In a burning sea

in a burning sea: Contemporary Afrikaans Poetry in Translation aims to address a long-standing need to introduce Afrikaans poetry to a local as well as international audience. While a number of translated works have, in recent years, been made available to the wider South African readership, only a handful of high-profile individuals continue to enjoy international recognition. This anthology is a collection of poems from contemporary poets who are actively writing and publishing and whose work is a good reflection of the current trends evident in Afrikaans literature. The editor hopes it will go some way towards remedying the present lack of exposure and encourage future publications offering translations of writing also representative of the broader traditions of historical and twentieth-century Afrikaans poetry.
In compiling the anthology, the editor approached poets who had published at least a second volume of poetry in the years from 2005 to 2011. Some poems were unpublished at the time of the selections but have found a subsequent home in more recent volumes of poems. Individuals were asked to submit up to ten poems; some offered their own translations, but for the remainder she made use of a panel of excellent English translators. In each case the poet worked in close collaboration with the translator of his or her choice.