Rob Antonissen in die Afrikaanse literatuursisteem
Abstract
The Flemish-born literary scholar Rob Antonissen came to know Afrikaans literature by means of a
book collection at Steenbrugge. This eventually led to his emigration to South Africa in 1950, where
he grew into probably the most influential scholar in Afrikaans literary history. His work excelled in its
“constructive” systemic role; the downside of this was the strong canon shaping influence thus emanating
from his literary views. It was not only due to the quality and substance of his literary research and of
his critical views that Antonissen was able to establish himself as an important role player in Afrikaans
literature: As Jan Greshoff and H.A. Mulder before him, he was invested with the authority of esteem
in the Dutch literary world. Through his contributions to scholarly journals, and through his work
as literary historiographer and anthologist, he also had his hands on important shaping tools of the
Afrikaans literary canon
Collections
- Faculty of Humanities [2042]