Abstract
Foreign literature is of course part of a national literary circuit. The dynamics in the literary field are, amongst other factors, determined by the presence of literature originally produced in another linguistic system abroad.
The research dealing with cultural transmission of texts is often called literary transnationalism. Lionnet & Shih, authors of Minor Transnationalism (2005), make a distinction between vertical and lateral literary careers.
Literature which functions in the English-speaking world follows a vertical direction. The lateral movement occurs between literary fields which do not belong to the metropolitan center of the World Republic of Letters.
In this paper the intercultural dialogue between South Africa and the Netherlands is the main topic. Dutch poetry is translated into Afrikaans and circulates therefore in the South African public space.
In that way, Dutch-speaking writers such as Herman de Coninck, Gerrit Komrij and Leonard Nolens take (in)directly part in the literary conversation in the Afrikaans language. Rebecca Walkowitz suggests a "foreign reading" of texts beyond the linguistic field of their initial production.
These readings are complementary to the non-indigenous views on poetry. In the literary history of a national or local literature the presence of foreign literature in translation in a more "marginal" field requires more attention.