Episode 2: Alfred Schaffer

Alfred Schaffer is a 48-year old Dutch poet who lives in the coastal South African town of Summerset West, not far from Cape Town. When he’s not writing poetry, he lectures at the University of Stellenbosch. Over the years Alfred has become one of the most, if not the most celebrated Dutch poet. This year he won the most prestigious Dutch literary award, the 60.000 euro PC Hooft Prize for Literature, which makes him one of the youngest winners ever. His mother was born on the small Caribbean island of Aruba, while his father grew up in the southern Dutch province of Limburg, which makes Alfred “a person of colour”. In other words, he’s a brown Dutchman living among brown, black and white people in the most southern tip of Africa. This raises interesting questions about identity, about his Dutchness, his South Africanness, the confusion he encounters, and the art of fitting in.