Carellina Pieternella (Lina) Spies (born 6 March 1939 in

Harrismith Harrismith is a large town in the Free State province of South Africa. It was named for Sir Harry Smith, a 19th-century British governor and high commissioner of the Cape Colony. It is situated by the Wilge River, alongside the N3 highway, ab ...

, in North-Eastern Free State

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

) is an

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and academic. She received both the 1972

Eugène Marais Prize The Eugène Marais Prize is a South African literary prize awarded by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns for a first or early publication in Afrikaans. In 1971 it was renamed after the Afrikaans poet and researcher Eugène Marais. ...

and 1972

Ingrid Jonker Prize The Ingrid Jonker Prize is a literary prize for the best debut work of Afrikaans or English poetry. It was instituted in honor of Ingrid Jonker after her death in 1965. The yearly prize, consisting of R10,000 and a medal, is awarded alternately to ...

, for her first volume of poetry, ''Digby vergenoeg''. Her translation of

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

's diaries was awarded the translation prize by the

Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns The Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SAAWK) (literally ''South African Academy for Science and Arts'') is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to promoting science, technology and the arts in Afrikaans, as well as promoting ...

(South African Academy of Arts and Sciences). Spies studied philosophy, languages and literature at

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

, the Free University of Amsterdam and the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

. She spent most of her career as a university lecturer, variously at the University of Port Elizabeth (now

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Nelson Mandela University (formerly known as ''Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU)'' ) and before that - the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), the Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista University's Port Elizabeth campus. This South Afr ...

), the University of Pretoria and Stellenbosch University. An authority on the work of

Elisabeth Eybers Elisabeth Françoise Eybers (26 February 1915 – 1 December 2007) was a South African poet. Her poetry was mainly in Afrikaans, although she translated some of her own work (and those of others) into English. Eybers was born in Klerksdorp, ...

, Martinus Nijhoff, D.J. Opperman and Hennie Aucamp, Spies was Professor of Afrikaans and Dutch Literature at Stellenbosch University between 1987 and her retirement in 1999. She still lives in the town of Stellenbosch.

Volumes of poetry

* ''Digby Vergenoeg'' (1971) * ''Winterhawe'' (1973) * ''Dagreis'' (1976) * ''Oorstaanson'' (1982) * ''Van sjofar tot sjalom'' (1987) * ''Hiermaals'' (1992) * ''Die skaduwee van die son'' (1998) * ''Duskant die einders'' (2004) * ''Die skyn van tuiskoms'' (2010) - a selection from the poet's first 8 volumes of poetry, made by the poet

Johann de Lange Johann de Lange (born 22 December 1959 in Pretoria, Union of South Africa) is an Afrikaans poet, short story writer and critic. He is renowned for being one of the foremost gay writers in Afrikaans, his most controversial book being ''Nagsweet' ...

. * ''Tydelose gety'' (2010) * ''Sulamiet'' (2016)

Non-Fiction

* ''Ontmoetings'' (1979) * ''Kolonnade: ’n Studie van D.J. Opperman se bundels Heilige Beeste, Negester oor Ninevé en Komas uit ’n Bamboesstok binne verband van sy oeuvre'' (1992) * ''Die enkel taak: Die merkwaardige verwantskap tussen

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

'' (1995)

As translator

* ''Agterhuis: Die dagboek van Anne Frank'' (2008) (Translation into Afrikaans of

's diaries.) * ''Tirza'' (2014) (Translation into Afrikaans of

Arnon Grunberg Arnon Yasha Yves Grunberg (; born 22 February 1971) is a Dutch writer of novels, essays, and columns, as well as a journalist. He published some of his work under the heteronym Marek van der Jagt. He lives in New York. His work has been transla ...

's novel.)

As editor or compiler

* ''Majesteit, die kat: Verhale en gedigte oor katte'' (1998) * ''Sy sien webbe roer: 'n Keuse uit die werk van Afrikaanse digteresse'' (1999) * (with

Lucas Malan Lucas Cornelis Malan (19 July 1946 – 15 April 2010) was a South African academic and writer of poetry, prose, plays, text books, literary reviews and other articles, principally in Afrikaans. Biography Early life and academia Lucas Malan was ...

) n Skrywer by sonsopkoms: Hennie Aucamp 70'' (2004)

References

* Bosman, M.E. (1989) 'Op Hom die Groot Hosannas: Enkele Aspekte van die Moderne Christelike Poësie in Afrikaans' PhD Thesis, Rhodes University. * Britz, E.C. (1999) 'Lina Spies', in H.P. van Coller (ed.), ''Perspektief en Profiel: 'n Afrikaanse Literatuurgeskiedenis, Deel 2'' Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik * Britz, E.C. & van Niekerk, A. (2016) 'Lina Spies', in H.P. van Coller (ed.), ''Perspektief en Profiel: 'n Afrikaanse Literatuurgeskiedenis, Deel 3'' Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik * Eloff, L. (1984) 'Die Poësie van Lina Spies: 'n Oeuvrestudie' MA Thesis, Potchefstroom University * Engelbrecht, G.C. (2012) 'Bybelse Intertekste in Resente Afrikaanse Gedigte en Lirieke, met Spesifieke Verwysing na Identiteitsformasies in die (Post-)Postmoderniteit' PhD Thesis, Stellenbosch University * Kannemeyer, J.C. (1983) ''Geskiedenis van die Afrikaanse Literatuur, Band 2'' Pretoria: H&R-Academica * Spies, C.M. (2010) 'Die Agterhuis - Lina Spies se Vertaling van Anne Frank se Dagboek, Het Achterhuis, in Afrikaans: Besluite, Benaderings en Strategieë' MPhil Thesis, Stellenbosch University

External links

Lina Spies (1939 - ) Sanlam ATKV LitNet Afrikaanse Album

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110529062019/http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/rapport/2004/04/11/R1/17/01.html Sonja Loots - Lina Spies: ook Afrikaan, postmodernis {{DEFAULTSORT:Spies, Lina South African women poets Afrikaans-language poets Afrikaner people 1939 births Stellenbosch University alumni Living people People from Harrismith