Open Access'n ope brief aan Dorian Gray en 'n peiling van die Afrikaanse resensiebedryf
Author(s) -
Neil Cochrane
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
tydskrif vir letterkunde
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.15
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 2309-9070
pISSN - 0041-476X
DOI - 10.17159/2309-9070/tvl.v.55i1.4384
Subject(s) - mentorship , gray (unit) , publishing , viewpoints , criticism , poetry , literary criticism , literature , history , sociology , theology , art , philosophy , visual arts , medicine , radiology
The young Afrikaans poet, Ruan Fourie, published his debut volume of poetry, 'n ope brief aan Dorian Gray, in 2017. Fourie's debut received predominantly negative reviews from Afrikaans critics. A review by Afrikaans critic, Tom Gouws, was particularly destructive and transgressed acceptable professional standards. This example of destructive criticism is scrutinized in relation to similar transgressions in Afrikaans book reviews. In addition, a comparable Irish case study and theoretical viewpoints by Van Rees and Janssen are considered to provide a nuanced perspective on current practices in Afrikaans literary criticism. The article also focuses on the responses of Odendaal and Spies to Fourie's poetry to provide a critical and independent opinion on aspects such as publishing decisions, mentorship, manuscript development and editorial mentorship. The last part of the article consists of a substantiated evaluation of 'n ope brief aan Dorian Gray. It is concluded that despite evidence of creative talent, there are too many shortcomings due to questionable editorial mentorship and impetuous publishing decisions.