DOCSLIB.ORG

Thesis Represents the First Extended Study of South African Poetry in English from a Gender Perspective

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Thesis Represents the First Extended Study of South African Poetry in English from a Gender Perspective STRANGER IN YOUR MIDST A Study of South African Women's Poetry in English by Cecily Joan Lockett Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of English University of Natal DURBAN 1993 I was a stranger in your midst, hardly, even though I tried, understanding your tongue. Not of your tribe assuredly, Oh not of your kind indeed! Mary Morison Webster. 1. ABSTRACT This thesis represents the first extended study of South African poetry in English from a gender perspective. It is conceived in two parts: firstly, a de constructive analysis of the dominant tradition of South African English poetry in order to reveal its masculine or androcentric base; and secondly, the reconstruction of an alternative gynocentric tradition that gives primacy to women and the feminine in poetry. The first section consists of an examination of the ways in which the feminine has been. excluded' from the poetic tradition in historical terms by means of social and economic constraints on women. The study begins with a brief reference to the beginnings of cultural gender discrimination in British poetry, from which South African English poetry derives, and then moves to a more extended consideration of the ways in which this discrimination has manifested itself in the South African context in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This is followed by an analysis of the - "poetics of exclusion", the ways in which the tradition genders itself as masculine by defining its central speaking position or subjectivity as male and masculine, and so excludes women and the feminine. The second section commences with the reconstruction or recovery of a gynocentric tradition of women's poetry in English in South Africa by means of a gynocritical- "map" or survey, followed by a discussion of the nature of the feminine discourse or "poetics" required to provide the critical context for this poetry. The preliminary "map" is given greater detail by in-depth discussion of the women poets considered to be major contributors to the gynocentric tradition: Mary Morison Webster, Elisabeth Eybers, Tania van Zyl, Adele Naude, Ruth Miller, Ingrid Jonker and Eva Bezwoda. The study ends with an examination of the work of contemporary women poets in South Africa, especially the black women poets of the 1970s and '80s, and the poets - both black women and white women - who wrote from exile in the 1980s. 11. DECLARATION This study represents original work by the author and has not been submitted in any form to another university. Where use was made of the work of others it has been duly acknowledged in the text. C. J. Lockett CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Women's Poetry in South Mrica 1 CHAPTER 2: RE·READING POETRY: A FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE (i) Women and Poetry in South Mrica: A Socio-Political Feminist Reading 6 (ii) The Gender Politics of Identity in South Mrican English Poetry 30 CHAPTER 3: BREAKING THE SILENCE: (RE)COVERING WOMEN'S POETRY IN SOUTH AFRICA 53 (i) The Voices that were Lost 53 (ii) The Gynocentric Tradition of South African Women's Poetry 55 (iii) Searching for Words: Towards a Gynocritical Model for the Study of South Mrican Women's Poetry 78 CHAPTER 4: THE STRANGERS IN OUR MIDST 1 100 (i) Mary Morison Webster: Subverting the Discourse of Romantic Love 102 (ii) Elisabeth Eybers: Introducing the Discourse of Motherhood 126 (iii) Tania van Zyl: Allegories of the (Eco)Feminine 142 (iv) Adele Naude: Time, Process and the Feminine Consciousness 171 CHAPTER 5: THE STRANGERS IN OUR MIDST 2 189 (i) Daughter of the Pale Mother: Ruth Miller as Woman Poet 190 (ii) The Look of Nothingness: Ingrid Jonker and the Poetry of Alienation 224 (iii) The Journey Inwards: Eva Bezwoda and the Poetry of Psychological Process 252 CHAPTER 6: CONTEMPORARY WOMEN'S POETRY IN SOUTH AFRICA 271 (i) Race, Class, and Gender: The Black Woman as Object/Subject 272 (ii) Myths of (Dis)Possession: Home and Exile in Recent Women's Poetry 309 CONCLUSION 342 BIBLIOGRAPHY 344 (i) Individual Collections by South Mrican Women Poets 344 (ii) Anthologies 350 (iii) General Reference 353 CHAP1ERONE INTRODUCTION WOMEN'S POETRY IN SOUTH AFRICA 1. In the field of South African writing in English, poetry has become a site of struggle in recent years. In the late 1980s and early 1990s much intellectual energy has been expended by academics and poets in defining and defending aesthetic and cultural values.1 It is perhaps surprising that such a seemingly marginal activity in the larger world - that of poetry writing and reading - should produce so much heated emotion. But it is because of poetry's centrality to the embattled concept of "Great Literature" that poets and critics in South Africa who cherish traditional standards of literary value have felt the need to defend their activity so strongly against those with different agendas. Poetry has been, until very recently, the preserve of white middle-class men who have determined its form and set its standards in their own image. Challenges have been posed by poets of colour, mostly male, who have appropriated the cultural mode of poetry for their own purposes, often political and communal rather than aesthetic. This co-option has been perceived as a threat by traditionalists, who have seen values of "complexity" and "difficulty" being swept aside by writers with more pressing and immediate concerns, and indeed, with very different political agendas. It may be argued that the Feminist criticism of recent years also poses a challenge to traditional ways of thinking about poetry. In this study the very nature of what is meant by "poetry" will be problematised; I will argue that what is accepted in South Africa as "poetry" or "good poetry" has been defined within a tradition created for and by men. The focus of this study will be on the nature of the challenge offered by Feminist scholarship to this histori~ally male-dominated field. The study itself is based on two conceptual premises: Firstly, that there are two predominant sets of norms and values to be found in writing and culture which may be termed "masculine" and "feminine". The "masculine" is associated with the dominant values of western patriarchal society and particularly with patriarchal definitions of women's roles in society. The "feminine" describes values that are marginal and often oppositional to these dominant values and which seek to redefine the roles of women in our society. In this study the terms "masculine'! and "feminine" will be used in this way, and will refer to social gender identity, while the terms "male" and "female" will be used to indicate biological identity. I also distinguish between patriarchal definitions of the feminine in poetry which locate this voice within narrow and essentialist parameters of the "emotional" and the "sensitive", and the oppositional feminine which focuses on resistance, anger, defiance and subversion. The second premise of this work is drawn from historical materialism and foregrounds the concern of this study with cultural politics. It will be argued that texts 2. (and poems) are cultural artefacts produced and consumed within a cultural economy. As such they are also the bearers of a particular ideology that will either legitimate or undermine the status quo. The poems that are taken up by the dominant groups, the makers of literary traditions in this country, are those which are acceptable to them in terms of their own particular hegemonic discourses about the nature of poetry. Those that are refused, suppressed and silenced, are those which undermine and challenge this hegemony. It will be argued in the first part of this study that the very concept of "poetry" is highly politicised in South Africa, and that categories of definition and evaluation are equally politicised. In other words, poetry, its production and reception, is part of a larger process of cultural politics, and is subject to social and economic forces. "Aesthetics" is not a neutral concept, but is part of a politicised discourse - political in terms of race and gender. It will further be argued in this study that South African women's poetry has been marginalised and suppressed within this cultural economy, and that alternative discourse to the formal one of "aesthetics" needs to be formulated in order to recuperate women's poetry within the South African literary context. The theoretical approach adopted in this thesis may be termed Feminist in its . broadest sense. I have chosen to work with several different kinds of Feminist discourse. For example, I use the poststructuralist concepts of "self' and "other" to demonstrate how the master discourse of poetry in South Africa constitutes itself as masculine and renders the feminine as other. This activity of centring and marginalisation takes place within the larger historical context of literary exchanges and literary hegemony, a concept that derives from historical materialist criticism. I have also found it useful to employ some of the paradigms set up in the "gynocritical" writing of Feminists such as Elaine Showalter in order to categorise and define the poetry of South African women. In formulating a theoretical approach to the study of the body of South African women's poetry I have used Showalter's work as well as that of Ellen Messer-Davidow. In the studies of individual women poets I have used a variety of approaches, ranging from formalist analysis to psychoanalytical gender analysis. This eclectic method has enabled me to employ several perspectives in deconstructing the dominant masculine tradition and reconstructing an alternative feminine tradition in South African English poetry. In South Africa the masculine nature of the tradition of English poetry has permeated the way in which critics and readers think of poetry.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • History Workshop
    UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSR AND, JOHANNESBURG HISTORY WORKSHOP STRUCTURE AND EXPERIENCE IN THE MAKING OF APARTHEID 6-10 February 1990 AUTHOR: Kelwyn Sole TITLE: "This Time Set Again" : the Temporal and Political Conceptions of Serote's To Every Birth Its Blood J til I US 'jO 10:1-4 LK i UPpL.fr '.HilPUi Fa- lid "This Time Set Again": the Temporal and Political Concept iona':.ipf{' .' Serote's To Every Birth Ita Blood .''!'.,,; Mongane Wally Serote is recognised primarily as a poet,and his six volumes of poetry to date have received acclaim both in South Africa and internationally. His single.novel,has,however.provoked a more equivocal response from critics. Some have praised the work. Doriane Barboure believe3 it 'the most powerful and penetrating exploration of the Power period' in South Africa (Barboure:17 2>i and Jane Glegg claims that Serote manages to write about a whole community involved in political struggle in a manner which shows up the failure of English working class novel- ists to do the same (Glegg; 3-1). Other critics have,however,been less convinced. Lewis Nkosi feels the work 'too chaotic,too; dispersed,to offer anything more solid •than mere moments' I .Nkosi :A 5 ).; Barbara Harlow states that the novel remains content with the portrayal of racial conflict in the coun- try,with little attempt to show internal contradictions within the black community itself IHarlow:,IO8); and Njabulo Ndebele remarks t hat ,r)p«r>i t»» thf siithfir's.nttM'ots to rl<»a 1. with the everydav con- cerns of people within a broader political canvas,in the end 'the spectacle takes over and the novel throws away the vitality of the tension generated by the dialectic between the personal and the public' (Ndebele:156).
    [Show full text]
  • Poetry (Theory)
    POETRY (THEORY) Radio Broadcast 23 Sept 18:00 -19:00 STUDY NOTES Poetry analysis is often the basis for teaching literature in the classroom. If you've been to school, you've probably had to study some form of literature, and your teacher has almost certainly demonstrated the analysis of poetry or even asked you to do it. It can seem like a frightening task, but if you've looked at the way poets use language and you make an effort to understand some the things that might have been happening in history at the time the poet was writing, you've already got an edge. How to analyse poems Read the poem more than once. Use a dictionary when you find a word about whose meaning you are unsure. Read the poem slowly. Pay attention to what the poem is saying; do not be distracted by the rhyme and rhythm of the poem. Try reading the poem out loud to get a sense of the way the sounds of the poem affect its meaning. Six Easy Ways To Understand Poetry: Read the poem all the way through. It might be tempting to stop and puzzle over any tricky bits, but by reading the poem all the way through, you should be able to pick up the overall idea the poet is trying to convey. Consider the subject matter - what the poem is literally about - as well as any themes that emerge - these are the ideas that the poet wants you to think about after reading the poem. What is the mood of the poem? Think about how the writer wants you to feel at the end of the poem.
    [Show full text]
  • Download .PDF
    Yale university press Fall/Winter 2020 Marcus Carey Batchelor Bate Under the Red White A Little History of The Art of Solitude Radical Wordsworth and Blue Poetry Hardcover Hardcover Hardcover Hardcover 978-0-300-25093-0 978-0-300-16964-5 978-0-300-22890-8 978-0-300-23222-6 $23.00 $35.00 $26.00 $25.00 Unwin/Tipling Delbanco Leibovitz Campbell Flights of Passage Why Writing Matters Stan Lee Year of Peril Hardcover Hardcover Hardcover Hardcover 978-0-300-24744-2 978-0-300-24597-4 978-0-300-23034-5 978-0-300-23378-0 $40.00 $26.00 $26.00 $30.00 Van Engen Reynolds Taylor Musonius Rufus City on a Hill Allah Sons of the Waves That One Should Hardcover Hardcover Hardcover Disdain Hardships 978-0-300-22975-2 978-0-300-24658-2 978-0-300-24571-4 Hardcover $30.00 $30.00 $30.00 978-0-300-22603-4 $22.00 RECENT GENERAL INTEREST HIGHLIGHTS Yale university press FALL/WINTER 2020 GENERAL INTEREST 01 JEWISH LIVES® 24 MARGELLOS WORLD REPUBLIC OF LETTERS 26 SCHOLARLY AND ACADEMIC 56 PAPERBACK REPRINTS 73 ART + ARCHITECTURE A 1 front cover illustration: Via Roma, Genoa, Italy, ca. 1895. From Stories for the Years, page 28 “This book is superb, utterly FROM TAKE ARMS AGAINST A SEA OF TROUBLES: convincing, and absolutely invigorating. Bloom’s final argument with mortality What you read and how deeply you read matters almost as much as how you ultimately has a rejuvenating love, work, exercise, vote, practice charity, strive for social justice, cultivate effect upon the reader, kindness and courtesy, worship if you are capable of worship.
    [Show full text]
  • Vatra Veche 8, 2019
    8 Români din toate ţă rile, uni ţi-vă! Lunar de cultur ă * Serie veche nou ă* Anul XI, nr. 8 (128) august 2019 *ISSN 2066-0952 VATRA, Foaie ilustrat ă pentru familie (1894) *Fondatori I. Slavici, I. L. Caragiale, G. Co şbuc VATRA, 1971 *Redactor-şef fondator Romulus Guga* VATRA VECHE, 2009, Redactor-şef Nicolae B ăciu ţ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ INSCRIP ȚIE Tot ce se poate-nțelege E f ără speran ță și lege Și cre ște dospind din eres Tot ce e f ără-nțeles. ANA BLANDIANA Marcel Lup șe, Buzduganul florilor de in _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Inscrip ție, de Ana Blandiana/1 Vatra veche dialog cu Ana Blandiana, de Nicolae B ăciu ț/3 Cununa de Aur a Serilor de Poezie de la Struga, de Nicolae Băciu ț/4 Cuvântul de acceptare al laureatului, de Ana Blandiana,/5 Cununa de Aur, 2019, de Nicolae Băciu ț/5 Eseu. Staulul Miori ței, de A.I. Brumaru/6 Mai altfel, despre Veronica Micle, de Dumitru Hurubă/ 9 Eminescum, de Răzvan Ducan/10 Remember -30. N. Steinhardt, de Veronica Pavel Lerner/11 Poeme de Dumitru Ichim/12 Ognean Stamboliev, Premiul pentru traducerea lui Eminescu/12 Elisabeta Bo țan, Premiul European Clemente Rebora 2018- 2019/12 Să ne reamintim de… Valentin Silvestru, de Dumitru Hurub ă/13 Coresponden ţa lui Dimitrie Stelaru, de Gheorghe Sar ău/14 Inedit. Blestemul chinezesc, de Francisc P ăcurariu/15 Vremea întreb ărilor (Octavian Paler), de Nicolae Postolache/17 Text și context în diarismul românesc (Eugen Simion), de Florian Copcea/20 Poeme de Tania Nicolescu/23 Scrisori deschise, de Constantin Stancu/24 Ochean întors.
    [Show full text]
  • Confession, Embodiment and Ethics in the Poetry of Antjie Krog and Joan Metelerkamp
    Confession, Embodiment and Ethics in the Poetry of Antjie Krog and Joan Metelerkamp by CHRISTINE LOUISE WEYER Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Prof. Meg Samuelson March 2013 Stellenbosch Univeristy http://scholar.sun.ac.za DECLARATION By submitting this thesis/dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Date: March 2013 Copyright © 2013 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved Stellenbosch Univeristy http://scholar.sun.ac.za Abstract This thesis examines the work of two contemporary South African poets, Antjie Krog and Joan Metelerkamp. Through an analytical-discursive engagement with their work, it explores the relationship between confession and embodiment, drawing attention to the ethical potential located at the confluence of these theories and modes. The theory informing this thesis is drawn from three broad fields: that of feminism, embodiment studies and ethical philosophy. More specifically, foundational insights will come from the work of Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Emmanuel Levinas. While much of the theory used originates from Western Europe and North America, this will be mediated by sensitivity towards Krog and Metelerkamp’s South African location, as is fitting for a study focused on embodied confession and the ethical treatment of the other.
    [Show full text]
  • English Literature [Print] ISSN 1594-1930
    [online] ISSN 2420-823X English Literature [print] ISSN 1594-1930 General Editor Flavio Gregori Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Digital Publishing Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia Dorsoduro 3246 30123 Venezia http://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/it/edizioni/riviste/english-literature/ English Literature Rivista annuale | Annual Journal Direzione scientifica | General editor Flavio Gregori (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia) Comitato scientifico | Editorial board Paolo Bertinetti (Università degli Studi di Torino, Italia) Silvia Bigliazzi (Università degli Studi di Verona, Italia) Ma- riaconcetta Costantini (Università degli Studi “G. d’Annunzio”, Italia) Mariarenata Dolce (Università del Salento, Italia) Lidia De Michelis (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italia) Antonella Riem (Università degli Studi di Udine, Ita- lia) Biancamaria Rizzardi (Università di Pisa, Italia) Maristella Trulli (Università degli Studi di Bari «Aldo Moro», Italia) Comitato di lettura | Advisory board Isabelle Bour (Université Paris 3, Sorbonne Nouvelle, France) Paul Crosthwaite (The University of Edinburgh, UK) Co- ral Ann Howells (University of Reading, UK) Peter Hunt (Cardiff University-Prifysgol Caerdydd, UK) Allan Ingram (University of Northumbria at Newcastle, UK) Jason Lawrence (University of Hull, UK) John Mullan (University College London, UK) Jude V. Nixon (Salem State University, USA) John Sutherland (University College London, UK) Laurence Talairach-Vielmas (Université Toulouse 2 Le Mirail, France) Direttore responsabile Lorenzo Tomasin Direzione e redazione | Head office Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia | Dorsoduro 3246 | 30123 Venezia, Italy | [email protected] Editore Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Digital Publishing | Dorsoduro 3859/A, 30123 Venezia, Italia | [email protected] Stampa Logo srl, via Marco Polo 8, 35010 Bogoricco (PD) English Literature is a journal founded by the Associazione Nazionale dei Docenti di Anglistica (ANDA).
    [Show full text]
  • Black Consciousness and the Politics of Writing the Nation in South Africa
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository Black Consciousness and the Politics of Writing the Nation in South Africa by Thomas William Penfold A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of African Studies and Anthropology School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham May 2013 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract Since the transition from apartheid, there has been much discussion of the possibilities for the emergence of a truly ‘national’ literature in South Africa. This thesis joins the debate by arguing that Black Consciousness, a movement that began in the late 1960s, provided the intellectual framework both for understanding how a national culture would develop and for recognising it when it emerged. Black Consciousness posited a South Africa where formerly competing cultures sat comfortably together. This thesis explores whether such cultural equality has been achieved. Does contemporary literature harmoniously deploy different cultural idioms simultaneously? By analysing Black writing, mainly poetry, from the 1970s through to the present, the study traces the stages of development preceding the emergence of a possible ‘national’ literature and argues that the dominant art versus politics binary needs to be reconsidered.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 South African Great War Poetry 1914-1918: a Literary
    1 SOUTH AFRICAN GREAT WAR POETRY 1914-1918: A LITERARY- HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS by GERHARD GENIS submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY in the subject ENGLISH at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: DOCTOR J. PRIDMORE JANUARY 2014 2 I declare that SOUTH AFRICAN GREAT WAR POETRY 1914-1918: A LITERARY-HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ________________________________ ___________________ 3 DEDICATION To my wife Regina, who had to keep the homefire burning while I was in the trenches. To my two daughters, Heidi and Meleri. To my mother Linda, whose love of history and literature has been infectious. To my sister Deidre and brothers Pieter and Frans. To my father Pieter, and brother-in-law Gerhard – R.I.P. To all those who served in the Great War. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am happy to acknowledge the indispensable assistance that I received in completing this thesis. I was undecided on a topic when I visited Prof. Ivan Rabinowitz, formerly of the University of South Africa. He suggested this unexplored and fascinating topic, and the rest is history... I want to thank Dr July Pridmore, my promoter, and Prof. Deirdre Byrne from the Department of English Studies for their constructive feedback and professional assistance. The University of South Africa considerably lessened the financial burden by awarding me a Postgraduate Bursary for 2012 and 2013. Dawie Malan, the English subject librarian, was always available to lend a hand to locate relevant sources.
    [Show full text]
  • Mongane Wally Serote Foundation
    Biography of Mongane Wally Serote n the 18 years of exile, Mongane Wally Serote participated on various levels of the ANC structures in the mobilisation, planning, negotiations and leading in the struggle for the Liberation of South Africa in the Political, armed struggle and cultural sectors. He was the head of the regional Arts and Culture life time achievement underground structure in Botswana, award, the International Golden Head of the Department of Arts and Wreath for poetry in Strugga, the Culture; member of the Regional Alexandra icon award and the Pan Political Military committee in South African Language Board for Botswana and in Britain. He was contributing to the development and the cultural attache of the ANC , in promotion of African languages in Britain and Europe. From 1990, he South Africa. was head of Arts and Culture of the ANC in South Africa. He spearheaded He became a member of Parliament the organization and mobilisation of and chairperson of Arts and Culture, the cultural workers through major languages, science and Technology festivals, symposiums , conferences portfolio committee of Parliament. in Botswana (1982), Amsterdam He initiated, spearheaded and facilitated (1987) London (1990), Johannesburg the research, discussions and debate (1993) which resulted in the at National level and organized and formation of National organizations put on the national agenda, through of writers, musicians, Theatre, Dance, negotiations with the Universities , Photographers, filmmakers. He science Councils, various indigenous participated in the negotiations for the organizations e.g. Dikgosi, Dingaka, transformation of the international different government departments, cultural and other forms of boycotts of various communities nationally for the Apartheid system into structures of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) democracy in the new dispensation in to be accepted as a tool for the social South Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critical Survey of Contemporary South African Poetry a Critical Survey of Contemporary South African Poetry: the Language of Conflict and Commitment
    A CRITICAL SURVEY OF CONTEMPORARY SOUTH AFRICAN POETRY A CRITICAL SURVEY OF CONTEMPORARY SOUTH AFRICAN POETRY: THE LANGUAGE OF CONFLICT AND COMMITMENT By Laura Holland, B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts McMaster University September 1987 MASTER OF Arts (1987) McMASTER UNIVERSITY (English) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: A Critical Survey of Contemporary South African Poetry: The Language of Conflict and Commitment AUTHOR: Laura Linda Holland, B.A. (University of Alberta) SUPERVISOR: Dr. Alan Bishop NUMBER OF PAGES: v, 134 ii ABSTRACT The thes is concentrates on South African poetry from 1960 to the present. It closely examines a selection of poems by Breyten Breytenbach, Dennis Brutus, Pascal Gwala, Wopko Jensma, Oswald Mtshali, Arthur Nortje, Cosmo Pieterse, Sipho Sepamla, and Wally Serote, among others. The body of the thesis discusses these poets' contributions to poetry about prison, exile, and township life. The thesis focuses on the struggle between various polical, racial, and cultural groups for hegemony over South Africa's poetic development. Such issues as language, ideology, and censorship are explored insofar as they in! .luence t:ne content and structure of the poetry. This body of poems, sadly, is little studied in North America. The thesis presents an introduction to and a survey of the major tendencies in South African poetry and, in part, attempts to relate the poetry's role in expressing the commitment of these poets to the ending of apartheid and the eventual resolution of the conflict for freedom. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Sandra Lea Meek
    Sandra Lea Meek Department of English, Rhetoric and Writing Office: (706) 802-6723 Berry College, Mount Berry, GA 30149-0350 Email: [email protected] Website: www.sandrameek.com EDUCATION 1992-1995 University of Denver Denver, Colorado Ph.D., 1995 English, Creative Writing 1986-1989 Colorado State University Ft. Collins, Colorado M.F.A., 1989 Creative Writing 1988 Colorado State University Ft. Collins, Colorado Professional Internship in English Certificate in Teaching Composition 1983-1986 Colorado State University Ft. Collins, Colorado B.A., 1986 English AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION Creative Writing (Poetry), Eco-Poetry/Poetry of Environmental and Social Justice, Travel Poetry/Writing about Place, Twentieth Century and Contemporary American Poetry, Creative Writing and Community Service, Poetry as a Genre, Postcolonial Literature PRESENT POSITION 2011- Dana Professor of English, Rhetoric and Writing Berry College Mount Berry, Georgia 2008-2011 Professor of English, Rhetoric and Writing, Berry College 2002-2008 Associate Professor of English, Rhetoric and Writing, Berry College 1996-2002 Assistant Professor of English, Berry College 9/21 Sandra Lea Meek 2 Courses Taught: Advanced Creative Writing, Poetry Writing and Community Writing about Place Intermediate Creative Writing, Poetry Introduction to Creative Writing, Poetry Introduction to Creative Writing (Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Playwriting) Twentieth Century American Poetry Postcolonial Literature Postmodern Literature World Literature Developing Nations (team-taught) Introduction
    [Show full text]
  • ENG2603 Serote Analysis for City Johannesburg
    ENG2603 MONGANE WALLY SEROTE 2017 Anaylsis taken from: Oxford University Press: https://www.oxford.co.za/.../5_13_Memo_for_task_sheet_for_Grades_10_12_on_City_Johannesburg.doc viewed on 16 August 2017. Aims also contributed. Compiled by Jules Title: The title tells us that the poem is about a specific place and setting, namely the city of Johannesburg. It is a City Johannesburg demanding, harsh and alienating urban environment. Two examples of words or phrases that describe the setting. “I can feel your roots, anchoring your might” (line 31) “Jo’burg City, you are dry like death…(line 39) Author: Mongane Wally Serote ‘Mongane Wally Serote was born in Sophiatown on 8 May 1944, just four years before the National Party came to power in South Africa’ (Poetry International Web. PLEASE FIND OTHER 2009.http://www.poetryinternationalweb.net/pi/site/poet/item/15594). He was a black man and ‘The INFORMATION ON SEROTE AS New Black Poetry, or Soweto Poetry found purpose in the opposition to apartheid’ (Chapman: THIS IS ALREADY PART OF MY 494). Serote and ‘others represented a powerful movement in the 1970’s’ (Chapman: 498). ESSAY Stanza/line Poem line Analysis 1/1 This way I salute you: The speaker addresses Johannesburg directly. We know this because of the first words of the poem, “This way I salute you…” In line 1, the speaker describes a “salute”. Who would you salute, and why? Usually one would salute someone in authority, such as an officer in the army or the police. It is meant to show respect for authority. Page 1 ENG2603 MONGANE WALLY SEROTE 2017 Stanza/line Poem line Analysis My hand pulses to my back The speaker (“I”) in the poem is an African, and is most likely a man, because we are told in lines 2 and 3 that he searches trouser pocket frantically for his pass book in his back trouser pocket and his jacket.
    [Show full text]