of the exceptional literary relationship between Breytenbach and Ten Berge, as well as their shared interest in certain motifs in poetry, the use of a specific metaphoric language (e.g. perception of nature and body) and a common belief in the power of poetic language.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/669
2021-11-27T08:49:15Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/669
2021-11-27T08:49:15Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 5-20
An analysis of the bodily spatial power relations in Agaat by Marlene van Niekerk
Fourie, Reinhardt; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
Adendorff, Melissa; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/669
Agaat
Marlene van Niekerk
Thirding-as-Othering
spatial inhabitation
power
body in space
en_US
The aim of this article is to explore the power relations portrayed through the bodily spatial interaction of the characters of Milla and Agaat in Marlene van Niekerk’s 2004 novel, Agaat. This interaction is analysed according to the theory of Thirding-asOthering posited by Henri Lefebvre and Edward Soja in terms of the body in space. The body in space is interpreted through agency which is exemplified in the intimacy of the relations of these two bodies through the actions of bathing, giving birth, and the physical aspects of the process of “civilising” the child character of Agaat. Through an analysis of three sets of incidents and scenes which illustrate the physical inhabitation of space through agency, the power relations between Milla and Agaat are exemplified and discussed. The analysis culminates in the conclusion that the relationship between Milla and Agaat is a cyclical power play that does not come to any pure form of dominance or submission because of the inhabitation that they enact through each other. With agency being tantamount to inhabitation and assertion of power, Agaat has the ultimate power on the farm through Milla, as Milla’s body is othered by her illness and finally her death.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/670
2021-11-27T08:50:10Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/670
2021-11-27T08:50:10Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 21-32
Bodily disintegration and successful ageing in Body Bereft by Antjie Krog
Pretorius, Antoinette; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/670
Antjie Krog
Body Bereft
gerontology
successful ageing
bodily deterioration
en_US
Antjie Krog’s Body Bereft (2006) details both the bodily changes brought about by older age and the ways in which these changes fracture a person’s previously-stable sense of self. This article reads Krog’s depiction of the ageing body in a small selection of poems from this collection in relation to the unavoidable reality of bodily decay and what is referred to in gerontological theory as ‘successful ageing’. This tension dominates large parts of the gerontological field, and can be seen in Krog’s ambivalent representation of older age in Body Bereft. Through close readings of a number of poems, I will investigate the ways in which Krog problematises the relationship between the lived experience of older age with its concomitant sense of deterioration, and the societal impetus to age well and accept ageing with magnanimity. I will demonstrate that this collection foregrounds the poet’s refusal to accept pre-existing discourses that delimit ageing as something either to bemoan or celebrate. I will conclude that this refusal finds particular expression in her poems “dommelfei / crone in the woods” and “how do you say this”
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/671
2021-11-27T08:53:15Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/671
2021-11-27T08:53:15Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 33-47
Wai Nengre: ’n Verdere ondersoek na tendense in die letterkundes van drie voormalige Nederlandse kolonies
van Wyk, Steward; University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/671
Black Consciousness
creole
creolization
hybridity
Negritude
en_US
This article expands on research that explores similar tendencies in the literatures of three former Dutch colonies: the literature from the Dutch Antilles and Surinam and black Afrikaans writing emanating from South Africa. It commences with an overview of slavery in the Dutch colonial empire and its legacy which resulted in the establishment of a population that shares elements of Dutch language and culture. It proceeds with an analysis of similar tendencies in the development of those literatures, in particular the influence of Negritude and Black Consciousness and the representation of creole and hybrid identities. It concludes with an analysis of creolization as a further development in these literatures and possibilities for future research.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/672
2021-11-27T08:54:05Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/672
2021-11-27T08:54:05Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 48-60
Twee Fischers, twee dramas: Die geheime Bloemfontein-konferensie (1938) en Die Bram Fischer-wals (2011)
Keuris, Marisa; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/672
Afrikaner history
Afrikaans plays
Abraham Fischer (Orange River Colony Premier)
Bram Fischer (defence lawyer)
documentary drama
biographical drama
en_US
There is no better example within Afrikaner history where different generations of the same family played such extraordinary roles in the course of important historical events for the Afrikaner as well as for South Africa than those of the Fischer family. The name Bram Fischer is well known within more recent history, due to his role as the leader of the legal defence team during the Rivonia trial where prominent political figures, including Nelson Mandela, were tried on several charges including high treason. He is also remembered for his own sensational trial in 1966 where he was branded a traitor by the Afrikaner establishment. Bram’s grandfather, Abraham Fischer, played an important role in the history of the Free State, by being the first premier of the then Orange River colony. He was also known for his role as mediator and translator at the so-called “secret Bloemfontein conference” of 31 May–6 June 1899, where President Kruger unsuccessfully tried to reach a compromise with Sir Alfred Milner—an agreement which could have prevented the Anglo Boer War that followed shortly afterwards. I provide a comparative discussion of the two plays written in Afrikaans about the two Fischers, namely the one about the grandfather, Abraham Fischer (Die geheime Bloemfontein-konferensie [The secret Bloemfontein conference] by Dr. W. J. B. Pienaar in 1938), and Harry Kalmer’s The Bram Fischer waltz (2011) about the grandson. The secret Bloemfontein conference will be discussed as an example of a documentary drama, while The Bram Fischer waltz will be analysed as an example of a biographical drama.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/673
2021-11-27T08:56:42Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/673
2021-11-27T08:56:42Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 61-77
Die historisiteit van resente Afrikaanse historiese fiksie oor die Anglo-Boereoorlog
Pretorius, Fransjohan; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/673
Afrikaans historical fiction
Anglo-Boer War
historical authenticity
en_US
Authors of creative writing in the Afrikaans language find a rich source of dramatic material in the Anglo-Boer War of 1 899 to 1902. Themes from this war that lend themselves superbly to be woven into historical novels and short stories, are the concentration camps (where 28 000 Boer civilians died); the bitterness that plagued Afrikaners in the aftermath of the war; the pride in Boer heroism on the battlefield; important historical figures; treason that lurked in Boer ranks; the relations, usually fraught, with the British, with black people, with fellow-burghers and those with Boer women, often at an individual level. Then there were the experiences of prisoners of war; and the Boers' heartfelt religiosity-on the one hand the deepening of the spiritual experience and on the other the incidence of apostasy; the disillusionment of defeat; and the challenge of reconstruction after the war. In this paper recent historical fiction that has appeared since 1998 from distinguished Afrikaans writers on the Anglo-Boer War is assessed to establish its historical authenticity. The author determines whether what is portrayed is historically correct; what was possible but verges on the improbable, and what is factually incorrect. The works of Christoffel Coetzee, Ingrid Winterbach, Sonja Loots, P.G. du Plessis, Karel Schoeman, Zirk van den Berg, Margaret Bakkes, Jeanette Ferreira, Engela van Rooyen and Eleanor Baker are assessed. Finally, an attempt is made to indicate the fruits of co-operation between the writer of historical fiction, the publisher and the historian.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/675
2021-11-27T08:57:23Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/675
2021-11-27T08:57:23Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 78-98
Historiese korrektheid en historiese fiksie: 'n Respons
Burger, Willie; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/675
aesthetic illusion
historical fiction
history fiction
verisimilitude
en_US
In this article the relationship between history and fiction is examined in response to the historian, Fransjohan Pretorius' criticism of recent Afrikaans fiction about the Anglo-Boer War in Tydskrif vir Letterkunde 52.2 (2015). The intricate relationship between history and fiction is examined by pointing, on the one hand to the problematic of the relationship between history and the past and on the one hand, to the difference between fiction and history. The function of aesthetic illusion, verisimilitude and conceptions of reference is investigated theoretically before turning to the specific novels that Pretorius discusses. The article shows that historical fiction cannot be restricted to novelized versions of accepted history, but that historical fiction also reminds the reader that the past is always culturally mediated and that the primary aim of novels is not to represent the past but to examine aspects of human existence. A comparison between fiction and history can therefore not be used as a norm to assess novels.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/676
2021-11-27T09:15:59Z
tvl:Rep
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/676
2021-11-27T09:15:59Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 99-101
Historisiteit en historiese fiksie —’n repliek
Pretorius, Fransjohan; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/676
historisiteit
Afrikaanse historiese fiksie
Anglo-Boereoorlog
en_US
...
oai:journals.assaf.org.za/oai:article/677
2016-02-17T15:50:05Z
tvl:Rep
oai:journals.assaf.org.za/oai:article/678
2016-02-17T15:50:06Z
tvl:Rep
oai:journals.assaf.org.za/oai:article/679
2016-02-17T15:50:24Z
tvl:Rep
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/680
2021-11-27T08:59:17Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/680
2021-11-27T08:59:17Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 102-116
’n Alternatiewe beskouing van die natuur se andersheid in E. Kotze se kortverhaal ‘Halfkrone vir die Nagmaal’
Meyer, Susan; North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/680
alternative model of otherness
anotherness
E. Kotze
“Halfkrone vir die Nagmaal”
human-nature relationship
Mikhail Bakhtin
nature as another
Patrick Murphy
en_US
Diepsee: ’n Keur uit die verhale van E. Kotze (2014) refocuses our attention on Kotze’s short story collections which immortalised the sea and the littoral spaces of the West Coast in Afrikaans literature. This study comprises an ecocriticial investigation of the title story in Halfkrone vir die Nagmaal (1982), with attention to the manner in which distancing takes place from the conventional Western way of thinking by which is presumed that human-nature differences may serve to vindicate human domination of, or misconstrue the relationship with, the natural world. Differences between human and nonhuman nature in this narrative is integrated with details which clearly bring the human-nature relationship to light, as well as ideas of connectedness with nature. This leads me to an exploration of the representation of the sea and the natural sea environment as a literary demonstration of an alternative view of nature as the Other. The investigation centres on the discovery of characteristics of anotherness—characteristics in contrast to those of the Other in the dualistic human-nature view in which the key concepts of alienation and objectification still function to defend Western hierarchical power relationships. The alternative model of otherness, with anotherness as key concept, has its origins in Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory concerning the term “relational otherness”. This model has been applied to the field of ecocriticism by Patrick Murphy who describes anotherness as a perception of otherness that respects difference without using it to justify domination or prohibit connection. Murphy emphasises that anotherness proceeds from a heterarchichal—that is, a non-hierarchical—sense of difference. The application of this alternative model of otherness, in the ecocritical context, to “Halfkrone vir die Nagmaal” leads to the discovery of a respectful approach to human-nature differences, where principles of domination or distancing do not apply, but rather those of relations and human-nature interaction. In voicing another nature, Kotze’s acts as “I-for-another” (Bakhtin’s expression) for the earth; her narrative becomes an act of responsibility towards a coastal strip that nowhere else in Afrikaans literature is captured so expansively and poignantly as in her work.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/681
2021-11-27T09:00:19Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/681
2021-11-27T09:00:19Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 117-137
Negotiating growth in turbulentscapes: Violence, secrecy and growth in Goretti Kyomuhendo's Secrets No More
Okuyade, Ogaga; Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Nigeria
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/681
African child-figure
Bildungsroman
dementia
Goretti Kyomuhendo
identity
en_US
The traditional Western variant of the Bildungsroman explores the dialectic of growth and change in the developmental process of the protagonist and how he is socialized into the society. However, most of the criticism on the form hardly explores the growth process of a child who suffers partial dementia as a result of human evil and sadism. This essay therefore, examines how a partially demented child-protagonist negotiates her identity in the absence of her parents and the comfort zone of a nuclear family in Goretti Kyomuhendo's Secrets No More. The protagonist negotiates the growth process around the turbulent national space, a trans-ethnic community of orphans and provincial subjects and the heavily patriarchal familial base where she struggles for self-assertion through a kind of voicing which is not associated with speech. In order to understand the developmental or growth process of the child-protagonist, I organize my argument around the possible violence of varied kinds performed on the body of the girl-child and the family and how she constructs identity from the limited choices she is offered in a turbulent African space where parental agency and guidance are unavailable for the child to emulate models in order to construct her own identity. Applying some of the theoretical positions of some Bildungsroman scholars, I will demonstrate through close reading, how Secrets No More aptly articulates some of the fundamental features of the narrative of growth.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za/oai:article/711
2016-02-19T16:22:37Z
tvl:ART
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/712
2021-11-27T09:01:03Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/712
2021-11-27T09:01:03Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 138-158
The place of Urhobo folklore in Tanure Ojaide's poetry
Ojaruega, Enajite Eseoghene; Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/712
cultural identity
Tanure Ojaide
oral tradition
Urhobo folklore
en_US
While some notable studies have been done on Tanure Ojaide and his coevals on their “Alter/Native” tradition of modern African poetry that gained inspiration from indigenous African oral literature and folklore, there has been no focused study on the place of folklore in his writing, especially his poetry. Ojaide’s writing is deeply steeped in Urhobo folklore, which his upbringing and later study and research in Udje have brought about. Though this is not an essentialist reading of his work, I intend to use his specific cultural background to do a reading of his poetry in order to show the depth, breadth, and complexity of his themes and the sophistication of his art, all of which are infused with his native Urhobo folklore. From legendary personages such as Ogiso, Arhuaran, Aminogbe, Ayayughe, Ogidigbo through the fauna and flora of the iroko, akpobrisi, uwara, eyareya, to the incorporation of folk songs and modelling of poems on the udje genre, Ojaide uses orature to establish a cultural identity and a common humanity for his work. Through local folklore and a style borrowed from the oral tradition he deploys folkloric resources as style and form to advance his themes. My study thus illuminates the deep meaning of the writer’s thoughts and the effective use of oral poetic performance style. This conscious effort of the writer appears to have yielded poetic dividends in the relevance of his work and the literary reputation he has gained through his consistency despite innovations now and then.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/713
2021-11-27T09:03:00Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/713
2021-11-27T09:03:00Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 159-175
Didacticism and the Third Generation of African Writers: Chukwuma Ibezute's The Temporal Gods and Goddess in the Cathedral
Awuzie, Solomon; University of Port Harcourt, Port Hartcourt, Nigeria
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/713
African literature
Generations
Chukwuma Ibezute
didacticism
oral storytelling
en_US
This article argues that African literature is a didactic literature. It points out that even though African literature has borrowed so much from European literary culture, especially in the areas of form and language; didacticism is not one of those concepts that African literature inherited from the European literary culture. By didacticism, it is implied that African literature is aimed at correcting, informing and educating its readers. These functions of didacticism are inherent in African oral traditional storytelling and are carried over to the written literature. It is further argued in the article that of the three generations that now make up African literature, the third generation of African writers are accused of not making their stories didactic and that only a selected few of them remain true to making their stories didactic. Among these few writers is Chukwuma Ibezute. Using Chukwuma Ibezute's two novels, The Temporal Gods (1998) and Goddess in the Cathedral (2003) the didactic nature of African literature as contained in the works of a writer of the third generation is demonstrated. In The Temporal Gods the reality of the consequences of greed and envy are revealed. It is further argued through the novel that the afflictions of evil spirits on their victims are temporal. In Goddess in the Cathedral we are presented with another educating story of the activities of evil spirits and their agents. Through the novel, we are warned against some pastors who are agents of evil spirits but who claim to be working for the almighty God. Using examples from the two novels, ways on how to know a pastor who is working for God and the one who is working for evil spirits are further revealed.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/714
2021-11-27T09:08:37Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/714
2021-11-27T09:08:37Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 176-196
Desert ethics, myths of nature and novel form in the narratives of Ibrahim al-Koni
Moolla, F.F.; University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/714
allegory
comparative literature
desert ethics
Ibrahim al-Koni
Libyan literature
en_US
This broadly comparative essay contrasts environmentalism in the fiction in English translation of the Libyan writer, Ibrahim alKoni, with dominant trends in contemporary environmentalism. An analysis of three of the most ecocritically pertinent of the novels in English translation suggests that the natural world is viewed through the lens of the mythical, encompassing the religious worlds of both Tuareg animism, as well as monotheism represented by Islam and early Christianity. The novels to be considered are The Seven Veils of Seth, Anubis and The Bleeding of the Stone. Unlike environmental approaches which derive from the European Enlightenment of procedural rational disenchantment, human beings in Al-Koni’s work are accorded a place in the sacred order which allows non-parasitic modes of existence within the framework of a sacred law. This conviction is articulated most powerfully through the symbol of the desert which inspires all of Al-Koni’s work. The social and sacred desert ethic out of which Al-Koni’s fiction is forged, strains at the form of the novel, the genre which constitutes and is constituted by an immanent, individual vision of the world. As a consequence, Al-Koni’s narratives tend towards allegorical modes which highlight the radical complexity and simplicity of allegory.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/715
2021-11-27T09:27:51Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/715
2021-11-27T09:27:51Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 197-199
André Brink: In defiance of boundaries
Diala, Isidore; Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/715
Andre P Brink
tribute
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/716
2021-11-27T09:29:19Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/716
2021-11-27T09:29:19Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 200-204
Birthing me: André P. Brink (1935-2015)
Pieterse, Henning; University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/716
André P. Brink
tribute
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/717
2021-11-27T09:32:42Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/717
2021-11-27T09:32:42Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 205-209
Reading can be disturbing: A tribute to André Brink
Burger, Willie; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/717
André P. Brink
tribute
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/718
2021-11-27T09:34:26Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/718
2021-11-27T09:34:26Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 210-214
André P. Brink se bevrydende woord en dissidensie
Willemse, Hein; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/718
André P. Brink
tribute
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/719
2021-11-27T09:35:50Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/719
2021-11-27T09:35:50Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 215-216
Johan Degenaar (1926-2015)
Snyman, Johan; University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/719
Johan Degenaar
tribute
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/720
2021-11-27T09:37:26Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/720
2021-11-27T09:37:26Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 217-218
T. T. Cloete (1924-2015)
Burger, Willie; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/720
tribute
T.T. Cloete
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/721
2021-11-27T09:38:46Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/721
2021-11-27T09:38:46Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 219-220
Johan Smuts (1934-2015)
Viljoen, Louise; University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/721
Johan Smuts
tribute
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/722
2021-11-27T09:40:10Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/722
2021-11-27T09:40:10Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 52 No. 2 (2015); 221-223
Chenjerai Hove (1956-2015)
Manase, Irikidzayi; University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
2015-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/722
Chenjerai Hove
tribute
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1093
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1093
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 54 No. 2 (2017); 112-121
Identity and the absent mother in Atta's Everything Good will Come
Owonibi, Sola Emmanuel; Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Nigeria
Gaji, Olufunmilayo; University of Ibadan
2017-09-04
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1093
absence
Ala
Sefi Atta
Everything good will come
identity
Obatala
en_US
Everything good will come presents the trope of the absent mother which scholars have identified as a significant feature of third generation Nigerian women prose fiction writings. Besides the trope of the absent mother, religion and identity also feature prominently in Atta's Everything good will come. This article harmonises these three dominant motifs in the narrative towards an examination of the complexity of identity formation in Everything good will come. The article focuses on Mike's sculptures as an artistic depiction of the dynamics that ultimately influence Enitan's identity formation. Due to the plurality of religious ideologies in the postcolonial Nigeria depicted in the narrative, the motifs of Christianity and traditional religion present in the narrative are explored towards illumination of key elements of the text. Christian motifs provide deeper comprehension of the dynamics that influence the relationship of Enitan and Sheri against the backdrop of the trope of the absent mother. Victoria and Enitan's characters and experiences find parallels in the being and characteristics of Ala, the Earth Goddess and Obatala.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1169
2021-11-29T12:00:04Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1169
2021-11-29T12:00:04Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 5-11
Cameroon’s national literatures: An introduction
Nfah-Abbenyi, Juliana Makuchi; North Carolina State University, Raleigh, United States
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1169
Cameroon
Cameroon folktales
Cameroon literature
Cameroon's national literatures
postcolonial condition
en_US
Please refer to full text.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1170
2021-11-29T11:58:33Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1170
2021-11-29T11:58:33Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 12-29
Anglophone Cameroon literature: A conversation with Bole Butake
Nfah-Abbenyi, Juliana Makuchi; North Carolina State University, Raleigh, United States
Butake, Bole; Cameroon Christian University, Bali, Cameroon
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1170
Anglophone Cameroon literature
Bole Butake
en_US
Please refer to full text.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1171
2021-11-29T11:57:26Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1171
2021-11-29T11:57:26Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 30-50
Francophone Cameroon literature: A conversation with Ambroise Kom
Nfah-Abbenyi, Juliana Makuchi; North Carolina State University, Raleigh, United States
Kom, Ambroise; Université des Montagnes, Bagangté, Cameroon
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1171
Francophone Cameroon literature
Ambroise Kom
en_US
Please refer to full text.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1173
2021-11-29T12:03:12Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1173
2021-11-29T12:03:12Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 51-65
Writing in Cameroon, the first hundred years
Brière, Eloise A; University at Albany, Albany, United States
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1173
Cameroonian literature
Christianity
European languages
literature of opposition
en_US
German, French and British colonization, the advent of Christian missions, the fight for independence and the subsequent neocolonial régime, impacted greatly on the literature produced in Cameroon between 1889 and 1989. These factors determined where writers studied, the gender of those who did study, the European languages they used, the purposes for which they wrote, as well as where they were published and read. Witnesses to the absurdity and abuses of several colonial masters as well as a variety of approaches to Christianity, Cameroonians’ skepticism was evident in the oppositional stance that writers took in their fictional works. Early writers’ attention to the status of women anticipated some of the themes women writers would later use to denounce the impact of tradition, patriarchy and poverty on the lives of women. Later fiction revealed the post-independence restrictions on Cameroon’s progress towards freedom. In the process, Cameroonian writers made the French language theirs, adapting it to reflect the world they wrote about.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1174
2021-11-29T12:07:07Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1174
2021-11-29T12:07:07Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 66-85
La ‘mutilation anthropologique’ et le réalignement de la littérature camerounaise Cilas Kemedjio
Kemedjio, Cilas; University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1174
Cameroonian literature
Francophone literature
national literary tradition
en_US
I argue in this article that the postcolonial existential wound, otherwise referred to by Eboussi Boulaga as the anthropological mutilation, represents the intertextual nexus that bridges the generational gap in Francophone Cameroonian literature. The tragic malaise, rooted in absurdity and the dire state of the postcolonial condition, echoes anxieties expressed by earlier generations of Cameroonian writers in the 1950s about engaged literature. The article is therefore an exercise in detecting commonalities and discontinuities that weave a shared national literary tradition. Among the commonalities, the presence of jazz, the writing of the anticolonial struggle stand out while innovations are to be found in the epidemic manifestation of madness and the disintegrationof the basic social fabric visible in the form of incest.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1175
2021-11-29T12:28:18Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1175
2021-11-29T12:28:18Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 86-108
‘Anthropological mutilation’ and the reordering of Cameroonian literature
Kemedjio, Cilas; University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1175
Cameroonian literature
Francophone literature
national literary tradition
en_US
I argue in this article that the postcolonial existential wound, otherwise referred to by Eboussi Boulaga as the anthropological mutilation, represents the intertextual nexus that bridges the generational gap in Francophone Cameroonian literature. The tragic malaise, rooted in absurdity and the dire state of the postcolonial condition, echoes anxieties expressed by earlier generations of Cameroonian writers in the 1950s about engaged literature. The article is therefore an exercise in detecting commonalities and discontinuities that weave a shared national literary tradition. Among the commonalities, the presence of jazz, the writing of the anticolonial struggle stand out while innovations are to be found in the epidemic manifestation of madness and the disintegration of the basic social fabric visible in the form of incest.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1176
2021-11-29T12:45:34Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1176
2021-11-29T12:45:34Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 109-127
Anglophone Cameroon literature 1959–90: A brief overview
Ashuntantang, Joyce; University of Hartford, Hartford, United States
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1176
Anglophone Cameroon literature
book history
literary history
postcolonialism
en_US
This article examines modern Anglophone Cameroon literature from 1959 to 1990. The article argues that like most literature emanating from the continent a proper understanding of Anglophone Cameroon literature must be predicated on an analysis of its specific socio-historical determinants. A careful analysis of the corpus of Anglophone Cameroon literature from its inception to the 1990s reveals two broad phases. The first phase covers the period from 1959 to about 1984. In the Republic of Cameroon, this period begins shortly before ‘the end’ of colonialism to the rise of Paul Biya as the second president of Cameroon. The writers during this period like their counterparts elsewhere in Africa, critique the ‘othering’ of formerly colonized people in texts written by the colonizers. To counteract this marginalization, and as a vital part of the process of decolonization, these texts seek to give voice to the ‘subaltern’ in order to expose the misrepresentation and ‘negativization’ so rampant in colonial writings. The second phase of Anglophone Cameroon literature started in the mid-eighties and reached its apex in the 1990s. The literature of this period is an imaginative response to the political, social, and economic climate of this time. The article concludes that the 1980s and 1990s were pivotal decades for Anglophone Cameroon literature. The lack of publishing opportunities abroad and at home led authors to be very industrious and ingenuous. They tailored their literary style and genre to the taste of their home audience. The result was an engaging literature that responded directly to the political, social and economic climate of the time
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1177
2021-11-29T12:48:22Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1177
2021-11-29T12:48:22Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 128-137
Framing homosexual identities in Cameroonian literature
Ekotto, Frieda; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1177
Cameroon
collective imaginary
homosexual identities
LGBT activism
en_US
What language exists to describe the lives of women and sexual minorities who live in Cameroon? In this paper, I demonstrate how a selection of contemporary works of fiction use their narratives to create a space and language for the experiences of LGBT individuals within the cultural imaginary of Sub-Saharan Africa. Texts such as my own Jeune fille de Bona Mbella (2010), Max Lobe’s 39 Rue de Berne (2013) and Chimamanda Adichie’s “Jumping Monkey Hill” describe the personal lives of both women and sexual minorities, and show how their experiences are intertwined with socio-political realities. I give close attention to the stories’ different possible meanings, and place them in their socio-historical contexts in order to make an important intervention into the literary history of Cameroon: LGBT work must be included in our discussions of contemporary Cameroonian cultural production. It is part of our modernity.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1178
2021-11-29T12:51:20Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1178
2021-11-29T12:51:20Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 138-148
‘A crushing curse’: Widowhood in contemporary Anglophone Cameroon literature
Ngongkum, Eunice; University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1178
Cameroon literature
discrimination and stigma
widowhood
womanist theory
en_US
Moving from the premise that widows have been at the margins of literary discourse in Cameroon, this paper examines widowhood in contemporary Anglophone Cameroon literature using John Nkemngong Nkengasong’s The Widow’s Might (2006) and Alobwed’Epie’s Patching the Broken Dream (2012) as the springboard for its discussion. It argues that the factors that influence the lives of widows, especially, the options available to them and the multiplicity of interests touching on their behavior are grounded in socio-cultural parameters that shape communal consciousness. The paper equally aims at showing how these widows attempt to or actually construct new worlds for themselves by resisting such dominant cultural scripts. The paper locates its discourse within the framework of womanist ideology as propounded by Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi and Mary Modupe Kalawole.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1179
2021-11-29T13:26:49Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1179
2021-11-29T13:26:49Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 149-159
Community theatre as instrument for community sensitisation and mobilisation
Inyang, Ekpe; World Wide Fund for Nature, Cameroon
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1179
African traditional system
community theatre
environmental protection
sustainable economic development
en_US
Environmental protection, sustainable economic development and good governance are important issues of the century, and theatre can play an important role in addressing them. This paper contends that community theatre is likely to offer a sustainable alternative approach towards addressing these and other current myriad issues confronting the African continent. Recognising that rural communities are proactive agents of change, their exclusion from the design, development and implementation of community theatre activities, coupled with the difficulties in sourcing and securing funding for the promotion of conventional theatre activities, are only a few of the problems likely to be encountered. The paper highlights some of the potential implementation constraints and proposes strategies that could be deployed to effectively develop and establish community theatre as part of the African traditional system with a view to influencing change at all levels of the community in particular and the nation at large.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1180
2021-11-29T13:30:10Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1180
2021-11-29T13:30:10Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 160-178
Oral history, collective memory and socio-political criticism: A study of popular culture in Cameroon
Tangem, Donatus Fai; University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1180
Cameroonian popular culture
collective memory
oral literature
sociopolitical criticism
en_US
The growing popularity of contemporary Cameroonian popular cultural production is a significant indication of the value attached to the medium as well as the appreciation of the opportunity offered by the Biya regime. As opposed to the Ahidjo era, Cameroonian popular cultural products today are preoccupied with the daily concerns of the society at large and the masses in particular who have appropriated the art, with its evolving thematic and stylistic focus, thereby making it suitable as a veritable avenue for the representation of voices. Also considered as new forms of oral literature, pop culture owes invaluable contribution to public social discourse. There is no denying therefore that the present form of popular culture is a hybrid of folk or traditional art customized in step with the exigencies of contemporary Cameroonian society. This paper articulates the relationship between historico-social reality and popular culture showing how Cameroonian popular cultural musicians use history and social realities as raw material for the configuration of creative ideology. It further demonstrates that without forfeiting artistic grandeur, popular culture acts as a reservoir of memory, collective experience and sociopolitical criticism.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1181
2021-11-29T13:45:31Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1181
2021-11-29T13:45:31Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 179-192
Towards a poetics of decolonization: Mongo Beti’s The Poor Christ of Bomba
Tita, Charles; University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, United States
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1181
Discourse of resistance
Mongo Beti
national consciousness
slave narratives
en_US
The Poor Christ of Bomba (1956), Mongo Beti’s major novel, depicts the effects of French colonial infringement on the Cameroon landscape and consciousness. The novel charts the story of Father Superior Drumont, a Catholic priest assigned to the rainforest region of Cameroon around the 1930s. His professed task is to convert the indigenes of a six-tribe region to Catholicism. Despite Father Drumont’s seeming piety, he is not what he seems. Governed by the French colonial ideology of assimilation, he is bent on forcing his Christian converts to forsake their African traditions and cultural ways as a condition for Christianity. The sixa, a church establishment aimed at grooming young female converts in preparation for Christian marriage, is Father Drumont’s signature project during his twenty-year tenure at the Bomba Mission. In practice, however, the sixa is a complete mockery of Catholicism and a subversion of African traditional marriages. Father Drumont’s increasingly rebellious converts come into a full awareness of his complicity with French colonial administrators like Vidal. Unable to re-establish a strong foothold in a resistant parish, a disillusioned Father Drumont returns to France. The novel depicts an awakening of a growing “national” consciousness similar to the Harlem Renaissance that occurred in the United States in the early twentieth century. Just as slave narratives exposed the brutality of slavery as a means to promote abolition, this essay explores The Poor Christ of Bomba as a fictional slave narrative that exposes French imperialism by constructing a discourse of resistance that is bound to serve as a path to decolonization.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1182
2021-11-29T13:51:47Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1182
2021-11-29T13:51:47Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 193-204
‘Les lendemains de révolution avortée’: Natalie Etoke's bipolarr narratives of doomed national romance
Toivanen, Anna-Leena; University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1182
Anticolonial romance narrative
bipolar narratives
Nathalie Etoke
postcolonial condition
en_US
Nathalie Etoke’s novels Un amour sans papiers (1999) and Je vois du soleil dans tes yeux (2008) deal with the hardships of the African postcolonial condition in the global era through the trope of doomed romance. In these novels, the plight of the postcolonial nation-state drives people to emigrate in a search for more viable prospects. While the mobility theme addressed in her novels is typical of third-generation African literatures in general, Etoke’s vision simultaneously struggles against the postnationalist currents informing this literary paradigm. Indeed, Etoke’s novels are quite loud and didactic in their articulations of political commitment towards the nation and the continent. Etoke holds on to the anticolonial romance narrative, but at the same time cannot ignore its inevitable failures in the present. This leads to a tension that marks her work by giving it a bipolar character, one that manifests itself in the constant oscillation between utopianism and disillusionment. The bipolar quality of the texts betrays a discomfort that the narratives’ promotion of an anticolonial struggle for nationhood and decolonisation generate in a postcolonial era that keeps witnessing the failures of these romantic discourses to realise themselves. A close reading of the novels reveals that this discomfort finds its articulation in the narrative fabric of the texts.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1183
2022-08-03T07:25:36Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1183
2022-08-03T07:25:36Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 205-217
Les traductions néerlandaises des romans francophones camerounais
Lievois, Katrien; University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1183
fr_FR
In the corpus of African francophone novels that have been translated into Dutch, some 50 titles in all, the contribution of Cameroon authors is considerable. Between 1960 and 2009, nine novels by five Cameroon writers were published in Dutch. This essay to analyses these translations using the methodology of Descriptive Translation Studies (Toury) and the sociology of translation (Heilbron and Sapiro Bilan). It examines how the Cameroon novels have been integrated into the Dutch literary system, what their position is, and most of all, to what extent the paratexts of the translated novels reflect this position. The detailed analysis of the reception of the Cameroon novels within the Dutch literary system reveals that there is a marked evolution in the way in which the publications have been selected and presented to the public. First, the classics of (post)colonial literature were translated, novels dealing with the (difficult) relations between the black colonised person and the white coloniser. At a later stage, the female perspective on contemporary challenges facing Africa becomes the sole focus of the novels in the corpus. What is less straightforward to define clearly, is the place of Dutch within the larger translation trends reflecting the international visibility of the novels. All the same, it seems safe to say that English, the most dominant global language, has not played a significant role in determining the translation history of any of the novels or authors under consideration. None of the novels in the corpus was first translated into English. In fact, the languages with a central position (Heilbron and Sapiro), German and Russian before 1989, appear to have been more influential. Three of the five authors were first published in a central language: Oyono and Beyala were translated into German, whereas Beti was translated into Russian. By contrast, two authors were first translated into a (semi-)peripheral language: Werewere into Dutch and Miano into Spanish. What appears to be important for the Dutch translations is that certain agents and promotors of translation played a crucial role in this. From that perspective, Magrit de Sablonière, who translated the first two African francophone novels, certainly merits special attention, as do two book collections devoted to europhone African literature, De Derde Spreker-Serie and Afrikaanse Bibliotheek, as well as the people behind them, Sjef Theunis and Jan Kees van der Werk.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1184
2021-11-29T13:58:46Z
tvl:OBT
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1184
2021-11-29T13:58:46Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 217-218
Tienie du Plessis: Maker van boeke
Obituary
Willemse, Hein; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1184
Tienie du Plessis
obituaries
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1185
2021-11-29T14:02:41Z
tvl:REVART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1185
2021-11-29T14:02:41Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 222-242
Diskursiewe patrone in Brandwaterkom van Alexander Strachan
Review Article
Van Coller, H.P.; North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1185
Afrikaans novels
Anglo-Boer War
postmodernist writing
treachery
en_US
The recently published and prizewinning novel Brandwaterkom is vintage Strachan with an intricate structure, imbedded stories and a whole network of allusions. Typical of postmodernist writing, the relationship between fact and fiction, historiography and the novel is problematized. The primary narrator is a Hermes-figure who constantly reflects upon the narrative in metafictional fashion, questioning and even belittling his own omniscience and omnipotence as narrator. The main story centres on Fanie Vilonel, a traitor during the Boer War, and the motif of treachery is central in the story, discourse and narration.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1186
2021-11-29T14:04:48Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1186
2021-11-29T14:04:48Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 243-244
Samsa-masjien (Willem Anker)
Book review
Coetser, Johan; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1186
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Willem Anker
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1187
2021-11-29T14:07:19Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1187
2021-11-29T14:07:19Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 245-248
Stukke teater (Pieter-Dirk Uys)
Book review
Van Jaarsveld, Anthea; University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1187
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Pieter-Drik Uys
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1188
2021-11-29T14:09:03Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1188
2021-11-29T14:09:03Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 248-249
Skadu oor die sonwyser (Kobus Lombard)
Book review
Roux, Alwyn; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1188
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Kobus Lombard
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1189
2021-11-29T14:11:25Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1189
2021-11-29T14:11:25Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 250-253
Voor-bode (Cas Vos)
Book review
van Schalkwyk, Phil; North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1189
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Cas Vos
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1190
2021-11-29T14:13:00Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1190
2021-11-29T14:13:00Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 253-255
Wonderboom (Lien Botha)
Book review
Fourie, Reinhardt; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1190
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Lien Botha
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1191
2021-11-29T14:37:39Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1191
2021-11-29T14:37:39Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 256-258
Komplot (André Krüger)
Book review
Anker, Johan; Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1191
Afrikaanse letterkunde
André Krüger
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1193
2021-11-29T14:39:17Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1193
2021-11-29T14:39:17Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 258-260
Kamee (Roela Hattingh)
Book review
Nel, Adele; North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1193
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Afrikaanse kortverhale
Roela Hattingh
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1194
2021-11-29T14:41:11Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1194
2021-11-29T14:41:11Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 261-262
Die potlooddief se bruid en ander stories (Keina Swart)
Book review
Botha, Frederick J.; North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1194
Keina Swart
rubrieke
essays
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1195
2021-11-29T14:42:53Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1195
2021-11-29T14:42:53Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 263-264
Nuwe Stories 3 (Suzette Kotzé-Myburgh en Leti Kleyn, samest.)
Book review
Barendse, Joan-Mari; Stellenbosch University, Stellenboch, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1195
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Afrikaanse kortverhale
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1196
2021-11-29T14:44:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1196
2021-11-29T14:44:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 265-267
Donker spoor (Martin Steyn)
Book review
Hamman, Nadine; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1196
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Martin Steyn
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1197
2021-11-29T14:46:28Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1197
2021-11-29T14:46:28Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 268-270
Soos familie. Stedelike huiswerkers in Suid-Afrikaanse tekste (Ena Jansen)
Book review
van Niekerk, Jacomien; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1197
South African literatures
Ena Jansen
domestic workers
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1198
2021-11-29T14:50:59Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1198
2021-11-29T14:50:59Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 271-272
Afrikaansmetodiek deur ’n nuwe bril (Donovan Lawrence et al.)
Book review
Adendorff, Elbie; Stellenbosch University, Stellenboch, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1198
Afrikaansmetodiek
Afrikaanse onderrig
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1199
2021-11-29T14:53:02Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1199
2021-11-29T14:53:02Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 273-275
Eugene de Kock: Sluipmoordenaar van die staat (Anemari Jansen)
Book review
Villet, Charles; Monash University, Johannesburg, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1199
Anemari Janse
biografie
Eugene de Kock
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1200
2021-11-29T14:55:38Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1200
2021-11-29T14:55:38Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 275-276
The Shadow of the Hummingbird (Athol Fugard)
Book review
Krüger, Lida; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1200
South African literature
South African play
Athol Fugard
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1201
2021-11-29T14:58:37Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1201
2021-11-29T14:58:37Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 1 (2016); 277-279
Breyten Breytenbach, A Monologue in Two Voices (Sandra Saayman)
Book review
Carolin, Andy; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-04-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1201
Breyten Breytenbach
Sandra Saayman
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1229
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1229
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 54 No. 2 (2017); 61-73
Urban orature and resistance: The case of Donny Elwood
Ngongkum, Eunice; University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon
2017-09-04
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1229
Cameroon
Donny Elwood
music
post-independence space
resistance aesthetics
urban orature
en_US
From their very origins, contemporary African artistic creations have been works of resistance. Born from the struggle against colonialism, these works continued in this trajectory when independence failed to deliver on the aspiration of the masses. Today's artists follow in the footsteps of their predecessors; resisting all forms of social injustice, economic inequality and political oppression that bedevil the post-independence arena. Using resistance aesthetics as critical tool of analysis, this paper seeks to examine the concept of resistance in the music of Donny Elwood. It aims at showing that urban orature, to which category Elwood's music belongs, is one of those sites in the postcolonial context where the struggle for liberation from all forms of oppression is continuously waged. The paper argues that, with its emphasis on sense and rhythm, and not dance, Elwood's music effectively communicates the artist's protest against socio-political contradictions in the postcolonial space while sensitizing the masses on the need for change. The discursive perspectives in his art reside in the interface between social interactions in the urban milieu and urban orature (witnessed in the blend of musical varieties, instruments and message). These effectively register his social commitment as an urban artist.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1274
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1274
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 54 No. 2 (2017); 122-135
Individualism and memory: Robert Frost and Tanure Ojaide
Orhero, Mathias Iroro; University of Uyo
2017-09-04
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1274
existentialism
individualism
Robert Frost
Tanure Ojaide
en_US
This article examines individualism and memory in Robert Frost's A boy's will (1913) and Tanure Ojaide's The beauty I have seen (2010). The paper adopts existentialism as a critical approach. Previous studies on these poets, especially Ojaide, have neglected the individualistic nature of their poetry and stereotyped the poets. This article, thus, brings a new approach to the critical debates and scholarship on these poets. The aim of the article is to show the individualistic and existentialist nature of the poetry of Frost and Ojaide. In the analysis, individualism is examined at the level of form and content; starting with the use of the lyric form and poet-persona inclusion in the poems to the thematisation of gloom and the importance of memory, among others. The paper shows that, truly, these poets are largely individualistic in outlook, and they have expressed existentialist philosophy in their poetry.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1314
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1314
2021-11-29T16:01:38Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 54 No. 2 (2017); 74-85
'n Kulturele entomologiese ondersoek na insekte in Willem Anker se Siegfried
Barendse, Joan-Mari; Stellenbosch University
2017-09-04
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1314
Willem Anker
cultural entomology
Human-Animal Studies
Siegfried
en_US
In this paper I investigate the function of the references to insects in Willem Anker's debut novel Siegfried (2007) from a cultural entomological perspective. My focus is on the character Wilhelm (Willem) Smit. Smit, a failed writer, gains his entomological knowledge from the books on insects that was left behind by the previous tenant of the house he rents on the farm of Jan Landman and his mentally disabled son Siegfried Landman. His engagement with insects goes beyond a scientific interest: he compares people and human society to insects and has a habit of eating insects. It therefore falls in the realm of cultural entomology. Since cultural entomology deals with the relationship between humans and insects, I furthermore tie my discussion to the field of Human-Animal Studies (HAS) in which the intertwinement of human and non-human animals is explored. I analyse the following three aspects in Siegfried: Smit's entomophagy (the eating of insects), Smit's general musings on the connection between humans and insects, and the comparison of the homeless people of Cape Town to insects in the novel. I investigate whether the portrayal of insect and human interaction is indicative of a posthuman interweavement or not. My conclusion is that Smit's consumption of insects is an act of desperation rather than a liberating intertwinement of human and animal. The comparison of humans to insects mainly relates to the negative perception of insects in Western culture and does not point to a posthuman transformation of human and animal.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1325
2021-11-29T16:02:13Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1325
2021-11-29T16:02:13Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 55 No. 2 (2018); 134-145
Land of cemetery: funereal images in the poetry of Musa Idris Okpanachi
Umezurike, Uchechukwu Peter; University of Alberta, Canada
2018-08-30
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1325
democracy
funeral imagery
necropolitics
Nigerian literature
Musa Idris Okpanachi
West Africa
en_US
This paper focuses on Musa Idris Okpanachi’s poetry: The Eaters of the Living (2007), From the Margins of Paradise (2012), and Music of the Dead (2016). Nigeria, even after the military had relinquished power over a decade ago, is still faced with the issues that provoked the trope of protest in much of the poetry published between the mid-eighties and late nineties. Okpanachi’s poetry revisits these issues, demonstrating that democracy has been no less horrifying than military despotism. Dark, haunting images of blood, corpses, and cemetery recur in all three collections, depicting the regularity of death in the nation. I argue that Okpanachi employs funereal imagery to comment on the state’s morbid relationship with its citizenry. The Nigerian state is represented as murderous, so death fulfills its political objective. I conclude that although Okpanachi articulates a cynical commentary on postcolonial Nigeria, he marshals his creative energies to illuminate the political moment of his time.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1447
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:EDT
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1447
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 5-14
Re-animating the works of Thomas Mofolo by engaging with the original Sesotho texts
Editorial
Dunton, Chris; National University of Lesotho, Roma, Lesotho
Krog, Antjie; University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1447
Sesotho texts
Thomas Mofolo
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1462
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1462
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 15-38
Thomas Mofolo: The man, the writer and his contexts
Gill, Stephen; Morija Museum and Archives, Morija, Lesotho
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1462
Lesotho history
Mofolo family tree
Morija Sesuto Book Depot
Thomas Mofolo biography.
en_US
A substantial corpus of research has been published on Thomas Mofolo since the 1930s. Earlier portraits of Mofolo as a person leave much room for further amplification and improvement. The present research seeks to greatly enhance our understanding of Thomas Mofolo (1876-1948) by using a wealth of archival material, much of which is located at Morija Museum and Archives, and interviews with a variety of elderly informants, including Mofolo's last surviving daughter and other family members. As a result, Mofolo can now be seen more clearly as a person within the context of his large extended family, their antecedents in the wider region, his upbringing and educational formation, three successive marriages, professional life and business operations in a number of different contexts, involvement in political life, and the changing nature of his relationship with the church. The current article focuses on Mofolo's antecedents up until he began his literary career in 1905-6 at Morija, a subject that has received inadequate attention until now. By adding considerable texture to his early life and family history, as well as the historical and religious contexts and currents in which he was raised at Hermon, Qomoqomong and Morija, Thomas Mofolo emerges more clearly as an historical figure. For example, as a boy, we learn that Thomas imbibed a great deal from his father Abner Ramofolo Mofolo, a very hard-working and practically-oriented man, who was himself a gifted storyteller. Given the possibility of pursuing higher studies through the Protestant PEMS Mission, Thomas grabbed this opportunity and came to Morija at a particularly fruitful time during the 1890s, a time of ferment and great expectations. Mofolo, as part of an emerging cadre of "progressive ones" (bahlalefi or matsoelopele), developed his linguistic skills and eloquence to the point where, with the support of colleagues, he could dare to attempt something new, a creative synthesis of various forms of storytelling, indigenous and exogenous, in written Sesotho. His literary output has proved to be of enduring significance, and in the process he became, perhaps inadvertently, the father of the African novel.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1463
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1463
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 39-47
The Mofolo effect and the substance of Lesotho literature in English
Shava, Piniel Viriri; National University of Lesotho, Roma, Lesotho
Kolobe, Lesole; Lesotho College of Education, Maseru, Lesotho
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1463
Lesotho literature
literary history
Thomas Mofolo
en_US
This article interrogates a number of facets of Lesotho literature in English and Thomas Mofolo's role in it. We are deliberately focusing on literature written in English and not in Sesotho, as the latter has been covered substantially by others (see Swanepoel; Ntuli and Swanepoel), and we find it necessary to stake claims from Lesotho on the English literary map of southern Africa. Historically, the emergence and evolution of literature in Lesotho has been closely linked to the evangelical mission of the church and the dominance of Sesotho as a sole linguistic vehicle for communication, catechistic instruction and creative imagination. This scenario has meant that, for years, literature written in the vernacular - Sesotho - has tended to take pride of place at the expense of literary writing in English or in any other language. With time, however, translated works and original literature written in English have arisen and developed, though with almost imperceptible gradualism. This article sets out to describe, anatomise and judge (Hoffman 199) Lesotho literature in English since the days of Mofolo. The paper also attempts to define the identity of this literature.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1464
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1464
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 48-62
Towards silence: Thomas Mofolo, small literatures and poor translation
Ricard, Alain; University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1464
African literature in translation
missionary publishers
Shaka
Thomas Mofolo
en_US
In his 2008 Nobel lecture, J. M. G. Le Clézio salutes all the writers with whom he lived, and at times against whom he argued, especially African writers: Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ahmadou Kourouma, Mongo Beti, Alan Paton, with a concluding reference to Chaka by Thomas Mofolo. The other writers are well known, but Mofolo has always been largely ignored, or even misrepresented, by historians of literature. My first contact with the (excellent) French translation of Plaatje's Mhudi (1930) was a letter in which I was protesting against his inclusion of Mofolo in an anthology of Anglophone writers: as if the Sesotho text had no relevance; as if there was not a specific history of Sesotho textuality. It is my argument that for an innovative, original, but geographically marginal writer, such as Mofolo, superficial readings place a veil of ignorance on his books and relegate them to an obscure corner of Weltliteratur. My own reading has been influenced by the history of the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (PEMS) and by the works of Tim Couzens. Drawing on the principle of coherence and seeing a continuity between Mofolo's literary project and his politics, I postulate a unity to his works and I am curious about his entire oeuvre and of course the position of Chaka in it. I am also curious about the various interpretations, produced by a series of translations, from 1930 up to 2007 which provide a frame of interpretation
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1465
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1465
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 63-86
Land, botho and identity in Thomas Mofolo's novels
Chaka, Limakatso; National University of Lesotho, Roma, Lesotho
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1465
botho
nationhood
self-identification
Thomas Mofolo
en_US
Mofolo's novel Pitseng (1910) (Pitseng: The search for true love) is a conversion narrative which deals with the transition of society from tradition to modernity. The author utilises a double quest narrative and a love story to represent major challenges facing the Basotho nation of the colonial epoch. The protagonist Katse is an evangelist who brings literacy and Christianity to the Pitseng valley where his predecessors have failed because of their lack of compassion for rural society. Katse's success is based on his humanistic approach to the Christian message. He becomes a role model for two young Christians, Alfred Phakoe and Aria Sebaka, who marry through his influence and become members of the future elite of a nascent modern Lesotho. The intention of this article is to demonstrate the link between Lesotho's social history and the manner in which Mofolo represents the landscape, language, culture, religion and national history in his work to forge a positive image of a na- tion arguing for economic and political autonomy. Mofolo's writing relies heavily on history and various discourses of the 1880s and the early 1900s to create a historically meaningful text which brings to light the interconnectedness between the real and the fictive.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1466
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1466
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 87-97
‘… oi, oi! … you must go by the right path’: Mofolo’s Chaka revisited via the original text
Krog, Antjie; University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1466
African philosophy
Chaka
interconnectedness
Thomas Mofolo
translation
en_US
Thomas Mofolo never defended himself against accusations that his novel Chaka distorts historical facts to express anti-Nguni sentiments under the guise of Christianity. But in a way he foreshadowed the possibility of it, by including as part of his novel a sentence which has become one of his most analysed: “But since it is not our purpose to recount all the affairs of his [Chaka’s] life, we have chosen only one part which suits our present purpose”. Mofolo does not elaborate on what he means by “our present purpose”, but simply continues with the story. By focusing on the original Sesotho text, indigenous Zulu customs, African philosophy and the diversions from historical facts, this article explores other possibilities for what could have been Mofolo’s “present purpose”. My reading is that he tries to plumb what comprises ethical behaviour within a traditionally-valued, pre-Christian ethos, making Chaka arguably one of the earliest philosophical, ethical investigations via the form of the novel on the African continent.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1473
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1473
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 105-116
Translating extra-linguistic culture-bound concepts in Mofolo: a daunting challenge to literary translators
Sebotsa, Mosisili; National University of Lesotho, Roma, Lesotho
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1473
culture-bound extra-linguistic elements
functional equivalence
impasse of meaning
mistranslation
semantic range
translation by omission.
en_US
Translating extra-linguistic culture-bound concepts in Mofolo presents a daunting challenge to literary translators as such concepts require that the translator possess a substantial amount of knowledge and background of the Sesotho culture. The present study undertakes a comparative analysis of Thomas Mofolo’s Moeti oa Bochabela and its translations Traveller to the East (English) and L’homme qui marchait vers le soleil levant (French) to highlight problems encountered due to lack of understanding of culture-bound extra-linguistic elements (ECE). The article also aims to bring to light translation techniques employed and culture related factors that may hinder the translator from rendering the intended meaning with high accuracy. The semantic analysis of culture-bound extra-linguistic elements shows how readers of the English and French translation may not have a full grasp of the book due to lack of functional equivalence and the disparity in semantic range between Sesotho and the European languages. The impasse of meaning is evidenced throughout the book by the number of words that were either left untranslated or mistranslated as can be observed in the translation of the two poems addressed to Fekisi’s cows. The paper uses some of the untranslated and mistranslated elements to show that there is no such a thing as an absolute translation.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1474
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1474
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 117-127
Insights into translation and the original text: Thomas Mofolo's Chaka
Nakin, Moroesi R,; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
Kock, Inie J.; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1474
cultural specificity
non-equivalence
Thomas Mofolo
translation strategies
en_US
This paper aims to explore the strategies applied during the translation of chosen passages from the original Sesotho text of Chaka by Thomas Mofolo into English. Insights expressed here originate from participation in the translation workshops during the conference on “Translating Mofolo”. Different stages of the translation process are identified and discussed, while the main emphasis is placed on resolving instances of non-equivalence between the source text and the target text. Non-equivalence includes among other things, culture-specific words and expressions in the source language, grammatical considerations in both the source text and the target text, and the relationship between linguistic units in context. Culture specific words and expressions relate to idiomatic expressions and fixed combinations of words in the source and target texts. Grammatical considerations refer to the translation of Sesotho-specific moods and tenses, number, person, etc., into English, while the relationship between linguistic units is discussed with regard to cohesion, reference and other related cohesive devices in context.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1480
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1480
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 132-146
Thomas Mofolo’s sentence design in Chaka approached in translation
Swanepoel, Christiaan; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1480
literary translation
topography of the page
punctuation marks
source language (SL)
target language (TL)
en_US
Mofolo’s sentence design in Chaka is a challenge to the translator, not only because of the significant length of the sentences, but in particular for the extensive use of the semicolon, appearing within sentences of “paragraph-length”. This prompted the suggestion that it be referred to as the “semicolon phrase”. This article explores this stylistic feature, amongst others by responding to several compelling questions, ranging from how five translators of the work approached it in their respective languages, possible attitudes and influences, and likely intentions on the part of the author. With regard to the question of how the semicolon phrase should be approached in translation, it is argued that the topography of the page vests in the author who is licensed to shape the text as s/he wishes. Punctuation marks, however, appear to be more negotiable than narrative content, though the shape of the source text should be respected as far as possible. At the same time the target text needs to be approached in accordance with the conventions at work in the target language. The result is a challenging balancing act requiring considerable discretion.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1481
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1481
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 147-160
‘A reflection of a reflection’: Notes on representational and ethical possibilities in Thomas Mofolo’s Chaka
Schaffer, Alfred; Stellenbosch University, Stellenboch, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1481
adaptation
anachronism
ethics
metamodernism
poetry
Thomas Mofolo
translation
en_US
In January 2014, I published a Dutch poetry volume Mens Dier Ding (Man Animal Thing) in the Netherlands and Belgium. The book is partly based on research around the historical figure of Chaka, and especially Chaka’s fictional representation in three versions of Thomas Mofolo’s Chaka, namely the English translation by F. H. Dutton, the later translation by Daniel P. Kunene, and the Afrikaans translation by Chris Swanepoel. In other words, Man Animal Thing is a work of poetic fiction based on (or “inspired by”) a work of fiction. This brings with it representational and ethical problems: what is used from which text, what is the tipping point between writing and merely copying, for which type of reader in which context and culture is the new work of fiction meant, and what are the consequences of portraying and imaging a fictional and historical figure? This article tries to highlight several aspects of the creative process of misreading, researching, writing, portraying and transforming in Mens Dier Ding. It explores how “translating” a work of fiction into another work of fiction is at the heart of the continuing conversation that is literature, and may even be a metaphor for postmodern, or better, metamodern literature, which is characterised by an oscillation between both modernism and postmodernism
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1486
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1486
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 161-174
The transculturation of Thomas Mofolo’s Chaka
Vassilatos, Alexia; University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1486
Chaka
Francophonie
Negritude
Thomas Mofolo
transculturation
Léopold Sédar Sengho
en_US
Often, literary cultures from Anglophone Africa and Francophone Africa are treated as separate intellectual spheres. In this paper, I seek to understand the dialogue between these cultures. Thomas Mofolo’s novel Chaka (1925), drawn from oral lore and written in Sotho by a Sotho writer, is about the life and times of the founder of the Zulu nation, King Chaka. I will show that Chaka is a transcultural text, which is at the source of a complex intellectual relationship between Southern Africa and Francophone Africa within the literature on Chaka. In particular, I am interested in the way in which an African writer from Lesotho could have shaped another African writer’s ideas about the Zulu King—Senegalese poet Léopold Sédar Senghor—which, in turn, triggered a series of Africanist interpretations and rewritings. Through these multiple texts the impact of Chaka on African literature and ideology has been immeasurable. I will discuss Thomas Mofolo’s novel contribution to Chaka’s mythical status in Francophone African literature and Africanist ideology, mainly by way of the Negritude movement. In my analysis I postulate that the complexity of Mofolo’s text and its transculturation stems from the novel’s many forms/(trans)form(ations).
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1487
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REVART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1487
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 175-185
Imaginary intersection: Thomas Mofolo, Gertrude Stein and W. E. B. Du Bois
Review Article
Lissard, Katt; Goddard College, Plainfield, United States
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1487
Thomas Mofolo
Gertrude Stein
W.E.B. Du Bois
en_US
Please refer to full text.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1488
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REVART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1488
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 128-131
Traveller to the east or towards the rising sun? The English and French translations of Moeti oa Bochabela
Review Article
Dunton, Chris; National University of Lesotho, Roma, Lesotho
Masiea, Lerato; National University of Lesotho, Roma, Lesotho
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1488
translations
Moeti oa Bochabela
en_US
Please refer to full text.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1490
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1490
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 181-185
Tribute: Adam Small (1936-2016)
Willemse, Hein; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1490
Adam Small
tribute
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1491
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:EDT
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1491
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 98-104
A case for sheer compulsive and imaginative depth
Editorial
Ndebele, Njabulo S.
Krog, Antjie; University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1491
Njabulo S. Ndebele
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1492
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1492
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 186-187
Huldeblyk: Adam Small (1936-2016)
Braaf, Peter
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1492
Adam Small
huldeblyk
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1493
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:Trib
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1493
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 188-190
Tribute: Zulfah Otto-Sallies: An open door; an open heart
Cloete, Nadine
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1493
Zulfah Otto-Sallies
tribute
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1494
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:EDT
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1494
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 240
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde @80
Editorial
Willemse, Hein; University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1494
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1548
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1548
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 55 No. 1 (2018); 41-53
Of dirt, disinfection and purgation: Discursive construction of state violence in selected contemporary Zimbabwean literature
Ncube, Gibson; Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch
2018-03-19
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1548
dirt
filth
disease
dissenting voices
state violence
power
nationalism
Zimbabwe
memory and belonging
discursive construction
Gukurahundi massacres
Operation Murambatsvina
Southern Africa
en_US
This paper examines post-independent Zimbabwean literary narratives which engage with how the ruling ZANU-PF government frames dissenting voices as constituting dirt, filth and undesirability. Making use of Achille Mbembe's postulations on the "vulgarity of power" and Kenneth W. Harrow's readings of the politics of dirt, the central thesis of this paper is that the troping of dirt and state sponsored violence are closely related to the themes of memory and belonging. Literary works by writers such as Chistopher Mlalazi, NoViolet Bulawayo and John Eppel become self-effacing speech acts that are involved in reimagining and revisioning our understanding of power dynamics and how this affects human and social experiences.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1552
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1552
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 55 No. 1 (2018); 110-121
Images of woman and the search for happiness in Cynthia Jele's Happiness is a four letter word
Makombe, Rodwell; University of the Free State
2018-01-26
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1552
African culture
sisterhood
male companionship
womanism
Southern Africa
en_US
Over the years, African ‘feminist’ scholars have expressed reservations about embracing feminism as an analytical framework for theorizing issues that affect African women. This is particularly because in many African societies, feminism has been perceived as a negative influence that seeks to tear the cultural fabric and value systems of African communities. Some scholars such as Clenora Hudson-Weems, Chikenje Ogunyemi, Tiamoyo Karenga and Chimbuko Tembo contend that feminism as developed by Western scholars is incapable of addressing context-specific concerns of African women. As a result, they developed womanism as an alternative framework for analysing the realities of women in African cultures. Womanism is premised on the view that African women need an Afrocentric theory that can adequately deal with their specific struggles. Drawing from ideas that have been developed by womanist scholars, this article critically interrogates the portrayal of women in Cynthia Jele’s Happiness is a four-letter word (2010), with particular focus on the choices that they make in love relationships, marriage and motherhood. My argument is that Jele’s text affirms the womanist view that African women exist within a specific cultural context that shapes their needs, aspirations and choices in a different way.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1571
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1571
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 55 No. 1 (2018); 81-89
La traversée de l’Atlantique ou la mort ? Une réflexion critique sur la notion d’échange
Mwepu, Patrick Kabeya; Rhodes University
2018-03-19
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1571
Julien Kilanga Musinde
Henri Lopes
the other
return to Africa
lost identity
West Africa
fr_FR
Crossing the Atlantic or dying? Critical reflexion on the concept of exchange
This paper investigates the validity of the concept of cultural exchange through a few African novels, comparing different perspectives of journeys. While some African writers attempt to depict their most immediate environment, making themselves appear as nationalist as possible, one can notice however that more and more other African writers choose to encapsulate their literary universe in changing geographic settings: Their writing depicts the mobility of characters aiming at reaching new frontiers. These new spaces, always to be discovered, provide African writers with a platform to depict subjectivities that cognitively enrich themselves on contact with newer and different world visions. However, the crossing into the other world (on the other bank of the river) seems not always to offer a space for mutual cultural exchange; it might be fatal and lead to identity assassination, a journey of death.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1582
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1582
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 55 No. 1 (2018); 28-40
Revisiting trauma and homo religiosus in selected texts by Mongo Beti and Véronique Tadjo
Muvuti, Shelton; University of Zimbabwe
2018-03-19
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1582
Homo Religiosus
trauma
religiosity
genocide
Mongo Beti
Véronique Tadjo
Southern Africa
en_US
This paper locates religion within the literary narratives of traumatogenic experiences such as war and genocide as depicted in the novels The Poor Christ of Bomba by Mongo Beti and Véronique Tadjo's The Shadows of Imana: Travels in the Heart of Rwanda. In spite of evident reference to the role played by religion in traumatic and traumatising encounters, it features simply as a footnote to the ethnic tensions that underpin these encounters. Drawing on the theoretical work of Kurtz (2014) and other scholars as well as casting a glance at anticolonial and postcolonial Francophone literatures, this paper argues that trauma in modern postcolonial Francophone literature is ubiquitous. It reveals itself in the post-independence contradictions and injustices as depicted by modern francophone authors and thinkers whose subject matter is largely dominated by such motifs as corruption, war, violence, insanity, rape, poverty, disillusionment, which all accommodate a direct challenge to religion. The absence of religiosity in trauma literature suggests a reversal of the socio-historical stereotype that frames Africans as highly religious, and whose opposition to religion is a result of enlightenment through education.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1583
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1583
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 55 No. 1 (2018); 134-148
Contemporary Zimbabwean popular music in the context of adversities
Tivenga, Doreen Rumbidzai; University of the Free State, Bloemfontein
2018-03-20
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1583
ghetto youth
resistance
Winky D
Zimbabwe urban grooves music
popular music
Southern Africa
en_US
Contemporary Zimbabwean popular and urban genres of music namely, urban grooves and its variant Zimdancehall emerged and continue to exist at a time Zimbabwe is grappling with socio-economic and political adversities. The music is part of crucial artistic forms and dissent, hence for the ordinary Zimbabweans, it plays a significant role, detailing their experiences and survival strategies and influencing their patterns of entertainment and daily cultural practises. This article which is informed by popular culture theorists such as Karin Barber (1987) and John Fiske (1989) makes a textual analysis of Winky D's (2015) songs "Disappear", "Copyrights" and "Survivor" to examine the power of the songs in exploring the survival strategies employed by ordinary Zimbabweans in dealing with their experiences. The paper examines how the music is a source of power that fosters a response resonating with a postcolonial urban youth cultural activism seeking to empower the ordinary Zimbabweans to autonomously transcend their adversities and take control of their destinies in a country where the ruling elite are failing to improve the nation's socio-economic conditions.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1584
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
tvl:ART
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1584
2021-11-29T16:01:57Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 55 No. 1 (2018); 70-80
Narrating the past: reflections on recent Black Afrikaans writing
van Wyk, Steward; University of the Western Cape, Bellville
2018-03-19
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1584
History
nostalgia
romance
tragedy
dystopia
Southern Africa
en_US
A return to the past has been a dominant feature of recent Afrikaans writing. This is evident in the many novels re-visiting the Anglo-Boer War or recounting incidents from the apartheid past. The approaches include the debunking of myths and a nostalgic longing for the good old days. Whether this is true of the small body of Black Afrikaans writing, given its ambivalent relationship to the canon, needs to be investigated. A number of texts that was published recently either had a clear autobiographical background or emanated from the desire and imperative to "tell our own stories from our communities". This paper explores the way that the past is narrated in a number of selected texts by i.a. Fatima Osman, Simon Bruinders, Ronelda Kamfer and Valda Jansen. In the case of the texts by the firstmentioned authors the narrative is about survival, determination and the triumph of the human spirit in the face of a dehumanising system like apartheid. In the latter texts one finds elements of dystopia and disillusionment with the past as an ydill. It also gives an unsentimental view of the state of mind and events playing out in communities in the present. The texts furthermore grapples with textual strategies to represent history and the inability at times to comprehend the past.
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1601
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1601
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 195-197
'n Vlag aan die tong. Gedenkbundel van die derde Swart Afrikaanse Skrywerssimposium (Hein Willemse en Steward van Wyk, reds.)
Book review
Viljoen, Louise; University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1601
Swart Afrikaanse Skrywerssimposium
swart Afrikaanse skrywers
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1603
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1603
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 198-200
Vlam in die sneeu. Die liefdesbriewe van André P. Brink en Ingrid Jonker (Francis Galloway, red.)
Book review
Fourie, Reinhardt; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1603
André P. Brink
Ingrid Jonker
liefdesbriewe
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1604
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1604
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 201-202
Seks & Drugs & Boeremusiek: Die memoires van 'n volksverraaier (Koos Kombuis)
Book review
van Zyl, Stefan; North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1604
outobiografie
Koos Kombuis
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1605
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1605
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 203-205
Mongrel: Essays (William Dicey)
Book review
Wylie, Dan; Rhodes University,Grahamstown, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1605
William Dicey
South African literature
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1606
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1606
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 206-207
Notes from the Lost Property Department (Bridget Pitt)
Book review
Pretorius, Antoinette; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1606
South African literature
invisible wounds
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1607
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1607
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 208-212
Ikarus (Deon Meyer)
Book review
van Heerden, Neil; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1607
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Deon Meyer
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1608
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1608
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 213-214
Goeie dood wat saggies byt (Ilse van Staden)
Book review
Barendse, Joan-Mari; University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1608
Afrikaanse roman
Ilse van Staden
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1609
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1609
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 215-216
Ester (Kerneels Breytenbach)
Book review
Pieterse, Henning; University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1609
Kerneels Breytenbach
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Afrikaanse roman
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1610
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1610
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 217-218
Split (Debbie Loots)
Book review
Botha, Frederick J.; University of North-West, Potchefstroom, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1610
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Debbie Loots
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1611
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1611
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 219-220
Toe Elvis ophou sing (Juanita Aggenbach)
Book review
Smith, Francois; University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1611
Afrikaanse letterkunde
alkoholverslawing
Juanita Aggenbach
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1612
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1612
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 221-223
Vlakwater (Ingrid Winterbach)
Book review
Human, Thys; University of North-West, Potchefstroom, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1612
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Ingrid Winterbach
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1613
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1613
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 224-225
Malhuis (Anel Heydenrych)
Book review
Koen, Dewald; University of Fort Hare, East Londen, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1613
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Anel Heydenrych
en_US
oai:journals.assaf.org.za:article/1614
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
tvl:REV
v2
https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1614
2023-02-10T13:18:56Z
Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
Vol. 53 No. 2 (2016); 226-227
Land van skedels (Nicola Hanekom)
Book review
Keuris, Marisa; University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
2016-09-01
url:https://letterkunde.africa/article/view/1614
Afrikaanse letterkunde
Nicola Hanekom
en_US
b068238e9640348f4cf2dcfd4e51fd1a