DJ Opperman Memorial Lecture

中国体育彩票 DJ Opperman

(Painting by Philip Terblanche)

DJ Opperman.jpg Diederik Johannes Opperman (1914 - 1985) was a member of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 from 1960 until his retirement in 1979. As lecturer and supervisor he introduced several generations of students to the secrets of Afrikaans and world literature; as lecturer he also started a ‘Literary Laboratory’ in which he guided young writers and critics. As poet he published nine ground-breaking volumes of poetry and three important verse dramas; as academic he published one of the most important studies about the Afrikaans poets of the nineteen thirties and a series of influential essays; as role-player in the literary domain he published a series of anthologies of poetry (among which the several editions of the Groot Verseboek which became an important instrument canonizing Afrikaans poetry); and as reader for different publishing houses he played a prominent role in the formation of poets.

After Opperman’s death in 1985, Prof Lina Spies, at that time a faculty member at the 中国体育彩票 of Pretoria, started investigating the possibility of instituting a memorial lecture in Opperman’s name. On the initiative of the then professors in the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, Johan Smuts, Merwe Scholtz, Johan Combrinck and Fritz Ponelis, and with the approval of Mrs Marié Opperman, the biannual DJ Opperman memorial lecture was instituted in 1986. The first of these memorial lectures was delivered by Prof Lina Spies on 8 May 1987. Since that date, the following lectures have been delivered to honour Opperman’s contribution. (Click on the icon to access the full text or view the video.)

?2023	?Prof L Viljoen	?DJ Opperman gelees teen die agtergrond van die ‘nuwe’ [DJ Opperman read against the background of the ‘new’]
?2017	Prof W Burger ?	?Opperman en die Afrikaanse literatuurkritiek [Opperman and Afrikaans literary criticism]
?2014	?	?Celebration of Opperman’s hundredth birthday on 29 September 2014
2013	Prof HEJ van Vuuren	DJ Opperman se laatwerk [DJ Opperman’s late work]
2011	Prof L Spies	God, die magtige magneet: Die religieuse motief in die po?sie van DJ Opperman [God, the mighty magnet: The religious motif in DJ Opperman’s poetry]
2009	Prof AE Krog	Die verkleurmannetjie(s) op Sjaka: ’n Vergelyking van die manifestasie van Shaka in die gedig van Opperman en die Sesotho-roman van Thomas Mofolo [The chameleon(s) on Shaka: A comparison between the manifestation of Shaka in Opperman’s poem and the Sesotho novel by Thomas Mofolo]
2007	Prof HC Aucamp	Die allure van die onvolledige met spesifieke verwysing na Sonklong oor Afrika van DJ Opperman [The allure of the incomplete with specific reference to Sonklong oor Afrika by DJ Opperman]
2005	Prof GJ Gerwel	Vertrekpunt vir die vorming van ’n nuwe Akademie vir Afrikaans [Starting point for the formation of a new Academy for Afrikaans]
2003	Karel Schoeman	Onderhoud gevoer deur prof Jakes Gerwel en prof Louise Viljoen [Interview conducted by Prof Jakes Gerwel and Prof Louise Viljoen]
2001	Prof AP Brink	Groot verseboek: Kanon of haelgeweer? [Groot verseboek: Can(n)on or shotgun?]
1999	Prof HP van Coller	Die bloemleser as kanoniseerder [The anthologist as canoniser]
1997	Prof H Snyman	Opperman en die mitologie [DJ Opperman and mythology]
1995	Prof E Botha	“Kuns is boos!”: Die digter as Erlk?nig [“Art is evil!”: The poet as Erlk?nig]
1993	Prof JJ Degenaar	Die vindingrykheid van metaforiese taalgebruik [The ingenuity of metaphorical language use]
1991	Prof JC Kannemeyer	“Die rotsmusiek van eie hi?roglief”: ’n Visie anderkant die teks [“The rock music of own hieroglyph”: A vision beyond the text]
1989	?Prof AP Grové	Teoretisering oor die po?sie en Opperman se digterskap [Theorising on poetry and DJ Opperman as poet] ?
?1987	Prof L Spies ?	?Besieling en behoud: Die boodskap van DJ Opperman vir ons tyd [Inspiration and conservation: DJ Opperman’s message for our time]