D.J. Opperman

Diederik (or Dirk) Johannes Opperman, commonly referred to as D.J. Opperman, (1914-1985) was a hugely influential Afrikaans poet, dramatist, critic and university lecturer.

His most formidable contribution to South African literature (besides his own resounding poetry), must be the comprehensive Groot Verseboek (“Great book of verse”) which first appeared in 1956, and became the definitive canonizing instrument in Afrikaans literature, a work he periodically updated. He was editor of the journal Standpunte for many years, while his poetry workshop in the University of Stellenbosch’s Department of Afrikaans and Dutch was enormously influential, with numerous later poets, writers, critics and dramatists passing through his hands. (Among these later dramatists were Pieter Fourie, Herman Pretorius, Marlene van Niekerk, Charles Fryer and others.

He was awarded the Hertzog Prize four times: twice for Afrikaans Drama (1956 & 1969) and twice for Afrikaans poetry (1947 & 1980).

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Opperman wrote three full-length stage plays, all verse plays: Periandros van Korinthe (1954), Vergelegen (1956) and Voëlvry (1968).

His plays were however seldom really effective on stage and certainly the weakest of his literary works, despite the perrenial prescription of Periandros van Korinthe as a drama text for schools and universities. Nevertheless, twice awarded the Hertzog Prize for Drama.

OPPERMAN, Dirk. Playwright. Wrote Periandros van Korinthe which was staged by the National Theatre’s Afrikaans arm for their Festival production at the Library in 1956, directed by Anna Neethling-Pohl.

Sources

Tucker, 1997

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