Die Afrikaanse Kortverhaalboek

Die Afrikaanse Kortverhaalboek (1984 Fifth Printing in Pictorial Dust Jacket)

A Standard Afrikaans Short Story Anthology Compiled by Abraham H. de Vries

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Die Afrikaanse Kortverhaalboek
• Editor: Abraham H. de Vries
• Publisher: Human & Rousseau, Kaapstad ; Pretoria
• Publication Date: 1984
• ISBN-10: 0798110236
• Edition Details: Tweede uitgawe (Second Edition), Vyfde druk (Fifth Printing), 1984.
• Binding: Hardcover with printed pictorial dust jacket showing a photographic grid of contributing authors in gold and brown.
• Physical Format: Medium octavo hardcover, compiled anthology.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Good (G)
• Exterior / Boards: The hardcover is protected by its pictorial dust jacket. The boards, corners and edges beneath the jacket have not been assessed and are not described here.
• Interior: The title page is clean and the copyright page is clearly legible. The binding is sound where the book opens.
• The Dust Jacket: Present, in Good (G) condition. The jacket shows chipping and paper loss along the spine edges and hinges, with a frayed top of the spine. There are small white losses on the front panel near the top right and at the lower back corner, and light general rubbing. Protected in a Mylar sleeve.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Die Afrikaanse Kortverhaalboek is an anthology of Afrikaans short stories compiled by Abraham H. de Vries and published by Human & Rousseau. The names of many well-known Afrikaans writers appear on the jacket.

The anthology has long been regarded as a standard work and a barometer of the short story genre in Afrikaans. De Vries has been described by a bookseller as the most important canonizer of the Afrikaans short story, and the collection was revised and reissued across many editions, the later ones running to well over a hundred stories in chronological order.

This 1984 printing is a useful collectible copy for anyone gathering Afrikaans literary anthologies, or tracing how the canon of the Afrikaans short story was shaped for generations of readers and students.

Author Profile: Abraham H. de Vries

Abraham Hermanus de Vries (1937–2024) was born in Ladismith and is counted among the most respected figures in Afrikaans literature associated with the Sestigers. He studied at Stellenbosch and at the University of Amsterdam, and obtained doctorates from both institutions.

From 1963 to 1965 he was art editor of Die Vaderland. His prizes include the Eugène Marais Prize for Vliegoog and the Perskor Prize for Briekwa. He also wrote Kortom, an introduction to the Afrikaans short story anthology.

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