Marlene van Niekerk
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| Born: | 10 November 1954 Tygerhoek, South Africa 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... |
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| Country of Birth: | South Africa 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... |
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| Language: | Afrikaans Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape... |
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Marlene van Niekerk is a South Africa
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 who is best known for her novel Triomf. Her graphic and controversial descriptions of a poor 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...
family in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
brought her to the forefront of a post-apartheid society, still struggling to come to terms with all the changes in South Africa.
Biography
Marlene van Niekerk was born on 10 November 1954, on the farm Tygerhoek near CaledonCaledon, Western Cape
Caledon is a town in the Overberg region in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located about east of Cape Town. it had a population of 10,650. It is located in, and the seat of, the Theewaterskloof Local Municipality....
in the Western Cape
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
, South Africa
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...
. She attended school in Riviersonderend
Riviersonderend
Riviersonderend is a small town in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, about east of Cape Town. It is located on a loop of the Sonderend River, from which it takes its name...
and Stellenbosch, where she matriculated from Hoërskool Bloemhof.
She studied Languages and Philosophy at Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Other nearby universities are the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape....
and obtained an MA with the thesis: Die aard en belang van die literêre vormgewing in 'Also sprach Zarathustra' in 1978.
At university she wrote three plays for the lay theatre. In 1979 she moved to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to join theatres in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
as apprentice for directing. From 1980 - 1985 she continued her studies of philosophy in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and obtained a Drs with a thesis on the works of Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology"....
and Paul Ricoeur
Paul Ricoeur
Paul Ricœur was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutic interpretation...
: "Taal en mythe: een structuralistische en een hermeneutische benadering."
Back in South Africa
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...
she lectured in Philosophy at the University of Zululand
University of Zululand
The University of Zululand has been designated to serve as the only comprehensive tertiary educational institution north of the uThukela River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its new status is in accordance with South Africa's National Plan for Higher Education aimed at eradicating inequity and...
, and later at Unisa. Afterwards she was lecturer in Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
at the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
.
Marlene van Niekerk is now Professor at the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Other nearby universities are the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape....
.
Awards
- Agaat, translated by Michiel HeynsMichiel HeynsMichiel Heyns is a South African author, translator and academic.He went to school in Thaba Nchu, Kimberley and Grahamstown, and later studied at the University of Stellenbosch and Cambridge University before serving as a professor of English at the University of Stellenbosch, from 1983 until...
, won the Sol Plaatje Prize for TranslationSol Plaatje Prize for TranslationThe Sol Plaatje Prize for Translation is a bi-annual prize, first awarded in 2007, for translation of prose or poetry into English from any of the other South African official languages. It is administered by the English Academy of South Africa, and was named in honour of Sol Plaatje.-Award...
in 2007. - Sprokkelster won the Ingrid Jonker PrizeIngrid Jonker PrizeThe Ingrid Jonker Prize is a literary prize for the best debut work of Afrikaans or English poetry. It was instituted in honour of Ingrid Jonker after her death in 1965....
in 1978.
External links
- http://www.StellenboschWriters.com
List of African writers