Insularity and ambivalence : the case of the South African poet P. J. Philander's epic poem, Zimbabwe

Willemse, Hein (Heinrich Stephen Samuel)

dc.contributor.author	Willemse, Hein (Heinrich Stephen Samuel)
dc.date.accessioned	2008-05-05T08:27:52Z
dc.date.available	2008-05-05T08:27:52Z
dc.date.issued	2008
dc.description.abstract	This essay explores the South African author P. J. Philander's epic Zimbabwe (1968), an Afrikaans poem of 307 alternate quatrains largely based on the disproved notion that the Phoenicians built the ancient complex of Great Zimbabwe and established a religion of phallic or fertility worship. The essay initially traces the longstanding debate on the "mystery" of Great Zimbabwe and arrives at the conclusion that the poet made a deliberate choice for the Semitic or Phoenician thesis. In the second phase of the discussion, Zimbabwe is read with Frantz Fanon's classic text Les damnés de la terre, especially with regard to the complex but key binary relationship between settlers and aboriginals. In conclusion, the essay discusses the author's political ambivalence and his attempts at making the rise and decline of Great Zimbabwe applicable to apartheid South Africa	en
dc.format.extent	221207 bytes
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.citation	Willemse, H 2008, 'Insularity and ambivalence : the case of the South African poet P. J. Philander's epic poem, Zimbabwe', Research in African Literatures, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 125-148. [http://inscribe.iupress.org/loi/ral]	en
dc.identifier.issn	0034-5210
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/2263/5100
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	Indiana University Press	en
dc.rights	Indiana University Press. This article was published as Willemse, H 2008, 'Insularity and ambivalence : the case of the South African poet P. J. Philander's epic poem, Zimbabwe', Research in African Literatures, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 125-148. No part of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or distributed, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photographic, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Indiana University Press. For educational re-use, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center (508-744-3350). For all other permissions, please visit Indiana University Press' permissions page.	en
dc.subject.lcsh	Philander, P.J. (Peter John), 1921-
dc.subject.lcsh	Zimbabwe
dc.subject.lcsh	Poets, Black -- South Africa
dc.subject.lcsh	Afrikaans poetry -- South Africa
dc.subject.lcsh	Ambivalence in literature
dc.subject.lcsh	Epic poetry
dc.subject.lcsh	Great Zimbabwe (Extinct city)
dc.subject.lcsh	Phoenicians -- Religion
dc.subject.lcsh	Phallicism -- Zimbabwe
dc.subject.lcsh	Apartheid -- South Africa
dc.subject.lcsh	Fanon, Frantz, d1925-1961 -- Influence
dc.title	Insularity and ambivalence : the case of the South African poet P. J. Philander's epic poem, Zimbabwe	en
dc.type	Postprint Article	en