Charl-Pierre Naude en Gert Vlok Nel in Nederland en Vlaanderen : laterale transnationale bewegingen van Afrikaanstalige schrijvers naar Nederlands en Engels
Date
2015-03
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns
Abstract
NEDERLANDSE OPSOMMING: Nederlandse literatuur is méér dan de literatuur die in het Nederlandse taalgebied wordt
geproduceerd, gedistribueerd, geconsumeerd en gerecipieerd. Ook anderstalige literaturen, al dan
niet in vertaling, functioneren en circuleren in een nationaal literair circuit, in het kritisch repertoire
van schrijvers en critici, in een literair discours en in fondsen van uitgevershuizen. Buitenlandse
schrijvers en teksten participeren direct of indirect in het gesprek over literatuur. In het literaire
veld van Nederland en Vlaanderen zijn al langer Zuid-Afrikaanse auteurs aanwezig. Naast de
canonieke stemmen – Breytenbach, Brink, Krog, Van Heerden en Van Niekerk – zijn Afrikaanstalige
dichters present op literaire festivals, in kranten, tijdschriften en op internetblogs, in vertaling.
Gert Vlok Nel en Charl-Pierre Naudé, debutanten in het midden van de jaren negentig in de
Afrikaanse poëzie, zijn beiden naar het Nederlands vertaald. Hoewel Nel vooral een dichterperformer
is en Naudé met zijn poëzie minder aanwezig is op de bühne en al helemaal geen muziek
gebruikt om zijn gedichten voor een publiek van toehoorders te brengen, vertoont hun
schrijversloopbaan een vergelijkbare laterale beweging van het Afrikaans naar het Nederlands of
van een “marginale” literatuur naar een middelgrote taal in Europees perspectief. Tegelijk
publiceren beiden in het Engels. Met name Naudés zelfvertaling Against the light en enkelevertalingen van Nels gedichten in opdracht van Poetry International Rotterdam kunnen in dat
opzicht worden genoemd. Deze auteurs bewegen zich dus evenzeer in een verticale richting naar
de metropool van de hedendaagse wereldliteratuur.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Translations and interviews, performances at international festivals, transnational writer networks and (mentions in) literary criticism are indications of the local, national or global circulation of literary authors and texts beyond the boundaries of a national field or a specific language area. The concept of transnationalism or world literature is too broad for indicating the specific moves foreign writers make. The way poets and texts position and manifest themselves in an international poly-systemic atmosphere can be of various kinds. Shih and Lionnet introduced for this purpose the concept of “minor transnationalism”. Relationships and interactions between minority cultures or marginal literatures, such as Afrikaans and Dutch, can be seen as “lateral” movements. From an international perspective Dutch literature, situated in a language area of about 23 million native speakers, can also be considered as in the centre of European literature. In that way we can better speak of a “vertical” movement. The case studies on Gert Vlok Nel and Charl-Pierre Naudé are interesting from this perspective. Nel is mostly known as a poet-performer who makes use of music to bring his poems to stage in South Africa and elsewhere. From that perspective Naudé’s authorship is related to a more traditional posture. His literary work is printed in books and performances for a live audience are rather limited. Both poets have been translated into Dutch and their presence and reception in the literature of Flanders and the Netherlands is obvious. Nevertheless the critical reception of their poetry is quite different. Nel’s and Naudé’s poems are also translated into English. Therefore we can speak of a global vertical movement towards the Anglo-American epicentre of contemporary world literature.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Translations and interviews, performances at international festivals, transnational writer networks and (mentions in) literary criticism are indications of the local, national or global circulation of literary authors and texts beyond the boundaries of a national field or a specific language area. The concept of transnationalism or world literature is too broad for indicating the specific moves foreign writers make. The way poets and texts position and manifest themselves in an international poly-systemic atmosphere can be of various kinds. Shih and Lionnet introduced for this purpose the concept of “minor transnationalism”. Relationships and interactions between minority cultures or marginal literatures, such as Afrikaans and Dutch, can be seen as “lateral” movements. From an international perspective Dutch literature, situated in a language area of about 23 million native speakers, can also be considered as in the centre of European literature. In that way we can better speak of a “vertical” movement. The case studies on Gert Vlok Nel and Charl-Pierre Naudé are interesting from this perspective. Nel is mostly known as a poet-performer who makes use of music to bring his poems to stage in South Africa and elsewhere. From that perspective Naudé’s authorship is related to a more traditional posture. His literary work is printed in books and performances for a live audience are rather limited. Both poets have been translated into Dutch and their presence and reception in the literature of Flanders and the Netherlands is obvious. Nevertheless the critical reception of their poetry is quite different. Nel’s and Naudé’s poems are also translated into English. Therefore we can speak of a global vertical movement towards the Anglo-American epicentre of contemporary world literature.
Description
CITATION: T'Sjoen, Y. 2015. Charl-Pierre Naudé en Gert Vlok Nel in Nederland en Vlaanderen: Laterale transnationale bewegingen van Afrikaanstalige schrijvers naar Nederlands en Engels. Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, 55(1):111-122.
The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_issuetoc&pid=0041-475120150001&lng=en&nrm=iso
The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_issuetoc&pid=0041-475120150001&lng=en&nrm=iso
Keywords
Literature and transnationalism, Naudé, Charl-Pierre -- Criticism and interpretation, Nel, Gert Vlok -- Criticism and interpretation, Afrikaans poetry, Literature -- Translations
Citation
T'Sjoen, Y. 2015. Charl-Pierre Naudé en Gert Vlok Nel in Nederland en Vlaanderen: Laterale transnationale bewegingen van Afrikaanstalige schrijvers naar Nederlands en Engels. Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, 55(1):111-122.