LOUW, NICOLAAS PETRUS VAN WYK

Nicolaas Petrus Van Wyk Louw (1906-1970), the foremost Afrikaans poet, essayist and dramatist, was born in Sutherland, Cape Province. He received his education both there and, later, at the University of Cape Town through the medium of English. Louw obtained a bachelor’s degree in education, and his master’s degree in German, and became a lecturer in the university’s education department. He had, by the early 1920s, started writing Afrikaans poetry, but when his first efforts were not accepted for publication, he became despondent and lost interest. His brother, W.E.G. Louw, who also became a well-known Afrikaans poet, revived his enthusiasm for Afrikaans literature, and from the 1930s until his death a steady stream of his literary works were to appear.

PHOTO CAPTION: Louw Nicolaas Petrus van Wyk. SOURCE: EA Library

Although a prolific writer in Afrikaans, Louw was only offered a post in Afrikaans in 1950, and then it was at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In 1958 he returned to South Africa as professor of Afrikaans at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he was to remain until his death in 1970.

Louw initially wrote simple verse, but already in the 1930s his work had diversified. He penned not only a large number of poems, but also essays, dramas, radio plays, and epic dramas. His concern in most of his works was man’s place among often irrational and evil forces. Louw continually tried to strip away the outer layers of man, delving into the deepest levels of the subconscious the psychic, the animal-like, and the inorganic.

The loneliness and despair of man when unable to comprehend fully is also a major theme. An outstanding characteristic of his work is his acute awareness of the meaning of specific words and his search for verbal precision. Among his greatest works are Raka (1941), with its figurative poetry and fascinating word play, Germanicus (1956), with its taut verse and Tristia (1962), with its sensitive perceptions.

Louw was particularly innovative in his plays and radio works and adopted a variety of forms and techniques. His critical essays, often on political and quasi-political topics, are characterised by an impressive logic. Although he considered himself an Afrikaner, he often felt isolated, and, especially by the end of his life, his “loyal criticism” of narrow-mindedness brought him into disfavor with Afrikaner authorities.

Louw’s success as a poet, dramatist, and essayist is to be found in the high standards to which he remained true right to the end. Moreover, he continually and successfully sought renewal in his work. He is the greatest single person in Afrikaans literature, in which he was a leader not only during the 1930s but even during the 1960s. He received many accolades during his life including honorary degrees from a number of South African and overseas universities. The Hertzog Prize, the main Afrikaans literary prize, was awarded to him no less than five times. A large number of his works have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Northern and Southern Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu.

J .T. DU BRUYN