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ALTERNATION Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa Vol 16, No 2, 2009 ISSN 1023-1757 * Alternation is an international journal which publishes interdisciplinary contri- butions in the fields of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa. * Prior to publication, each publication in Alternation is refereed by at least two independent peer referees. * Alternation is indexed in The Index to South African Periodicals (ISAP) and reviewed in The African Book Publishing Record (ABPR). * Alternation is published every semester. * Alternation was accredited in 1996. EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR Johannes A Smit (UKZN) Judith Lütge Coullie (UKZN) Editorial Assistant: Beverly Vencatsamy EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Catherine Addison (UZ); Mandy Goedhals (UKZN); Rembrandt Klopper (UKZN); Stephen Leech (UKZN); Jabulani Mkhize (UFort Hare); Shane Moran (UKZN); Priya Narismulu (UKZN); Thengani Ngwenya (DUT); Mpilo Pearl Sithole (HSRC); Graham Stewart (DUT); Jean-Philippe Wade (UKZN). EDITORIAL BOARD Richard Bailey (UKZN); Marianne de Jong (Unisa); Betty Govinden (UKZN); Dorian Haarhoff (Namibia); Sabry Hafez (SOAS); Dan Izebaye (Ibadan); RK Jain (Jawaharlal Nehru); Robbie Kriger (NRF); Isaac Mathumba (Unisa); Godfrey Meintjes (Rhodes); Fatima Mendonca (Eduardo Mondlane); Sikhumbuzo Mngadi (Rhodes); Louis Molamu (Botswana); Katwiwa Mule (Pennsylvania); Isidore Okpewho (Binghamton); Andries Oliphant (Unisa); Julie Pridmore (Unisa); Rory Ryan (UJoh); Michael Samuel (UKZN); Maje Serudu (Unisa); Marilet Sienaert (UCT); Ayub Sheik (Edwin Mellon Post- doctoral Fellow); Liz Thompson (UZ); Cleopas Thosago (UNIN); Helize van Vuuren (NMMU); Hildegard van Zweel (Unisa). NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Carole Boyce-Davies (Florida Int.); Denis Brutus (Pittsburgh); Ampie Coetzee (UWC); Simon During (Melbourne); Elmar Lehmann (Essen); Douglas Killam (Guelph); Andre Lefevere (Austin); David Lewis-Williams (Wits); Bernth Lindfors (Austin); G.C. Oosthuizen (UZ); Jeff Opland (Charterhouse); Graham Pechey (Hertfordshire); Erhard Reckwitz (Essen). COVER DESIGN Travis V. Mason CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS The Editor: Alternation, Univ. of KwaZulu-Natal, Priv. Bag X10, Dalbridge, 4041, DURBAN, South Africa; Tel: +27-(0)31-260-7303; Fax: +27-(0)31-260-7286; Web: http://alternation.ukzn.ac.za e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] ISSN 1023-1757 Copyright Reserved: Alternation Alternation Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa Birds In and Out of Literature Guest Editors Pat Louw and Travis V. Mason 2009 CSSALL Durban Acknowledgement of Reviewers We wish to acknowledge the participation of the following reviewers in the production of this issue of Alternation: Catherine Addison, University of Zululand Peter Anderson, University of Cape Town Nigel Bell, University of Zululand Mathew Blatchford, University of Fort Hare Nicholas Bradley, University of Victoria Molly Brown, University of Pretoria Gina Buijs, Walter Sisulu University Anthony Chennells, University of Pretoria Reuben Chirambo, University of Cape Town Pamela Cooper, University of North Carolina Judith Coullie, University of KwaZulu-Natal Gareth Cornwell, Rhodes University Malcolm Draper, University of KwaZulu-Natal Gerald Gaylard, Wits University Khaya Gqibitole, University of Zululand Louise Green, Stellenbosch University Myrtle Hooper, University of Zululand Craig MacKenzie, University of Johannesburg Julia Martin, University of the Western-Cape Peter Merrington, University of the Western-Cape Lindy Stiebel, University of KwaZulu-Natal Etienne Terblanche, North-West University Kees van der Waal, Stellenbosch University Shaun Viljoen, Stellenbosch University Tony Voss, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Retired) Editorial Johannes A. Smit Since ancient times, birds have been associated with aesthetics. Bird plumage and bird song have become part and parcel of the human cultural heritage. Together with humanity’s capacity to identify and ascribe a large variety of symbolic meanings to birds, the characteristic features of bird species as well as their association with natural habitats, and their diverse roles in the food chain and biosphere, make them one of the most significant and awe- inspiring of cosmic phenomena. In Africa, birds range from the large birds of prey like the African fish eagle with its remarkable call—often called ‘the voice of Africa’— through the large variety of birds such as pelicans, blue cranes, secretary birds, and owls to smaller seagulls, parrots and the wide variety of finch. This diversity is matched by an equally rich variety of traditions, legends, stories, anecdotes, and symbolic meanings ascribed to birds and emblems portraying birds. Birds form one of the rich sources of our global ecosystems and ecology, also significantly impacting on humanity’s creative and imaginative engagements and interactions with nature. Due to the excesses of non-eco-friendly industrialisation, a variety of poisons impacting on natural health, and humanity’s encroachment on the environment, many bird species are threatened with extinction. In a study released in May 2009, Birdlife International, on behalf of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, revealed that 1,227 species of birds—12% of bird life on the planet—are now threatened with extinction. An additional 192 bird species are on the critically endangered list1. As a very significant part of our global environment, birds and the habitat of birds need to be 1 See http://www.arkive.org/news/20090514-more-birds-threatened-with- extinction-than-ever-before.html. Alternation 16,2 (2009) 1 - 2 ISSN 1023-1757 1 Johannes A. Smit protected2—the future of the jackass penguin is a case in point3. And in spite of conflict of opinion between global warming denialists, sceptics, and green advocacy it is an incontrovertible fact that industrialisation and different forms of pollution have severely impacted animal life, including bird life habitats and bird health over the last few hundred years4. In the South African context, we need to consider the variety and rich heritage of birdlife we accommodate, and are responsible for5. In addition to the literary studies of birds and bird life it is especially in the interdisciplinary biodiversity domain that critical reflection on the rich heritage of birds and bird life is important for human life and prosperity. The celebration of Birds: In and Out of Literature makes a not insignificant contribution to the continuation of awareness raising in this direction. Editor-in-Chief Alternation [email protected] 2 See http://www.wildwatch.com/book_reviews/birds-2/the-eskom-red-data- book-of-birds-of-south-africa-lesotho-and-swaziland for more information on threatened bird species and related critical perspectives in southern Africa. 3 See http://www.catalogs.com/info/bestof/top-10-most-endangered-species- on-earth: ‘Jackass Penguins face a myriad of threats, from oil spills and pollution to a dwindling seal food supply, which makes this penguin prey rather than peer. Once the most common sea bird in South Africa, the Jackass Penguin is one of the 10 most endangered species on earth’. 4 On November 3 2009, IUCN revealed that more than a third of the animal species of 47,677 assessed thus far are threatened with extinction. See http://www.arkive.org/news/20091103-2009-iucn-red-list-of-threatened- Species.html. 5 Of the +/- 850 bird species recorded in South Africa, about 725 are resident or annual visitors, and 50 of these are endemic or near-endemic and can only be seen in South Africa. Apart from resident birds, South Africa hosts a number of intra-African migrants such as cuckoos and kingfishers, as well as birds from the Arctic, Europe, Central Asia, China and Antarctica during the year’ (see http”//www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/south_africa_birdlife.htm). 2 Introduction Birds: In and Out of Literature Pat Louw and Travis V. Mason Abstract Coming out of the University of Zululand’s 2008 Literature & Ecology Colloquium at Twinstreams Environmental Education Centre, this special issue of Alternation is devoted to articles about birds, in and out of literature. The birds under discussion range from the symbolic to the literal, the mytho- logical to the real, and the local to the cosmopolitan. The twelve articles, book review, and two review articles contribute in multiple and compelling ways to ecological literary criticism (ecocriticism) in South Africa and beyond, while the section titled ‘Recently Reviewed South African Life Writing Publications VI’ continues a regular feature in Alternation. Key Concepts: ecocriticism, birds, ecology, South African literature In July 1992, on the brink of a new political dispensation in South Africa, the University of Zululand hosted a conference for the Association of University English Teachers of Southern Africa (AUETSA) with the theme ‘Literature, Nature and the Land: Ethics and Aesthetics of the Environment’. In view of the momentous political events in South Africa at that time, the fifty-two collected papers reflect a surprising amount of interest in matters pertaining to the natural environment, both in the South African literary community and abroad. Academics and writers such as Bernth Lindfors, Dorian Haarhoff, Koko Amuzu, Craig MacKenzie, Abner Nyamende, Rob Gaylard, David Atwell, Michiel Heyns, Lesley Marx, and Julia Martin gave papers at this Alternation 16,2 (2009) 3 - 12 ISSN 1023-1757 3 Pat Louw and Travis V. Mason meeting. The gathering played an important role
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