Breytenbach in Den Haag: uit de geschiedenis van 'n Seisoen in die paradys. Met een inédit

Abstract

Breyten Breytenbach’s A Season in Paradise presents a fruitful challenge to any textual-genetic critic. The original Afrikaans edition (1976) was and is contested because the author was in prison at the time of publication and was not permitted to edit his own text. A few years later, when Dutch and English translations (1980) presented the Season in its entirety, it became clear that the original edition had been tampered with and toned down. The typoscript used for the Dutch translation was donated to the Dutch Literary Museum in The Hague. This article is about this book’s text and publishing history. It reviews the relevant facts, and tries to clarify the views and conduct of the author as well as the other principal persons involved. Hopefully it will serve as an incentive for an Afrikaans critical edition