Tydskrif vir Letterkunde: A journal for African literature

Tydskrif vir Letterkunde (est. 1936) is a premier open access African literature journal, housed at the University of Pretoria, publishing research and reviews in Afrikaans, Dutch, English and French.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Theme issue: “Feminisms and South African literatures” Guest editor: Marni Bonthuys

Approaches to feminism(s) have been varied within the literatures of different South African languages and cultures.

Historically feminism has not been a prominent focus in Afrikaans literature (Marais; Viljoen; De Jong and Murray; Bonthuys). Recently black feminism, embedded in the work of the numerous black women debuts in Afrikaans literature seen in the last decade or two, has been the focus of various studies. Several postgraduate theses and dissertations (Ess, Apollis, Kidelo) have been completed or are currently being completed on this topic. Black women were historically marginalised and absent in Afrikaans literature (Chaudhari; Cochrane). Only in the late nineties, the first black women (notably E. K. M. Dido and Diana Ferrus) started to publish Afrikaans literature. From the outset, these authors wrote authoritatively about the position of women in South Africa and explored the intersectional challenges especially black women face. In recent literary texts by black Afrikaans women, this approach is also very evident (Vermeulen; Ess and Bonthuys; Ess; Apollis). Literature by white Afrikaans women authors has lately shown an increased consciousness of intersectional feminism(s).

The feminist tradition in English South African writing is arguably more established (Lockett) than in Afrikaans. In the last few years, notable publications on black South African feminist writing by authors such as Boswell as well as Lewis and Baderoon came to prominence. Black feminisms have also been marginalised in the English- speaking tradition, however. With regard to other South African languages, the recent isiXhosa poetry publications Unam wena (Mthunzikazi A. Mbungwana) and Ilifa (Athambile Masola) can be read as recent iterations of black feminisms.

When the shockingly high rates of gender violence against South African women of all races, cultures and classes are considered, it seems obvious that feminist perspectives should be explored in all South African literatures. Few comparative studies on this topic in South African literatures have however been published. The trend of an increased voicing of intersectional and black feminist perspectives can also be seen in other world literatures (such as Dutch—see Kidelo) where they were traditionally absent. This likely points to the growing role that social media and so- called hashtag-feminisms play in cultures worldwide (Dixon) as well as the rise of Spoken Word (Gons).

With this issue, the aim is to focus on feminism(s) within all South African literatures. The focus could be comparative with regard to different South African

languages/literatures or only on one of the South African languages/literatures. Comparisons between South African literatures and certain transnational trends could also be explored.

We, therefore, invite any article which engages with the broad theme of Feminisms and South African literature. Possible topics include:

Comparative research focussed on feminisms in South African
Recent feminist developments within South African
The influence of feminist trailblazers in South African literature on a new generation of women authors.
The position of women authors within South African literary system(s)/field(s).
South African feminist voices from a transnational
Marginalised South African feminist voices from the
Black, intersectional, postcolonial feminist voices in South African
Queer feminisms in South African
Working class feminisms in South African
Eco-feminism in South African
Comparative research into white and black feminisms in South African
Feminisms in different genres such as prose, poetry, YA fiction, romance fiction and crime fiction (with a focus on South African literature).
The representation of women (heterosexual, gay and/or trans) in South African literature.
The representation of gender violence in South African
The representation of mothering in South African
The role of new forms of literary engagement such as social media and spoken word performances in a South African context from a feminist

The issue prioritises original research articles but invites the submission of essays, review articles and interviews.

Research articles of no more than 7 500 words, including notes and works cited, in Afrikaans, Dutch or English, are invited for submission by 30 April 2023. All submissions must follow the MLA 8^th edition citation guidelines. Authors must also ensure that their submissions adhere to all the requirements listed in the author guidelines of Tydskrif vir Letterkunde.

Please submit for consideration an abstract of 200-250 words by 15 December 2022 to mbonthuys@uwc.ac.za. Your abstract should be accompanied by a cover letter indicating your name, institutional affiliation, full contact details, and a brief biography. If your abstract is accepted, please submit your anonymised article at https://letterkunde.africa.

For full TL author guidelines, please visit https://letterkunde.africa/authorguidelines.