Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging - latest Issue
Volume 30 Number 1-2, Mar/Sep 2018
Redaksionele nota, deel 1
Authors: Thys Human and Wemar Strydom
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 5 –15 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Diskoers, eggo, herbesoek, stilus. Die afdelings en bydraes in hierdie twee volumes word saamgesnoer deur die konsep novum, wat in dié konteks verwys na ŉ stelselmatige bestekopname-as-herposisionering binne die digitale landskap. In die lig daarvan dat vaktydskrifte stelselmatig begin wegbeweeg van die tradisionele drukformaat, verwys novum na opwindend nuwe koerse wat ingeslaan kan word. Dit gee ook spesifiek erkenning aan die wyses waarop kennis in en deur sosiale media vloei: in e-zines, in die kortstondigheid van pop-up-literatuurgeleenthede, flitsklasse, blogs, risomatiese reposting – kortom, in ŉ era waarin literêre betrokkenheid toenemend as ŉ reeks kortstondige, digitale momente beleef word.
Redakteurs nota, deel 2
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 16 –18 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Stilet word gewy aan die wetenskaplike studie van die Afrikaanse literatuur en Afrikaanse literêre sisteem in die vorm van navorsingsartikels, literêre analises, resensies, pennestukke, kreatiewe werk, en kommentaar oor aktuele literêre vraagstukke. Verder kom Afrikaanse verhalende tekstualiteit in film, nuwe media en die digitale sfeer algaande meer aan bod, asook die velerlei wyses waarop literêre sisteme, literature, benaderingswyses en teoretiese velde in gesprek tree met die (studie van die) Afrikaanse letterkunde. Stilet is geakkrediteer deur die DHOO (DHET).
Om die “kuifhare van kunstenaars te tart” : verse oor kunstenaars en kunswerke in Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob (2019)
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 30 –33 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Die ongewone spreektalige titel van Loftus Marais se derde digbundel Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob bied die sleutel vir die blik op mans, manlikheid en manlike identiteit(e) deur naamgewing (en variante van name) wat deurgaans aangetref word. Kenmerkend van Marais is sy skerp visuele ingesteldheid sodat ŉ “beraming van ŉ manlikheid” (36), soos in die kunsgalery, ook deurlopend aangetref word. In die bundel is daar enkele gedigte wat eksplisiet kommentaar lewer op ŉ kunswerk en/of ŉ bepaalde kunstenaar, en selfs gedigte wat die indruk skep van ŉ visuele woordportret. Dit is ŉ satiriese blik wat soms ontluister, maar ook toegevoegde waarde bied. Gedigte wat spesifiek as ŉ wisselwerking tussen poësie en visuele kunswerk aanmeld, is tekenend van die tematiek van die digbundel en Marais se digkuns. Dit is hierdie aspek van die digbundel wat ek vervolgens ondersoek.
Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob (en Hennie?) : Loftus Marais en queerveroudering
Author Stefan van Zyl
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 34 –36 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Loftus Marais se derde digbundel kan beskou word as ŉ saamkomplek van verskeie randfigure, maar dit is veral die ouerwordende queer man wat die belangstelling prikkel. Marais se hantering van (queer-)veroudering en intergenerasionaliteit in die digbundel herinner aan die manier waarop ŉ ander belangrike eksponent van die queertematiek in die Afrikaanse letterkunde, by name Hennie Aucamp, dieselfde onderwerpe in sy poësie hanteer het. Die bestudering van queerveroudering is nie noodwendig ŉ nuwe konsep nie, maar die ontwikkeling van die queergerontologie as interdissiplinêre teorie is wel. Jesus Ramirez-Valles (2016:21) beskryf die oogmerk van queergerontologie in in sy baanbrekerswerk, Queer aging: the Gayby Boomers and a new frontier in queer gerontology,(2016), soos volg:
The goal is to unmask the ways in which heterosexual dominant norms define what it means to be an older person – from the decline of our bodies to retirement, support communities, and living conditions. It implies making visible same-sex desire, love, and relationships in old age, and documenting the manner in which older queer people live.
Jan X, Geldpiet, Koos, Jakob, die portapool, ŉ motorongeluk, witwees en die geur van vleis en blare : die saamgestelde wit subjek gelees deur ŉ assemblageteorielens
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 37 –43 (Mar/Sep 2018)
In Loftus Marais se bundel Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob word die alledaagse op ŉ komiese, sardoniese dog ernstige wyse verwoord – ŉ verskeidenheid van karakters, objekte en emosies skep ŉ netwerk van subjektiwiteite, ruimtes, situasies, affekte en herinneringe. Die bundel maak hierdeur ŉ interessante lees van witwees-ervaringe in SA in 2019 moontlik: Gelees deur ŉ affektiewe witwees- en assemblageteorielens, kan ŉ merkwaardige vervlegging van ras en identiteit soos dit gevorm word in alledaagse ervaringe waargeneem word.
“my stad kan wel vertrou word” : stad as ruimte in Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob (2019)
Author Rickus Ströh
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 44 –47 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Die stad as ruimte is ŉ tema wat sterk in Loftus Marais se bekroonde debuutbundel Staan in die algemeen nader aan vensters (2008) en die daaropvolgende bundel Kry my by die gewone plek aguur (2012) met die veelseggende subtitel, Kaapstadse gedigte, voorkom. In Marais se derde bundel Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob (2019) word die tematiese verkenning van die stad as ruimte voortgesit. Die vernaamste verskil egter is dat die stad wat die meeste aandag in die nuwe bundel geniet, nie Kaapstad is nie, maar Johannesburg. Eksplisiete verwysings na merkers soos Malibongwe-weg (“Botsing”, 17), Parkhurst (“Kostumering”, 56) en die “Virgin Active-stoomkamer, Randburg” (52) bevestig die Johannesburgse ruimte vir die leser, alhoewel Kaapstad ook sy verskyning maak met verwysings na die Suidoosterwind (“Jantjie Skuinsdwars”, 11) en die Virgin Active Tyger Valley (“Heet”, 51). Net soos in die vorige bundels word die stedelike ruimte ook hier ingespan vir meer as net geografiese plek.
Vele fasette van manlike identiteit in Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob (2019)
Author Dewald Koen
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 48 –50 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Watter geheimenisse lê opgesluit in ŉ eienaam? Dit is met laasgenoemde vraag in gedagte dat ek Loftus Marais se derde bundel met die “onpoëtiese titel” (soos verskeie resensente reeds daarna verwys het) begin lees. Alhoewel die titel “onpoëties” daarna uitsien vergeleke met sy debuutbundel Staan in die algemeen nader aan vensters (2008) asook Kry my by die gewone plek aguur (2012), dra die titel bestaande uit Afrikaanse manlike eiename op konkrete wyse by tot een van die kerntemas van die bundel naamlik manlike identiteit. Wie is hierdie Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob na wie die spreker in die titel verwys?
Author David Barnard
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 51 –53 (Mar/Sep 2018)
We’ve been told that a text is sometimes more than just an assemblage of ideas, feelings or sentiments. Occasionally, a text becomes an assistant and colleague, an instructor and guide, a friend or companion – the text comes to resonate as Jan, Piet, Koos and Jakob. The poems resonate with layers of Afrikaner whiteness: the obsessions over sport, farming references, steam rooms at the gym, Afrikaner manners, the strictures of social ‘etiquette’. These poems are built around sentiments encapsulated in a white skin; exemplify ‘universalising’ views of contemporary South Africa living that often correspond too closely with the worldviews of a white, Afrikaner male. The collection itself has an eggshell-dirty-white paper skin. There is no telling where my own (white) skin ends and the book cover begins.
“[E]k het ŉ boek van name”: (on)sistematiese benoeming in Loftus Marais se Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob (2019). ŉ Resensie
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 54 –57 (Mar/Sep 2018)
“ek vra die vreemdheid wat’s sy naam” (p. 9). So eindig die aanvangsgedig “Jakob Engelstoeier” in Loftus Marais se nuutste bundel, Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob (2019). Soos die bundeltitel aantoon, is name, naamgewing en benoeming van die belangrikste tematiese en strukturele merkers. Alhoewel dié vier name ŉ baie spesifieke kulturele, talige en genderkonteks aktiveer, delf die gedigte veel dieper as mensename, en selfs eiename. Die bundel voer ŉ wye maar subtiele gesprek rondom die aksie om ŉ spesifieke woord aan iets toe te ken, om met “die liggaam se vermetelste voortbrengsel, stem” (p. 9) die “veelheid vreemdheid” (p. 47) te probeer ver-taal. Dit is tegelykertyd ŉ spel met die vermoë van taal om op kreatiewe en metaforiese maniere betekenis aan woorde te heg, en die oneindige afstande wat bestaan tussen tekens en betekenis. Die bundel ondersoek sodoende die betroubaarheid én onbetroubaarheid van taal om menslike ervaring oor te dra.
Honest mundanity in Loftus Marais’s Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob (2019)
Author Kegan Gaspar
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 58 –59 (Mar/Sep 2018)
“wees bewus van al die name” reads the opening line from “Name” in Loftus Marais’s Jan, Piet, Koos en Jakob (2019). The line captures the primary occupation of Marais’s collection: names, naming and, through this focus on names, identity. Specifically, Marais is preoccupied with Afrikaans-Afrikaner-affective names in this work; each poem provides Marais’s reflections on Afrikaner identity in South Africa’s current context. Drawn together, the poems create an intricate mosaic of what it means to white, male, queer and Afrikaans in contemporary South Africa.
Eurochronologie in Afrikaanse literatuurgeskiedenis: voorstel vir ŉ alternatiewe bestudering van tekste aan die hand van “fiksiewêrelde van tekste”
Author Shawna-Leze Meiring
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 60 –73 (Mar/Sep 2018)
In this article the way in which literary historiographies have often been based on a model of Eurochronology will be discussed. Eurochronology, as the term is used by Eric Hayot (2012:1-2) as well as in this article, refers to the way in which European models of literary histories often hold a central place in world literature. In other words, the way in which a literature “should” be ordered and studied, has been determined by European literatures. This approach has been carried over to “smaller” literatures, like the Afrikaans literature. The following of such a model involves a few implications that cause difficulties for studying the Afrikaans literature in the larger South African context. The first implication is that a literary critic often interprets literary texts against a certain context or literary period, which does not necessarily allow for other interpretations. The second implication is that literary texts from different literatures cannot truly be compared with each other on equal grounds. In this article one possible alternative is discussed for the model of Eurochronology by analysing the “fictional worlds of texts”.
Om deur die grense van genre te lees : ŉ Besinning oor die Gotiek en ŉ (Suid-)Afrikaanse gruwelgenre
Author Mariëtte van Graan
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 74 –88 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Reading approaches tend to be genre-specific, guided by reviews of new publications, marketing campaigns and the eventual teaching-framing of these texts up to university level. However, reviews of these texts often make it clear that some novels can be categorized into several genres. The teaching of these novels through the lens of specific genre-theory predetermines both the students’ and lecturers’ interpretation of that novel. This article explores the usefulness of – and need for – such genre categorisation predeterminism, using the Gothic genre and its multiple derivatives in literature as an example. Building on this, the article speculates about the existence of an Afrikaans horror genre – proposing that a number of texts that have been, variously, identified and described through surface reading as classified into other genres (magic realism, postcolonial Gothic, crime novel and detective novel) could more productively be categorised as Afrikaans (Gothic) horror. By implication, this would imply that an Afrikaans (Gothic) horror genre can be defined and described.
Die groteske liggaam in die uitbeelding van geweld in Blood Meridian deur Cormac McCarthy en Buys deur Willem Anker
Author Rudolf Stehle
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 89 –103 (Mar/Sep 2018)
In this article a comparative analysis of Willem Anker’s Buys: ŉ Grensroman (2014) and Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West (1985) is undertaken. The focus is specifically on the two writers’ utilisation of images of the grotesque body in the graphic representation of violence in the two novels. Terry Eagleton’s interpretation of Fredric Jameson’s view, developed from Kenneth Burke's insights, of the literary text as a strategic reaction to a given situation, or context, is the broad framework within which the novels are analysed. Hence the novels are approached with due consideration to the violent contexts within which they were penned, namely America in the aftermath of the Vietnam War in Blood Meridian’s case and the violence-ridden postcolonial South Africa in Buys’s case. The theory of the carnivalesque as developed by Mikhail Bakhtin in Rabelais and His World (1984) serves as general theoretical point of departure, while Steven Frye’s article “Blood Meridian and the Poetics of Violence” (2013) serves more specifically as theoretical approach for the investigation into the role of images of the grotesque body in the graphic representation of violence in the two novels. Using Frye’s interpretation of the carnivalesque as an aesthetic strategy with a moral purpose as a point of departure, several examples from both novels are analysed to show how images of the grotesque body in graphic representations of violence in Blood Meridian and Buys brings about the aestheticisation of that violence. The article concludes that the utilisation of carnivalesque imagery in scenes of graphic violence in Blood Meridian and Buys is an aesthetic strategy whereby readers experience those historic atrocities as if they witnessed it themselves. This heightens readers’ consciousness of the historical reality of moral transgression – a function performed by the original Medieval carnival – and calls attention to the fact that the violence demands an ethical response.
Jan Wolkers. ŉ Nuwe Nederlandse literatuurgeskiedenis in Afrikaans as kanoniseringsinstrument
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 104 –128 (Mar/Sep 2018)
The process of literary canonization is fraught with the danger of subjectivity due to the fact that literary evaluation is not an exact science. It is often stated that “intrinsic value” is a misnomer and that literary evaluation amounts to aligning an object with extrinsic norms and values. Often these norms and values are ostensibly those of a “cultural elite” or ruling social class and (literary) canonization is thus a product of systemic forces and acts as a relation between the classification of an object and the functions that it has to fulfil. This also implies that the canon is not a stable construct, because literary norms, functions and values are in a continuous flux. This standpoint however cannot explain why some literary works have been positively evaluated in different historical settings. Van Peer (1996) states categorically that the more positive evaluation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (in relation to contemporary dramas with the same theme) can be ascribed to its esthetical qualities, a view that is also stated by Wellek and Warren (1973:243) whose criterion is that of inclusiveness: “imaginative integration” and “amount (and diversity) of material integrated”. In this article the Dutch author Jan Wolkers is “re-canonized”. In the last few decades Wolkers has lost much of his previous literary lustre and from mentions in many literary histories one can surmise that his position within the Literary Field or literary system is peripheral. This can be ascribed to his later works which are more accessible and “popular” and to his change in topics and genres: the later works are more factual and essayistic. Wolkers’ reputation as a “serious” author most probably also suffered due to his public persona as “star author”. The underlying hypothesis of this article is that his work has been underrated due to the fact that the emphasis was put solely on his vanguard position in the Dutch literary sexual revolution and revolt against a Calvinistic upbringing. In the process the unique way in which he has represented a specific historical period (that of World War II) has been underexposed due to the fact that Reve’s novel De avonden (1947) has been the standard measure. In this article Wolkers’ novel Terug naar Oegstgeest (1965) is discussed in depth as culmination of his oeuvre and as a literary masterpiece that in its own right should afford him a permanent place in the Dutch literary canon.
Begeerte (ŉ hibridiese akademiese teks-as-kubervervolgverhaal)
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 129 –142 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Die werklikheid is op hierdie teks gebaseer.
Twee honde (Vrye vertaling van Les Murray se “Two dogs”)
Author Alwyn Roux
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 143 –143 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Om die gode te verleer (na Robert Hass se “After the winds”)
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 144 –146 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Van oplees na self ooplees : die moontlikhede wat selfgerigte leer met behulp van oop opvoedkundige hulpbronne die letterkundeklas bied
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 148 –168 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Kaapse Afrikaanse idiomatiese uitdrukkings as hulpmiddel vir ŉ meer inklusiewe Afrikaanse huistaalklaskamer
Authors: Earl Basson and Michael le Cordeur
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 169 –187 (Mar/Sep 2018)
This study investigates how Cape Afrikaans idiomatic expressions can be used as a tool to make the Afrikaans Home Language classroom a more inclusive space. Approximately 2.5 million learners speak Cape Afrikaans as their mother tongue, yet their linguistic repertoire still does not form part of the Afrikaans Home Language classroom. This exclusion of Cape Afrikaans linguistics alienates kallit learners from the learning process, which results in them regarding their own language as incorrect and uncivilised. Since idiomatic expressions are embedded in the lived knowledge and cultural heritage of a group, it is used as a means towards making the classroom and content more inclusive. The theoretical framework that underpins this study is the social constructivism learning approach. The research design and methodology are grounded in the principles of participatory action research. After exposure to Cape Afrikaans in a positive light, the learners regarded Cape Afrikaans as an integral part of their identity.
Die woordkovoorkomsnetwerk in Joan Hambidge se “Die dubbele nie”
Source: Stilet : Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging 30, pp 188 –206 (Mar/Sep 2018)
Woordkovoorkomsnetwerke word gewoonlik saamgestel om die struktuur van ŉ taal op ŉ makrovlak te bestudeer en tale met mekaar te vergelyk. In hierdie studie word ŉ woordkovoorkomsnetwerk van Joan Hambidge se gedig “Die dubbele nie” saamgestel en kwantitatief ontleed ten einde ŉ alternatiewe lees van die gedig te bemiddel. Nadat die woordkovoorkomsnetwerk van die gedig as ŉ gerigte en gewigte netwerk saamgestel is (met ander woorde ŉ netwerk waar die rigting en gewig van skakels aangedui is), word daar gebruik gemaak van nege sentraliteitsaanduiders (graad-, ingraad-, uitgraad-, gewigte graad-, gewigte ingraad-, gewigte uitgraad-, nabyheid-, tussenligging- en PageRanksentraliteit) sowel as ŉ visuele uitleg om aan te toon dat die semantiese ook in die strukturele aspekte van die gedig neerslag vind. Verder word aangedui hoe die strukturele aspekte van die gedig addisionele betekenismoontlikhede ontsluit.