Christopher van Wyk

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Christopher van Wyk (born July 19, 1957 in Johannesburg ; † October 3, 2014 there ; often Chris van Wyk ) was a South African writer and cultural activist. He was best known as an author of books for children and young people, but also as a poet and autobiographer.

Life

Van Wyk was born in Johannesburg's Baragwanath Hospital in what is now Soweto . He had five younger siblings. His family soon moved to the Riverlea district , which was reserved for the Coloreds under the Group Areas Act at the time. Van Wyk lived there until 2005. He attended Riverlea High School . He then worked as an employee of the independent South African Committee for Higher Education (SACHED) as a writer for easy-to-read literature. He was also editor-in-chief of the educational magazine Staffrider , published by the Congress of South African Writers , from 1981 to 1986 . Later he was editor-in-chief of the Ravan Press publishing house .

The poem In Detention , which he wrote at the age of 22 and in which he addressed the many deaths in police custody in what was then the apartheid state, became famous. It appeared in his poetry collection It is time to go home . As a result, he was briefly detained and interrogated. Van Wyk adapted numerous works for a version in simple language for young people, including Long walk to freedom by Nelson Mandela and works by Bessie Head , Sol Plaatje and Can Themba . He wrote biographies in simple language about Sol Plaatje, Oliver Tambo , Helen Joseph and Nelson Mandela. Two autobiographical works about his childhood and youth are Shirley, Goodness & Mercy and Eggs to lay, chickens to hatch . His story A message in the wind is about two boys who are thrown into the tribalism of 1679 by a time machine . He also wrote poetry. He often went to schools to read from his works.

He had two sons with his wife, Kathy van Wyk. He died of complications from cancer .

Works

  • 1966: Maria
  • 1979: It is time to go home
  • 1982: A message in the wind
  • 1988: Petroleum and the orphaned ostrich
  • 1994: Oliver Tambo
  • 1995: My cousin Thabo
  • 1996: April in the Cape of Storms
  • 1996: The year of the tapeworm
  • 2003: Helen Joseph
  • 2003: Now listen here: the life and time of Bill Jardine
  • 2005: Shirley, Goodness and Mercy
  • 2007: We write what we like: celebrating Steve
  • 2009: The long walk to freedom
  • 2010: Nelson Mandela
  • 2010: Eggs to lay, chickens to hatch: a memoir
  • 2014: Ouma Ruby's Secret

Adaptations as a play

  • Shirley, Goodness and Mercy , premiered in 2007 at the Market Theater in Johannesburg

Awards

  • 1980: Olive Schreiner Prize for It is time to go home
  • 1981: Maskew Miller Longman Literature Award for black children's literature for A message in the wind
  • 1996: Sanlam Literary Award for the short story Magic

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d portrait at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on February 5, 2018
  2. ^ Elinor Sisulu: Christopher van Wyk: farewell to a South African literary icon. The Guardian, October 12, 2014, accessed February 6, 2018
  3. ↑ RIP Chris van Wyk 1957 - 2014. bookslive.co.za from October 4, 2014 (English), accessed on February 6, 2018
  4. ↑ Rebekah Kendal: Shirley, Goodness and Mercy ( Memento from May 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) entertainment.iafrica.com from January 23, 2007 (English)
personal data
SURNAME Wyk, Christopher van
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wyk, Chris van (short form)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African writer and cultural activist
DATE OF BIRTH July 19, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Johannesburg
DATE OF DEATH 3rd October 2014
Place of death Johannesburg