Die kremetartekspedisie
Die kremetartekspedisie ("The Boabab expedition") is a short lyrical novel by Wilma Stockenström (1933-)
Contents
The original novel
Basically a lyrical monologue, this is a portrait of slavery and dislocation, telling the story of a slave who, as the sole survivor of a failed expedition in the heart of Africa, hid herself in a hollow Boabab tree. As her loneliness increases she relives her former life - from being abducted from her home town as a child, her life in a harbour city on the east coast, as the servant of various masters, her final journey with her last master and protector, to her life in the Boabab tree.
Described by the critic Michelle Kyoko Crowson as "a bittersweet novel that paints a complex psychological picture of slavery, and one woman’s struggle to maintain her humanity even under the most difficult circumstances."[1]
The novel was first published in Afrikaans by Human & Rousseau in 1981.
Translations and stage adaptations
The novel was translated into English as The Expedition to the Baobab Tree by J.M. Coetzee and first published by in 1983
Adapted as a dance-drama Tossie van Tonder
Performance history in South Africa
The dance-drama performed by Tossie van Tonder
Sources
Michelle Kyoko Crowson. 2014. Wilma Stockenström’s “The Expedition to the Baobab Tree”, Words without Borders[2]
Go to ESAT Bibliography
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