Whether the author of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or, Gustavus Vassa the African (London, 1789) should be referred to as Equiano or Vassa in part relates to where he was born and how he related to his place of birth. The choice of name also relates to how scholars want to perceive of the author, on the one hand, and how the man himself presented himself at the time, on the other. It is argued here that the author of The Interesting Narrative used his birth name, Olaudah Equiano, as proof of his African background, not as a name by which he wanted to be known, Gustavus Vassa. Hence, the dilemma is why scholars refer to him by his African name, when he chose not to do so. It is suggested that use of the birth name has more to do with the politics of representation and political correctness of later generations of scholarship, not with the intention of the man. The imposition of the birth name as the signifier long after he died, however, has allowed the postulation of ...

Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa – What's in a Name?

Summary The article focuses on a fairy tale by Godfried Bomans, “De rijke bramenplukker”, and the aim is to show how elements from fairy tales can address current environmental values in society. The writer discusses relevant intertexts and the context of the author, as well as the use of fairy tales as literary texts for the moral education of adolescents. The main argument is that literature can add to the sensitising of cultural (environmental) and aesthetic values in social contexts and therefore these types of fairy tales can form part of the secondary school curriculum, especially with the emphasis of the approach in the new outcomes‐based education on the development of values and responsible citizenship. The hidden environmental perspective in the fairy tale is explored as a possibility for the experience of values in the teaching of Afrikaans literature. This text is useful in the Senior Phase (Grades 7–9) where fairy tales as well as Dutch literary texts may be prescribed for learners of Afrikaans.

https://blogs.sun.ac.za/boekwurm/files/2010/09/Sprokies-en-waardes.pdf

‘n ekologiese perspektief op ‘n Nederlandse sprokie vir letterkunde‐onderrig in Afrikaans

Summary In Afrikaans literature D.J. Opperman is famous as writer of the “objective” poem with which he moved away from the very personal “confession cult” of the early thirties. However, his Komas uit ‘n bamboesstok deals with very personal experiences. This article investigates the techniques Opperman applied to enable him to write about his experiences during his serious illness without becoming sentimental or self‐centred. The implications this aim had for the use of intertexts, the relationship between the lyrical I and the real poet, the narrative and dramatic set‐up of certain poems, the “objective speaker”, the use of metaphor, self derision, playfulness and enumeration are discussed.

“Wegwysers” in Komas uit ‘n bamboesstok

Summary This article attempts to take a close look at the intertextual relationship between Reza de Wet's drama Diepe grond and the children's stories of Alba Bouwer. This relationship entails three aspects: confirmation, transformation and undermining. The concept “deep soil” in the title of the drama, the drinking of castor oil and scolding as manifestations of an authoritarian and unsympathetic parental attitude, fleas (lice) as something that need not be considered as cause for embarrassment, the “missing” father and mother, rain and water as religious symbols, the “killing” of the parents and other educators, corporal punishment and censuring of the erotic are signifiers from Bouwer's stories which are confirmed and exploited in Diepe grond. In the case of the following transformation takes place: from prose to drama, from the grave of a beloved member of the enemy to that of the hated parents, from the donning of parents’ clothes as a children's game to the same as preparation for a harrowing murder...

Reza de Wet herlees Alba Bouwer

Summary This article focuses on the problem of text relations. Various aspects of this extensive subject were investigated, and it was found that the view of the text as intertext and the reading strategy that it implies indeed benefit the reader. The theory was implemented practically with the description of two cases of intertextual‐ity, viz. Multatuli's Wys my de plaats waar ik gezaaid heb and Leipoldt's “Wys my die plek waar ons saam gestaan het” as well as Hettie Smit's Sy kom met die sekelmaan and a series of poems by Lina Spies from Digby vergenoeg. The article endeavours to indicate how existing interpretations can be destabilised by this reading strategy, since the reader is compelled to view all the texts which are involved in the intertextual network anew.

Elsa Nolte

Papers

Die teks as interteks: 'n paradoks ('n misleidende titel)