Elisabeth Eybers: die volgehoue 'edel spel'

Abstract

This article pays tribute to Elisabeth Eybers who was not only the first woman to publish a volume of poetry in Afrikaans, but who has also received numerous awards for her poetry over the years. She has recently been awarded the P.C. Hooftprijs, the most prestigious literary award in the Netherlands. The relevance of her work is indicated by a discussion of her unique position in the Afrikaans and Dutch literary worlds, and by proposing a new reading of a well-known poem to illustrate the point of view that good poetry can always be reread in relevant ways.