“A white fly on the sombre window pane” : the construction of Africa and identity in Breyten Breytenbach’s poetry
Date
2001-08
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
“A white fly on the sombre window pane”: The construction of Africa and
identity in Breyten Breytenbach’s poetry
This article explores the way in which the construction of Africa interacts
with the construction of identity in the poetry written by Breyten
Breytenbach. On the one hand, Breytenbach’s use of the name Jan Afrika,
his attempts to emphasise the African-ness of the language Afrikaans as
well as the construct Afrikaner indicate a desire to locate his origins in
Africa and fix his identity in relation to Africa; on the other hand, it is clear
that he constantly problematises the idea of a stable identity. Imposing a
narrative on Breytenbach’s poetic oeuvre, it becomes clear that the ‘story’
of his poetry coincides with the order of events in his personal life and that
his construction of Africa interacts with and determines the construction of
his own identity. In conclusion it becomes clear that Breytenbach locates
himself against the background of Africa from which he derives his sense
of self, but at the same time takes the position of the nomad, exile, migrant
or outsider because it provides him with a unique perspective and the
possibilities of transgression and renewal.
Description
CITATION: Viljoen, L. 2001. “A white fly on the sombre window pane”: the construction of Africa and identity in Breyten Breytenbach’s poetry. Literator, 22(2): 1-20, doi: 10.4102/lit.v22i2.359.
The original publication is available at http://literator.org.za
The original publication is available at http://literator.org.za
Keywords
Poetry -- History and criticism, Breyten Breytenbach’s poetry, Breytenbach, Breyten -- Criticism and interpretation, Space and identity in literature
Citation
Viljoen, L. 2001. “A white fly on the sombre window pane”: The construction of Africa and identity in Breyten Breytenbach’s poetry. Literator, 22(2): 1-20, doi: 10.4102/lit.v22i2.359