Die Afrikaanse Literatuur by J. C. Kannemeyer

Die Afrikaanse Literatuur (Standard First Edition Afrikaans Literary History)

The Landmark One-Volume History of Afrikaans Literature from 1652 to 1987, by the Leading Authority J. C. Kannemeyer

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Die Afrikaanse Literatuur: 1652-1987
• Author: J. C. Kannemeyer
• Publisher: Academica, Pretoria en Kaapstad
• Publication Date: 1988
• ISBN-13: 9780868743363
• ISBN-10: 0868743364
• Edition Details: Eerste uitgawe (First Edition), 1988.
• Binding: Hardcover in cream printed pictorial boards with blue and black lettering; the Academica logo appears on the spine and back.
• Physical Format: Large octavo-sized hardcover, 494 pages. Illustrated with photographs of writers, manuscripts and other illustrations.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Boards: Cream laminated pictorial boards with blue and black printing. The spine is clean and bright, with a faint mark at the top. A small dark speck sits at the top right corner of the front cover. Corners and edges appear generally sound.
• Interior: The title page and copyright page are clean, with light toning only. No inscriptions, bookplates or stamps.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published in 1988, Die Afrikaanse Literatuur 1652-1987 is J. C. Kannemeyer's one-volume history of Afrikaans writing, from the earliest years of the Cape settlement to the late twentieth century. It is a condensed and revised version of his earlier two-volume Geskiedenis van die Afrikaanse literatuur, drawing on that work with new additions.

The book adds fresh material on writers active before 1970 and closes with a survey of recent writing from 1970 to 1987. It is illustrated with photographs of writers, manuscripts and other illustrations, which makes it as useful to browse as to consult.

For collectors of Afrikaans literature and Afrikaner cultural history, it is a standard reference. It was later revised and extended, but this 1988 first edition records the field as Kannemeyer understood it at the close of the apartheid era.

Author Profile: J. C. Kannemeyer

John Christoffel Kannemeyer (1939-2011) was an authority on Afrikaans literature and a well-known biographer of Afrikaans writers. He became a lecturer in Afrikaans at the University of Cape Town in 1962 and later taught at RAU, Stellenbosch University and the University of the Witwatersrand, before joining the Human Sciences Research Council as a senior researcher in 1987.

Besides his two-volume history of Afrikaans literature, he wrote six extensive biographies of Afrikaans authors. His last book was a biography of J. M. Coetzee, completed shortly before his death. His honours include the Recht Malan-prys, the Helgaard Steyn-prys and the Gustav Preller-prys (1988).

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