RAKA – Met Litifrafieë deur Katrine Harries (Limited Edition, Numbered)

*Raka by N. P. Van Wyk Louw is one of the towering achievements of twentieth-century Afrikaans literature. Originally published in 1941 and here offered in the 1966 edition by Nasionale Boekhandel, this powerful verse drama remains a cornerstone text in the South African literary canon. Van Wyk Louw, a central figure of the Dertigers movement, crafted Raka as a symbolic epic poem exploring the tension between civilisation and primal instinct, intellect and brute force, order and chaos. The work’s enduring relevance has secured its place on academic syllabi and in private collections for decades.

Set within a tribal community confronted by the arrival of the menacing figure Raka, the poem unfolds as an allegorical struggle that operates on multiple levels: psychological, cultural, and philosophical. Through elevated, rhythmic Afrikaans verse, Van Wyk Louw constructs a narrative that is both starkly elemental and richly layered in meaning. The character of Raka embodies destructive instinct and anti-intellectual force, while the tribe’s internal conflicts reveal anxieties about leadership, morality, and collective identity. The result is a text that invites sustained interpretation and critical engagement.

The 1966 Nasionale Boekhandel edition represents a mid-century printing of this seminal Afrikaans classic, produced during a period when Van Wyk Louw’s influence on South African letters was firmly established. For collectors of Afrikaans literature, scholars of modernist poetry, or readers seeking a profound allegorical work rooted in South Africa’s literary heritage, Raka remains an essential and intellectually compelling volume.

Condition: Fine/Like New – The book is as new with no notable defects and plastic covered. Write up of the limited issue in the back, this being no 145. 450 and signed by N. P. Van Wyk Louw. The slipcase is showing some wear and water stains.