Uit die oogpunt van die buitestander: die rol van identiteit en ruimte in die skep van 'n gemeenskapseie jeugnovelle

Abstract

The reading habits (or lack thereof) of adolescents in South Africa, like those in the rest of the world, are reason for concern. The fact that adolescents read distressingly little can be attributed to different reasons. It may be because of a lack of skill and interest, or because there is a dearth of texts with which they can identify. If more texts were created in which adolescents can identify with the spaces and identities portrayed, the reading statistics in South Africa may shift positively. However, at present not all communities and voices in the country are represented by a diversity of writers, especially writers of youth literature. In the Afrikaans speaking coloured community of Promosa, Potchefstroom, the same tendency is found. Although it is ideal that these communities should be represented by their own writers, who know them best, this is not always the case. Is it therefore possible for an outsider to create a youth novel for a specific target group with which they (the adolescents of Promosa) will identify?

Keywords: identity, space, community, youth novella.

Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Vol. 45 (2) 2008: pp. 32-47