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Intertextuality as symbiosis: two namesakes and an erudite angel This article focuses on the relations among the variety of texts which are referred to in the story "Dr. Diedericks leer om te lag" by T.T. Cloete. The apparently explicit allusions become much more complex when analysed closely. Cloete's story becomes a postmodernist discourse in which precursors, sources and "other voices” are creatively “misread”. In the process of transforming an older text, Van Melle's story "Oom Diederik leer om te huil" gains a new lease on life, but the boundaries of literature are also challenged by incorporating philosophical writings and popular medical books into the story. A metaphysical layer surfaces in the interpretation of the story as the directions of the erudite angelic figure to the sick man are analysed. The analysis and interpretation of the intertextual web created by Cloete’s story are used to illustrate the symbiotic nature of the relations among texts.