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Article Summary by Sarah K.
Wylie discusses the lack of attention on the suburban gardens in South African urbanization studies. He cites the observation of Michéle Terblanche: “much of what is being done [in the abundant gardening literature] is not being documented” (Wylie 76). According to Wylie, Terblance takes a stance that there is a “dearth of literary studies either of that work as literature, or…the presence of the garden as environment and trope in other genres such as novels, memoirs and poems” (76). Wylie and Terblance propose that there is a lack of literary forms representing suburban gardens. This is furthered by Terblanche’s statement that when suburban gardens are presented in literature, they appear only within poetry and memoirs—expressed through romantic and pastoralist views or metaphors. To further his argument, Wylie uses examples from urbanization studies in South Africa, claiming authors focus specifically on big cities or do not view gardening as a key component to the growth of urbanization. Wylie concludes that a creative approach to suburban gardening would explore a more interconnected meaning.
Although Wylie expresses negative criticism towards urbanization literature on South Africa that excludes gardening, he also acknowledges the ‘rare’ publications of literature that are reflective of suburban gardens in South Africa. For example, he cites Ballard and Jones’ work on the transition of suburban identities through gardening which find that “human intervention, and purist local models of nature…idealize original landscapes” (78). Ballard suggests that the tension between the two models depicts cultural shifts in understanding, which can be represented in poetry of suburban gardening.
Wylie seeks to uncover the importance of suburban gardening through the poetry of Mariss Everitt in South Africa. He acknowledges the differences between urbanization studies and creative literature, saying that poetry is the “useful evidence of dimensions of mental attitudes, social norms, and textures of individual creativity which are thus far largely absent from urbanization studies” (81). As he concentrates on poetry, he defends his view more specifically by focusing on Grahamstown, a small town largely unstudied in literature, where Mariss Everitt lived before. Grahamstown was noted in 1860 as a place where “gardens and trees [are] a fundamental feature of the town’s aesthetic and identity” (80). However, in almost all articles centered on Grahamstown, authors claim that the gardens “[feel] as much metaphorical or mystic as material” (81). Wylie then describes Everitt’s poetry as having “an awareness of a number of inner tensions or complicating dynamics in the gardening enterprise” and concludes that she possesses attentiveness and appreciation towards the symbiotic relationship of humans and nature (84). Wylie’s overarching purpose within the article is to acknowledge the value of suburban gardening within urbanization literature just as strongly as it is represented within Everitt’s poetry.
Wylie, Dan. "Playing God in Small Spaces?: The Ecology of the Suburban Garden in South Africa and the Poetry of Mariss Everitt." Journal of Literary Studies 27.4 (2011): 71-90. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
