Boerneef (1897–1967)

Abstract This chapter contains newly crafted translations and International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions of eighteen poems by Boerneef, pseudonym of I. W. van der Merwe. The first nine poems are from the work On the Concertina: Nine Songs for Medium Voice and Piano. Poems include “How Quiet It Becomes When the South-Easterly Wind Wanes,” “Young Poplar Bark, Smooth and Cool,” “Old Damon Shepherds His Little Flock of Lambs Roundabout,” “It’s Whipping Around like the Flick of a Wrist,” “Old Nincompoop on Stilts,” “Who’s Batty and Who Has Lost It,” “Somewhere in the Karoo, I Have a Shelter,” “The Hillock Behind Acorn’s Pen,” “From Reed Marsh’s Wasteland All the Way to Pleading Spring.” The next group of seven poems are from the work Seven Ditsy Songs. Poems include “Blow on the Pumpkin Stalk,” “Little Piedeplooi,” “The Mountain-Goose Feather,” “Why Is the Devil Afraid of the Grindstone,” “The Evening-Flower Is a White Flower,” “My Speckled, Cross-Feathered Hen,” “Up There High Against the Ridge.” The chapter concludes with two free-standing poems, “Rendezvous,” and “From Kirstenbosch Yonder to Namaqualand.” Composers include P. J. de Villiers, Stewart Hylton-Edwards, Lourens Faul, and Rosa Nepgen. Illuminating footnotes are provided to enhance the reader’s comprehension of the unique biodiversity of the Southern African landscape and multicultural distinctiveness of its people. Recommendations are provided for best practices for singing in Afrikaans. Topics include storytelling, comedy, daily life in the Karoo, Namaqualand, farming, love, and nature.