Wopko Jensma en die soeke na ’n nuwe (Suid-)Afrikaanse identiteit

Abstract

This article focuses on aspects of identity in the Afrikaans poetry of Wopko Jensma, published in three volumes of poetry, and in various magazines. Jensma apparently strove towards a new, “free” South African identity, which is clear from his idiosyncratic use of language, his perspectives on the sociopolitical circumstances of his time, and his visual art works. As the authors of this article have recently completed the most comprehensive study to date on Jensma’s life, this article contains singularly fresh and new perspectives on this significant South African writer and artist. The authors purport that the Afrikaans literary historiography has, since the 1960s, maintained a distorted representation of Jensma’s contribution not realising his importance.

Keywords

• Wopko Jensma
• biography
• South African identity
• South African poetry
• Afrikaans poetry