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Revision as of 08:44, 16 May 2011
The poetry of South Africa covers a broad range of themes, forms, and styles. This article seeks to identify the major poets of South Africa and describe their works and influence.
Some poets
The following are some poets in South Africa. The list is incomplete, and inadequately captures the breadth and vibrancy of the poetry landscape in the country.
Gert Vlok Nel
Main article: Gert Vlok Nel
Gert Vlok Nel (1963)is a poet, singer, song writer, troubadour. He has published one collection of poems, Om te lewe is onnatuurlik (To live is unnatural), for which he received the Ingrid Jonker Prize.
Lionel Abrahams
Main article: Lionel Abrahams
Lionel Abrahams (1928 - May 30, 2004) was a poet, novelist, editor, essayist, and publisher. Abrahams's work is largely philosophical, praising integrity and compassion. His poems are characterized by free verse with emotional strength.
Tatamkulu Afrika
Main article: Tatamkulu Afrika
Although born in Egypt, Tatamkulu Afrika (December 7, 1920 - December 23, 2002) went to South Africa at an early age. His first volume of poetry, Nine Lives was published in 1991. Afrika's poetry is rich in natural imagery, and the mood of his poems differ, from simple and innocent to lonely and frightened.
Gabeba Baderoon
Main article: Gabeba Baderoon
Gabeba Baderoon is the 2005 recipient of the DaimlerChrysler Award for South African Poetry.
She was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on February 21, 1969. She currently lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa and Pennsylvania, USA.
In 1989 she received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Cape Town in English and Psychology. In 1991 she received her Honours Degree in English (awarded in the First Class) from the University of Cape Town BA Honours program. She attained her Master of Arts in English with Distinction at the University of Cape Town in Postmodernist Television (Media Studies) and in 2004 completed her doctoral studies in Media Studies at the University of Cape Town, the same year spending time at the University of Sheffield, UK, as a Visiting Scholar. She also completed her dissertation entitled, "Oblique Figures: Representations of Islam in South African Media and Culture."
Robert Berold
Main article: Robert Berold
Michael Cope
Main article: Michael Cope
The son of writer Jack Cope, Michael Cope (1952 - ) is a jeweller and novelist as well as a poet. Cope's first volume of poetry, Scenes and Visions, was published in 1990. His works detail people, their stories, and environmental imagery. Much of his poetry also quietly offers Cope's views on world-wide issues, such as business and poverty. Cope's second volume, GHAAP: Sonnets from the Northern Cape (Kwela and Snailpress) deals with human origins. His poetry is available online at http://www.cope.co.za/poetry.htm
Also by Michael Cope: Goldin: A Tale - iUniverse (2005) - A literary novel dealing with the mythic and Intricacy: A Meditation on Memory - Double Storey (2005) - A memoir investigating memory.
Patrick Cullinan
Main article: Patrick Cullinan
Patrick Cullinan (1932 - ) has published 50000 volumes of poetry, an anthology on the work of Lionel Abrahams, a biography of Robert Jacob Gordon, and a novel, Matrix. Born in Pretoria, he was educated in Johannesburg and Europe. Cullinan's poetic style is dreamy and full of imagery, with a recurring theme of love. He was given the title cavaliere in 2003 by the government of Italy for his work translating much of his poetry into Italian.
Ingrid de Kok
Main article: Ingrid de Kok
Gail Dendy
Main article: Gail Dendy
Gail Dendy (1957 - ) has published six collections of poetry, with a seventh due to appear in 2011 from Dye Hard Press. Her work appears in journals and anthologies in her native South Africa and overseas. First published by Harold Pinter in 1993 (Assault and the Moth (Greville, 1993)), and paired with Norman Corwin (The Poetry of Norman Corwin and Gail Dendy (California: Shirim, 2002)), her work displays immense originality, meticulous craftsmanship and, despite focusing primarily on relationships, a large variety of themes.[1] She has attained recognition as a writer with the Herman Charles Bosman Award (2008) and in being shortlisted for the Thomas Pringle Award (2010).
Born in Durban she later moved to Johannesburg where for many years she performed Contemporary Dance with Robyn Orlin, being nominated for the inaugural AA Vita Award for Best Performer. She holds various university degrees and currently works as a researcher, archivist and librarian for a large international corporate-law firm.
Isobel Dixon
Main article: Isobel Dixon
Finuala Dowling
Main article: Finuala Dowling
Keith Gottschalk
Main article: Keith Gottschalk
Peter Horn
Main article: Peter Horn
Keorapetse Kgositsile
Main article: Keorapetse Kgositsile
Ronelda Kamfer
Main article: Ronelda Kamfer (FR Wikipedia)
Antjie Krog
Main article: Antjie Krog
Mzi Mahola
Main article: Mzi Mahola Mzi Mahola was born on 12 February 1949 as Mzikayise Winston Mahola. Mzi Mahola is his nom de plume. He started writing while he was at school. The Special Branch confiscated his first poetry manuscript in 1976 and he lost interest in writing for twelve years. After this period he started writing again, submitting work successfully to national and international journals, magazines and publications. His work has been published in more than eight anthologies.
Kobus Moolman
Main article: Kobus Moolman
Seitlhamo Motsapi
Main article: Seitlhamo Motsapi the wind doemklmtgeombadbmoekb,bmlm omppokoopkppkopkklpog l lp opjk0 ok o opk ok
Charle-Pierre Naudé
Main article: Charle-Pierre Naudé Charl-Pierre Naudé has had two volumes of Afrikaans poetry published: Die Nomadiese Oomblik (Tafelberg, 1995) and In die geheim van die dag (2005, Protea). The first received the Ingrid Jonker Prize in 1997. The second was awarded the M-Net Prize for Afrikaans Poetry in 2005 and the recently instituted Protea Prize, in the same year.
In 1999 the then Dutch poet laureate, Gerrit Komrij, invited him along with four other Afrikaans poets to do a reading tour of The Netherlands and Belgium. Translations of his poems have since appeared in numerous Dutch and Belgian literary magazines. In 2000 Poetry International (Rotterdam) presented a translation project of his work.
Recently the Turkish poet/translator Ilyas Tunc published some of Naudé's poems in a Turkish translation.
Naudé's English poetry volume, Against the light, is due out early in 2007. He grew up in East London. Being a useless dreamer, he is the Africa correspondent for Middle Earth and has served other mythical locations as well, based in Johannesburg. (Source: Southern Rain Poetry, used with permission.)
Mxolisi Nyezwa
Main article: Mxolisi Nyezwa
Karen Press
Main article: Karen Press
Others
- Robert Berold
- Vonani Bila
- Herman Charles Bosman
- The Botsotso Jesters
- Breyten Breytenbach
- Andre Brink
- Jan F. E. Celliers
- Jeremy Cronin
- Gail Dendy
- Sandile Dikeni
- I. D. du Plessis
- Kingsley Fairbridge (1885-1924), editor of a 1909 anthology of poetry titled Veld Verse and Other Lines
- Alan Finlay
- Zandu Flinker
- Joan Hambidge
- Liesl Jobson
- Sarah Johnson
- C. J. Langenhoven (1873 - 1932) author of Die Stem van Suid-Afrika; produced the first version of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in Afrikaans.
- Douglas Livingstone
- W. E. G. Louw
- Mzwake Mbuli
- Michelle McGrane
- Croc E. Moses
- Malika Ndlovu
- Donald Parenzee
- Lesego Rampolokeng
- Margot Saffer
- Mongane Wally Serote
- Tracey Splinter
- Wilma Stockenström
- Sjaka Septembir
- Totius
- C. M. van den Heever
- N. P. van Wyk Louw
- Stephen Watson
- [zanele mthethwa]
See also
- Dertigers
- Hertzog Prize
- List of South African poets
- List of South African writers
- South African literature
- Tweede Asem
External links
- Poetry Africa - International Festival of Poetry
- Welcome to South African poetry - Poetry International Web
- sweetmagazine Flash fiction, essays, poetry, reviews and other unheard of desires!
- Woes.co.za - Poetry in Afrikaans