Alan Paton
Encyclopedia
Alan Stewart Paton was a South Africa
n author
and anti-apartheid activist.
, Natal Province
(now KwaZulu-Natal
), the son of a minor civil servant. After attending Maritzburg College
, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal
in his hometown, followed by a diploma in education. After graduation, Paton worked as a teacher, first at the Ixopo High School
, and subsequently at a Maritzburg College
While at Ixopo he met Dorrie Francis Lusted. They were married in 1928 and remained together until her death from emphysema
in 1967. Their life together is documented in Paton's book Kontakion for You Departed, published in 1969. Paton and his secretary, Anne Hopkins, were married the same year.
of a progressive slant. Most notable among these were the open dormitory policy, the work permit policy, and the home visitation policy. Boys were initially housed in closed dorms. Once they had proven themselves trustworthy, they would be transferred to open dorms within the compound. Boys who showed high levels of trustworthiness would be permitted to work outside the compound. In some cases, boys were even permitted to reside outside the compound under the supervision of a care family. Interesting to note is that fewer than 1% of ten thousand boys given home leave during Paton's years at Diepkloof ever broke their trust by failing to return.
Paton volunteered for service during World War II
, but was refused. After the war he took a trip, at his own expense, to tour correctional facilities across the world. He toured Scandinavia, England, continental Europe, and the United States of America. During his time in Norway, he began work on his seminal novel Cry, The Beloved Country
, which he would complete over the course of his journey, finishing it on Christmas Eve in San Francisco in 1946. There, he met Aubrey and Marigold Burns, who read his manuscript and found a publisher to publish it. The editor Maxwell Perkins
, noted for editing novels of Ernest Hemingway
and Thomas Wolfe
, would guide Paton's first novel through publication with Scribner's.
, the separatist National Party
came to power in South Africa. In 1953 Paton founded the Liberal Party of South Africa, which fought against the apartheid legislation introduced by the National Party. He remained the president of the SALP until its forced dissolution by the apartheid regime in the late 1960s, officially because its membership comprised both blacks and whites. Paton was a friend of Bernard Friedman
, founder of the Progressive Party (South Africa). Paton's writer colleague Laurens van der Post
, who had moved to England in the 1930s, helped the party in many ways. Van der Post knew that the South African Secret Police was aware that he was paying money to Paton, but could not stop it by legal procedures. Paton himself was noted for his peaceful opposition to the apartheid system, as were many others in the party, though some did take a more direct, violent route. Consequently, the party did have some stigma attached to it as a result of these actions. Paton's passport was confiscated on his return from New York in 1960, where he had been presented with the annual Freedom Award. It was not returned for another ten years.
Paton retired to Botha's Hill
, where he resided until his death. He is honored at the Hall of Freedom of the Liberal International
organization.
(1953) and Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful
(1981), and his short stories, Tales From a Troubled Land (1961), all deal with the same racial themes that concerned the author in his first novel. Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful
was built on parallel life stories, letters, speeches, news and records in legal proceedings, and mixed fictional and real-life characters, such as Donald Molteno
, Albert Lutuli
and Hendrik Verwoerd. The novel was in essence historical fiction, giving an accurate account of the resistance movement in South Africa during the 1960s. "Paton attempts to imbue his characters with a humanity not expected of them. In this novel, for example, we meet the supposedly obdurate Afrikaner who contravenes the infamous Immorality Act. There are other Afrikaner
s, too, who are led by their consciences and not by rules, and regulations promulgated by a faceless, monolithic parliament." (from Post-Colonial African Writers, ed. by Pushipa Naidu Parekh and Siga Fatima Jagne, 1998)
Paton was a prolific essay writer, his theme once again being the race and politics of South Africa. In Save the Beloved Country Paton plays on the famous title of his first novel but keeps a serious tone throughout discussing many of the famous personalities and issues on various sides of the South Africa's apartheid struggle. His Anglican faith was another factor in his life and work, as may be gleaned from the title of Instrument of Thy Peace. Paton wrote two autobiographies: Towards the Mountain deals with Paton's life leading up to and including the publication of Cry, the Beloved Country
(an event that changed the course of his life) while Journey Continued takes its departure from that time onwards. He wrote biographies of others as well. His friend Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr was honored thus in Hofmeyr as was another friend, Geoffrey Clayton
, in Apartheid and the Archbishop. Another form that interested him throughout his life was poetry; the biographer Peter Alexander includes many of these poems in his biography of Alan Paton.
Two recent publications of Paton's work include travel writing -- The Lost City of the Kalahari (2006); and a new complete selection of his shorter writings -- The Hero of Currie Road.
Cry, The Beloved Country has been film
ed twice (in 1951 and 1995) and was the basis for the Broadway musical Lost in the Stars
(adaptation by Maxwell Anderson
, music by Kurt Weill
).
The Alan Paton Award
for non-fiction is conferred annually in his honour.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and anti-apartheid activist.
Family
Paton was born in PietermaritzburgPietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
, Natal Province
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
(now KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
), the son of a minor civil servant. After attending Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College, known locally as College, is a public school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa....
, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal
University of Natal
The University of Natal was a university in Natal, and later KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, that is now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university...
in his hometown, followed by a diploma in education. After graduation, Paton worked as a teacher, first at the Ixopo High School
Ixopo High School
Ixopo High School is a boarding school in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1895 as the Ixopo Government School in what was originally called Stuartstown. The first black pupil was admitted for the 1989/1990 school year after the crumbling Apartheid policies were swept aside by P. W...
, and subsequently at a Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College, known locally as College, is a public school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa....
While at Ixopo he met Dorrie Francis Lusted. They were married in 1928 and remained together until her death from emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
in 1967. Their life together is documented in Paton's book Kontakion for You Departed, published in 1969. Paton and his secretary, Anne Hopkins, were married the same year.
Early career
He served as the principal of Diepkloof Reformatory for young (African Black) offenders from 1935 to 1949, where he introduced controversial reformsPrison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
of a progressive slant. Most notable among these were the open dormitory policy, the work permit policy, and the home visitation policy. Boys were initially housed in closed dorms. Once they had proven themselves trustworthy, they would be transferred to open dorms within the compound. Boys who showed high levels of trustworthiness would be permitted to work outside the compound. In some cases, boys were even permitted to reside outside the compound under the supervision of a care family. Interesting to note is that fewer than 1% of ten thousand boys given home leave during Paton's years at Diepkloof ever broke their trust by failing to return.
Paton volunteered for service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but was refused. After the war he took a trip, at his own expense, to tour correctional facilities across the world. He toured Scandinavia, England, continental Europe, and the United States of America. During his time in Norway, he began work on his seminal novel Cry, The Beloved Country
Cry, The Beloved Country
Cry, the Beloved Country is a novel by South African author Alan Paton. It was first published in New York City in 1948 by Charles Scribner's Sons and in London by Jonathan Cape; noted American publisher Bennett Cerf remarked at that year's meeting of the American Booksellers Association that there...
, which he would complete over the course of his journey, finishing it on Christmas Eve in San Francisco in 1946. There, he met Aubrey and Marigold Burns, who read his manuscript and found a publisher to publish it. The editor Maxwell Perkins
Maxwell Perkins
William Maxwell Evarts Perkins , was the editor for Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe. He has been described as the most famous literary editor.-Career:...
, noted for editing novels of Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
and Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
, would guide Paton's first novel through publication with Scribner's.
Opposition to apartheid
In 1948, four months after the publication of Cry, The Beloved CountryCry, The Beloved Country
Cry, the Beloved Country is a novel by South African author Alan Paton. It was first published in New York City in 1948 by Charles Scribner's Sons and in London by Jonathan Cape; noted American publisher Bennett Cerf remarked at that year's meeting of the American Booksellers Association that there...
, the separatist National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
came to power in South Africa. In 1953 Paton founded the Liberal Party of South Africa, which fought against the apartheid legislation introduced by the National Party. He remained the president of the SALP until its forced dissolution by the apartheid regime in the late 1960s, officially because its membership comprised both blacks and whites. Paton was a friend of Bernard Friedman
Bernard Friedman
Dr Bernard Friedman , was a surgeon, politician, author, businessman, and outstanding orator who co-founded the anti-apartheid Progressive Party . He was educated at Pretoria Boys' High School and then he read medicine at Edinburgh University, where he was a gold medalist...
, founder of the Progressive Party (South Africa). Paton's writer colleague Laurens van der Post
Laurens van der Post
Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, CBE was a 20th century Afrikaner author of many books, farmer, war hero, political adviser to British heads of government, close friend of Prince Charles, godfather of Prince William, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer, and...
, who had moved to England in the 1930s, helped the party in many ways. Van der Post knew that the South African Secret Police was aware that he was paying money to Paton, but could not stop it by legal procedures. Paton himself was noted for his peaceful opposition to the apartheid system, as were many others in the party, though some did take a more direct, violent route. Consequently, the party did have some stigma attached to it as a result of these actions. Paton's passport was confiscated on his return from New York in 1960, where he had been presented with the annual Freedom Award. It was not returned for another ten years.
Paton retired to Botha's Hill
Botha's Hill
Botha's Hill is a small town outside Hillcrest in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is the gateway to the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Kearsney College moved to Botha's Hill in 1939....
, where he resided until his death. He is honored at the Hall of Freedom of the Liberal International
Liberal International
Liberal International is a political international federation for liberal parties. Its headquarters is located at 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD within the National Liberal Club. It was founded in Oxford in 1947, and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties and for the...
organization.
Other works
Paton's second and third novels, Too Late the PhalaropeToo Late the Phalarope
Too Late the Phalarope is the second novel of Alan Paton, the South African author who is best known for writing Cry, the Beloved Country....
(1953) and Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful
Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful
Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful is the third novel of Alan Paton, the South African author who is best known for writing Cry, the Beloved Country. Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful is an anti-apartheid novel, in a similar vein to Cry, the Beloved Country...
(1981), and his short stories, Tales From a Troubled Land (1961), all deal with the same racial themes that concerned the author in his first novel. Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful
Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful
Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful is the third novel of Alan Paton, the South African author who is best known for writing Cry, the Beloved Country. Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful is an anti-apartheid novel, in a similar vein to Cry, the Beloved Country...
was built on parallel life stories, letters, speeches, news and records in legal proceedings, and mixed fictional and real-life characters, such as Donald Molteno
Donald Barkly Molteno
Donald Barkly Molteno , known as Dilizintaba , was a South African parliamentarian, constitutional lawyer, champion of civil rights and a prominent opponent of Apartheid....
, Albert Lutuli
Albert Lutuli
Albert John Lutuli , also known by his Zulu name Mvumbi, was a South African teacher and politician. Lutuli was elected president of the African National Congress , at the time an umbrella organisation that led opposition to the white minority government in South Africa...
and Hendrik Verwoerd. The novel was in essence historical fiction, giving an accurate account of the resistance movement in South Africa during the 1960s. "Paton attempts to imbue his characters with a humanity not expected of them. In this novel, for example, we meet the supposedly obdurate Afrikaner who contravenes the infamous Immorality Act. There are other Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
s, too, who are led by their consciences and not by rules, and regulations promulgated by a faceless, monolithic parliament." (from Post-Colonial African Writers, ed. by Pushipa Naidu Parekh and Siga Fatima Jagne, 1998)
Paton was a prolific essay writer, his theme once again being the race and politics of South Africa. In Save the Beloved Country Paton plays on the famous title of his first novel but keeps a serious tone throughout discussing many of the famous personalities and issues on various sides of the South Africa's apartheid struggle. His Anglican faith was another factor in his life and work, as may be gleaned from the title of Instrument of Thy Peace. Paton wrote two autobiographies: Towards the Mountain deals with Paton's life leading up to and including the publication of Cry, the Beloved Country
Cry, The Beloved Country
Cry, the Beloved Country is a novel by South African author Alan Paton. It was first published in New York City in 1948 by Charles Scribner's Sons and in London by Jonathan Cape; noted American publisher Bennett Cerf remarked at that year's meeting of the American Booksellers Association that there...
(an event that changed the course of his life) while Journey Continued takes its departure from that time onwards. He wrote biographies of others as well. His friend Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr was honored thus in Hofmeyr as was another friend, Geoffrey Clayton
Geoffrey Hare Clayton
The Most Rev Geoffrey Hare Clayton, DD was an eminent Anglican Priest in the mid Twentieth century.He was born on 12 December 1884, educated at Rugby and Pembroke College, Cambridge and ordained, after a period of study at Ripon College Cuddesdon, in 1909. A Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, he was...
, in Apartheid and the Archbishop. Another form that interested him throughout his life was poetry; the biographer Peter Alexander includes many of these poems in his biography of Alan Paton.
Two recent publications of Paton's work include travel writing -- The Lost City of the Kalahari (2006); and a new complete selection of his shorter writings -- The Hero of Currie Road.
Selected works
- Cry, The Beloved CountryCry, The Beloved CountryCry, the Beloved Country is a novel by South African author Alan Paton. It was first published in New York City in 1948 by Charles Scribner's Sons and in London by Jonathan Cape; noted American publisher Bennett Cerf remarked at that year's meeting of the American Booksellers Association that there...
, 1948 - film 1951, dir. by Zoltan Korda - Lost in the StarsLost in the StarsLost in the Stars is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton...
1950 (with Maxwell AndersonMaxwell AndersonJames Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
- set to music by Kurt WeillKurt WeillKurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
) - Too Late the PhalaropeToo Late the PhalaropeToo Late the Phalarope is the second novel of Alan Paton, the South African author who is best known for writing Cry, the Beloved Country....
, 1953 - The Land and People of South Africa, 1955
- South Africa in Transition, 1956
- Debbie Go Home, 1960
- Tales from a Troubled Land, 1961
- Hofmeyr, 1964
- South African Tragedy, 1965
- Spono, 1965 (with Krishna Shah)
- The Long View, 1967
- Instrument of Thy Peace, 1968
- Kontakio For You DepartedKontakio For You DepartedKontakion for You Departed is a book by Alan Paton dedicated to his wife Dorrtoe Francis Lusted. The book was published in 1969, two years after her death from emphysema in 1967.-External links:*...
, 1969 (also: For You Departed) - Case History of a Pinky, 1972
- Apartheid and the Archbishop: the Life and Times of Geoffrey Clayton, Archbishop of Cape Town, 1973
- Knocking on the Door, 1975
- Towards the Mountain, 1980
- Ah, but Your Land is BeautifulAh, but Your Land is BeautifulAh, but Your Land is Beautiful is the third novel of Alan Paton, the South African author who is best known for writing Cry, the Beloved Country. Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful is an anti-apartheid novel, in a similar vein to Cry, the Beloved Country...
, 1981 - Journey Continued: An AutobiographyJourney Continued: An AutobiographyJourney Continued: An Autobiography is the second part of Alan Paton's autobiography, the first being Towards the Mountain.Paton had completed the writing and correction of the volume, but he died before its publication in 1988....
, 1988 - Save the Beloved Country, 1989
- The Hero of Currie Road: the complete short pieces, 2008
Cry, The Beloved Country has been film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
ed twice (in 1951 and 1995) and was the basis for the Broadway musical Lost in the Stars
Lost in the Stars
Lost in the Stars is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton...
(adaptation by Maxwell Anderson
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist.-Early years:Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to William Lincoln "Link" Anderson, a Baptist minister, and Charlotte Perrimela Stephenson, both of Scots and Irish descent...
, music by Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
).
The Alan Paton Award
Alan Paton Award
The Alan Paton Award is a South African literary award that been conferred annually since 1989 for meritorious works of non-fiction. Sponsored by the Johannesburg weekly the Sunday Times, recipients represent the cream of contemporary South African writers who produce works that are judged to...
for non-fiction is conferred annually in his honour.
See also
- LiberalismLiberalismLiberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
- Contributions to liberal theoryContributions to liberal theoryIndividual contributors to classical liberalism and political liberalism are associated with philosophers of the Enlightenment. Liberalism as a specifically named ideology begins in the late 18th century as a movement towards self-government and away from aristocracy...
- List of African writers
- List of South Africans — In 2004 Paton was voted 59th in the SABC3's Great South AfricansSABC3's Great South AfricansGreat South Africans was a South African television series that aired on SABC3 and hosted by Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu and Denis Beckett. In September 2004, thousands of South Africans took part in an informal nationwide poll to determine the "100 Greatest South Africans" of all time...
External links
- The Alan Paton Centre & Struggle Archives
- Alan Paton — A short biography and bibliography
- A mixture of ice and fulfilled desire, Mail & GuardianMail & GuardianThe Mail & Guardian is a South African weekly newspaper, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a strong focus on politics, government, the environment, civil society and business.- The Mail & Guardian newspaper :...
, Nov 14 2005