VENUS HOTTENTOT AND OTHER TREATISES ON SOUTH AFRICAN LITERATURE

Discover the fascinating world of South African literature with Professor Jerzy Koch's book. It is an extraordinary journey through the literature of this region, from colonial times to the present day. Immerse yourself in the cultural and historical richness that has shaped this unique literary heritage.

• Diverse selection of treatises devoted to South African literature.
• New, surprising perspectives on the literature of South Africa.
• Archaeological method in the interpretation of texts.
• Analysis of colonial representations of the colored woman, especially her speech and body.
• Literary portrait of C. Louis Leipoldt.
• Typology of research positions on theories about the origin of the Afrikaans language.
• Historical-literary sketch of the most important development directions of Afrikaans literature.

Professor Jerzy Koch, a member of the South African Academy of Science and Art, presents South African literature in an innovative and inspiring way. His erudite interpretations, based on a broad historical and cultural background, allow the reader to gain a deeper understanding of this fascinating region. The study of the discourse around Venus Hottentot leads to a brilliant analysis of colonial representations of the colored woman, especially her speech and body. The author uses the archaeological method, making deep cuts to carry out his erudite interpretations.

The treatises contained in the book also take the form of a classic literary portrait, as in the case of C. Louis Leipoldt, or an attempt at a typology of research positions, as in theories about the origin of the Afrikaans language. The essay on what to translate from Afrikaans literature turns into a historical-literary sketch of the most important development directions of this literature, and the comparison of the Polish and Dutch reception of J.M. Coetzee becomes a pretext for another contextualization of the Nobel laureate's work. Literary analyzes increasingly give the author an incentive for generalizations or theoretical reflections.

The juxtaposition of literary parallels between J.F. Celliers and A. Mickiewicz leads to reflections on the ways of understanding a literary work as such, and the interpretations of selected motifs from the work of J. van Bruggen and K. Schoeman provide a pretext for the first presentation in Poland of various aspects of the South African farmer's novel (plaasroman, farm novel). The character of South African literature and the interests of the author himself mean that the motifs of the earth, the meeting with the Other or the emancipation of language are present in all treatises. This book is a true feast for lovers of South African literature and culture.