alt="Pic 3 HCB in the 1940s (NELM).jpg"/>
Bosman in his mid-twenties (Eli Weinberg), and early forties
Apuleius, Lucius Latin prose writer of Algerian descent most famous for his bawdy The Golden Ass, the only ancient novel to have survived in its entirety (CJ: 138 “Talk of the Town”; CSJ: 114). The novel deals with the protagonist’s search to find and practise magic (OTS: 90 “Louis Wassenaar”).
Aquinas, Thomas, St (c. 1226–74) Neapolitan philosopher and theologian; the leading figure in the school of Scholasticism; introduced Aristotelian principles into Christian theology (IT: 45 “Ghost Trouble”).
Areopagitica See Milton, John.
arrased Walls hung with decorated fabrics (CSJ: 163).
“Arrival of Another Spring, The” (L&O: 115) Lively editorial by HCB (The Zoutpansberg Review and Mining Journal, 17 September 1943) on spring. Acknowledging that while spring brings unstoppable rebirth, some practices, once dead, can never be revived.
arse Buttocks; rare four-letter word usage by HCB, though justified in the context of banter on a building site (JN: 43).
“Art and Feudalism” (CJ: 71) Essay on how art needs great disparities between rich and poor classes to be meaningful. Naïve view that the redeeming magic of art can only be found through hardship. “And talking of trade unions, it seems to be that they do a lot to make workmen discontented, without doing anything to elevate them.”
“Art Criticism” (IT: 123) The voorkamer crowd talk about fine art and changing fashions. Meandering discourse on the interpretation of art, containing some surrealistic flights of fancy.
“Art Notes on Charlie Chaplin” (CJ: 30) A retrospective look at the movies and career of Charlie Chaplin. A back-handed compliment to Chaplin’s genius upon the release of The Great Dictator, a satire on Hitler and Mussolini. HCB remarks that Chaplin rejected the Oscar/ Academy Award (CJ: 31); this is not true, what is true is that he did not think much of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but nonetheless received three Oscars in his lifetime. “And it seems that in this respect it is with Charlie Chaplin as with Shakespeare. What he pulls off unconsciously is eternal. What he does consciously is tin.”
“Artist, The” (YB: 93) Musings on the origin and future of art and literature. Early examples of HCB’s ambivalence regarding either starving as an artist or betraying your calling by working as an artist within a commercial setting. “The good liar is always assured of a steady income, either as a salesman or as an author – although in this latter case the income is perhaps not so steady.”
“Artist in South Africa, The” (WS: 155) Piece by HCB on the difficulties confronting the artist in Africa. Contains typical HCB sarcasm about the deleterious effects of dull academicism: “In this respect, Africa is suffering the same tragic fate which has to a large extent befallen the ancient world. Rome and Greece have been ruined by the researches and interpretations of scholarship.” He ends by affirming the vitality and mystery of Johannesburg as a valid subject of artistic attention. “The minedumps are no less authentic an expression of Africa than are the Pyramids, and they are more of a mystery than the Pyramids. The minedumps have no entrance.”
artwork One of the least-known aspects of HCB’s life and work is his interest in art. The HRHRC (see Bosman Papers) houses some 70 artworks in pencil, watercolour and pen and watercolour by HCB. These date from the mid-1940s to the end of his life, apparently under the influence of his artist wife Helena (see Stegmann, Helena). Indeed, many of them are portraits of her. A few depict rural scenes (one bears an indication of being on the Transvaal–Bechuanaland Protectorate border), but most are city scenes, and several of these appear to date from the Bosmans’ brief stay in Buitenkant Street, Cape Town, from March to May/June 1947.
“As Deep as a Well” (L&O: 111) Philosophical musings on methods and difficulties of seeking the deeper meanings in life by means of quotations from Romeo and Juliet; see also Alby Stewart. After meandering somewhat, HCB’s argument reaches the conclusion that the search for enlightenment is all-consuming, but once attained the achievement is hollow. “The tall ships rot at their anchors and the winds blow seaward no more.”
As jy my weer stamp sal ek jou donder (Afr.) Lit. ‘If you bump me again I’ll beat you up’ (CSJ: 48).
askoek (Afr.) Lit. ‘ash cake’ (cake baked in the ashes); it could also refer to a Khoi dance, but in the context of this story it means “you rascal” (IT: 119 “Lath and Plaster”).
“Aspects of South African Literature” (L&O: 168) An attempt to summarise and define South African (English) literature. HCB observes that SA literature in English has taken a “back seat” to Afrikaans literature, despite its promising beginnings with Pringle (HCB refers to Pringle’s progressive poem “The Caffer” approvingly) and Schreiner; gives as part of the explanation for this notion that the “Afrikaner accepts himself as part of Africa”; also offers interesting and outspoken commentary on the future of black and township writing. See kaffir.
asphodel Day lily; any of several flowering plants belonging to the family Asphodelaceae (MR: 124 “Veld Maiden”).
Two of HCB’s artworks. See colour section for a selection of others.
assegai tree Southern African tree (Curtisia dentata), suitable for making assegais (short stabbing spears) (OTS: 34 “A Tale Writ in Water”).
“At Ease on the Dung Heap” (H: 224) The work-shy farmers doubt the practicality of scientific advice given by an agricultural radio programme. An indictment of farming methods in an area that is notoriously hard to farm. The neat ending shows the intimate relationship between farmers and their land. “And he applied no more than just that simple test of tasting the ground, Oupa Bekker said, when, many years ago, he bought his present farm.”
“… At this Time of Year” (IT: 156) As the year comes to a close Jurie Steyn longs for his birthplace in the Cape. Melancholic and wistful story featuring a tree as the main character. “Oupa Bekker’s sigh would have been even more prolonged than Jurie Steyn’s had been. Only, because of his advanced years, Oupa Bekker didn’t have the breath for it.”
au/hau Exclamation of surprise or amazement, commonly used by black South Africans (H: 29 “Black Magic”).
Augusta Leigh née Byron Lord Byron’s half-sister, with whom it was rumoured he had an incestuous relationship (YB: 141 “Mara”).
Aunt Susann Editor of the Cape Town Church Magazine of the Sunshine Children’s Club, who upsets the Marico locals by referring to the Marico as a backwater (IT: 70 “White Ant”).
aut redita nobis Aurora diemque reducit (Lat.) Lit. ‘the sun goes to light another hemisphere when it leaves our horizon’; line from Virgil (CJ: 94 “The Disappearance of Latin”; WS: 149 “Theodore Herman van Beek”).
Avalon Legendary island to which King Arthur went to convalesce from his wounds following the Battle of Camlann (CSJ: 163).
B
baas (Afr.) ‘Boss’ or ‘master’; term used by subordinates; considered to be demeaning to the user (H: 27 “Black Magic”).
