Successful Flemish participation in Woordfees in South Africa

The programme at the Woordfees festival in Stellenbosch, from 3 to 12 March 2017, featured a number of Dutch and Flemish writers, dramatists and performers.

Author Stefan Hertmans and translator Daniel Hugo presented the Afrikaans translation of Hertmans’ internationally successful novel War and Turpentine (Oorlog en terpentijn). Peter Verhelst talked about the performance of his play ‘Hotel Malaria’. Diane Broeckhoven was the special guest at a performance of A Day With Mr. Jules (De buitenkant van meneer Jules), an adaptation of her international bestseller. And Tom Lanoye, who lives in South Africa for a few months every year and many of whose novels and plays have been translated into Afrikaans, had a conversation with translator Zandra Bezuidenhout.

Various Afrikaans translations of Flemish literature are scheduled for publication in the near future. The first of these is Woesten, Kris Van Steenberge’s remarkable debut novel, published by Protea.