Includes bibliographical references. / The objective of the essay is to examine the meaning and content in the white space or iconic white in poetry, with specific reference to the representation of silence. The investigation focuses on the existence of a universal distinguishing white grammar with poets, as it manifests in their individual works, where this white grammar includes the use of an iconic white alphabet as well as specific narratives of silence, or the unmentionable/unspeakable. Possible catalysts and factors that influence the origin, initiation and maintenance of a specific narrative within this white grammar, are discussed and considered. It is found that optimal poetry reading and assimilation implies consideration for the white grammar. The works of two established poets, namely the South African Petra Müller (Afrikaans) and the Belgian Miriam Van hee (Flemish), as well as unpublished poems by Tania du Toit (Afrikaans) are analysed and discussed to inform the investigation.

Two estranged sisters, Liza and Nikki, travel to the seaside town of Hermanus. Liza hopes that a summer spent together will restore their once close relationship. Nikki is just looking for some fun. Then Liza disappears from the family holiday house. Messages left show that she's been abducted, kidnapped by someone who has no idea that Liza desperately needs her medication. In a country plagued by violence against women, Nikki, her parents, and the local police need to work together against the clock to save Liza. If only they could trust each other. Nikki is drawn deeper into a situation she cannot control or run away from as she tries to find her sister before it’s too late. Toxic family history emerges and tensions mount as the kidnappers demand a large ransom. Liza’s health is deteriorating fast and Nikki’s efforts to make amends are met with doubt and hostility. Will Nikki be able to help her sister before it’s too late?

This dissertation addresses the (often controversial) relationship between poetry and philosophy in the context of the Afrikaans poetic heritage. It consists of two components: a portfolio of own poetry and an essay in which it is argued that against the backdrop of the poststructural zeitgeist, the relationship between poetry and philosophy should be understood as a deconstructive one.

This is a book about the nature of reality and the illusions we embrace to smooth our paths through the vagaries of life in an uncertain world. It is about the dichotomies which exist in life and how our perceptions of life define our realities. It uses the stars, moon and sky as a tool to explore these differences by counterpoising the two main characters as having different views of the same subject. Thus Gabriel is an astronomer with a rational scientific approach to the universe while Lena, though brought up in a scientific tradition, has, through her experiences and personality, learnt to question this approach and developed a more aesthetic and mythological approach to the universe. While this is explored in the tensions between her and Gabriel, her own reality is questioned through her interaction with Kingston Ingovazana Mabilu. Although she is drawn to his philosophical views on life, in the end she has misgivings about the extremes to which these beliefs will eventually take her and is unable to commit to cultural beliefs which are so different from her own. The different perceptions are also explored in relation to ideas about health, medicine, causes of illness and their treatments. This brings into opposition the two prevalent paradigms in Southern Africa of the Western medical view and the alternative traditional view. The book tries to demonstrate how these are both valid with the characters showing justifications for their own points of view. Finally, the relationship between Lena and Gabriel focuses on the delicate fragility of relationships between people, in their attempts to understand each other, to communicate, to trust and to truly know each other. In the end, these challenges may be insurmountable. The themes of the book were inspired by the everyday dichotomies of life in Southern Africa; the different languages, religions and world views. It seemed important to explore issues of life and death, health and illness, particularly in a country where, less than a decade ago, the president of the country declared that HIV was not caused by a virus. The constructs of madness also warranted elucidation, as different cultures view these behaviours very differently. The second theme of astronomy versus mythology of the universe was inspired in part by Ben Okri in Starbook and The Famished Road, where magical realism opens up new ideas about the nature of reality in an African context. I also noted the tension between these ideas and the advanced technology of the Square Kilometre Array to be developed in South Africa. The book merely hints at the political past of South Africa but concentrates on the present paradigm of differing beliefs.

Includes bibliographical references. / The objective of the essay is to examine the poetry of doctors who are poets in Afrikaans and are canonized poets in the Afrikaans literature. The poetry of ten doctors since 1838 was examined. Furthermore, the medical-scientific reflection in their poetry was reviewed where it appeared to be applicable. As an example of the medical-scientific reflection in poetry, the work of Gilbert Gibson is discussed based on the fact that his poetry represents the best and most extensive example of medical-scientific reflection in Afrikaans poetry. Finally, the poetry of Hendrik Botha is reviewed from a self-reflective angle by specifically comparing it to the poetry of Gilbert Gibson, especially regarding the thematical similarities and specifically the medical-scientific reflection as well as the difference in the approach between these two poets.

Branded is set in an allegorical near future South Africa stratified by an economic apartheid. Cell phones are used for social control, both as passes that provide entry to designated places and electroshock punishment that can be administered by the SAPS. In the wake of a superdemic, crime and anti-corporate activism are harshly dealt with and the worst punishment is being 'disconnected', your cell phone deactivated, cut off from money, communication and entrance to public spaces. Genetic tampering has become pervasive with mutacute pets and modified police dogs called Aitos. The story follows four characters: Kendra, a young artist who has just enrolled in a flagship corporate sponsorship programme, Toby, a waster who dabbles in journalism, Lerato, an ambitious Aidsbaby raised in a corporate skills institute and desperate to defect to another company and Tendeka, an anti-corporate activist who is becoming increasingly rabid.

Every place has its own secrets. They lie just below the surface of the land, never quite sure of the story they might form. They are the unmentionables, the words that no one dares utter; but still they lie there, as part of a history that remains untold.

No description available.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / This dissertation investigates the incidence of the religious thematics in the work of Afrikaans poets who published around the eighties of the previous century, with specific reference to the Job poems of T.T. Cloete. By using various theoretical works the concept religious was discussed as well as the character of a poem with a religious thematics. Six evaluation principles were formulated which were used to analyse poems in order to establish whether the abstraction, that is religion, was transformed into an independent concrete poem. Works of Du Buisson, Pretorius, Riccio, Santayana, Snyman, Van der Colf and others were used as the theoretical basis.

No description available.