Jordan on the passing of three prominent South African writers
22 January 2007
We enter this year in a devastatingly painful state after the passing of
three prominent South African writers in a space of four days. Toek Blignaut,
Doc Bikitsha and Sydney Sipho Sepamla, passed away on 5, 6 and 9 January 2007,
respectively. Through journalistic writing, poetry and fiction, these writers
established themselves as chroniclers of our history and remained a substantial
part of South African writing over several decades.
In the past year all the three writers were recognised and honoured by both
the government and the writing community in South Africa for their sterling
contribution to the development and preservation of our cultural heritage. Toek
Blignaut, author of 82 books in a career that spans over five decades, received
the Lifetime Achievement Award at the South African Literary Awards held in
Bloemfontein on 8 December 2006. Blignaut was honoured for her selfless
dedication to the development of South African literature and languages in an
event organised by the wRite Associates in collaboration with the Department of
Arts and Culture.
Blignaut's most popular work is her first book, Donker op Nebo, which was
written in Afrikaans and first published in 1970. Blignaut started writing
stories for magazines on a freelance basis. After winning two competitions run
by the then Afrikaanse Pers, she was invited to join Rooi Rose magazine as a
journalist. In this position Blignaut wrote short stories, serial stories and
articles. Her first short story in the magazine appeared in 1957. During her
12-years at Rooi Rose, she covered the first world heart transplant by Dr Chris
Barnard in the mid-sixties. Some of Blignaut's remarkable works include, Uit
Hirdie Donker Nag and Pad na Monomotapa. Her last book Silwerkruik, was
published in 2006 and at the time of her death she was writing her memoirs.
Blignaut's passing was followed by the shocking news of the departure of Doc
Bikitsha and Sipho Sepamla, both recipients of the Memory is our Heritage
fellowship grants. The fellowships are an initiative of the Mutloatse Heritage
Trust in collaboration with the Department of Arts and Culture. These
fellowships are offered to outstanding South African writers and journalists to
document our cultural heritage through the contributions of our major artists.
Bikitsha was born on 19 November 1930 at the Bridgman Memorial Hospital in
Mayfair, Johannesburg. Although trained as a teacher, Bikitsha could not
restrict his influence to the classroom walls, instead he expanded his horizons
and taught the entire nation through his journalistic writings.
Doc Bikitsha emerged among a galaxy of journalists who remain a significant
part of our history and at the height of intense socio-political upheavals that
brought about a new consciousness among South Africans and subsequently
resonated across the international landscape. Bikitsha worked with legendary
writers such as Henry Nxumalo, Lewis Nkosi, Nat Nakasa, Can Themba, Sophie
Thema, Anthony Sampson, Casey Motsisi, Todd Matshikiza and Ezekiel Mphahlele.
Bikitsha worked for the Golden City Post, Bantu World, the Rand Daily Mail, and
the Sunday Times, among others. Bikitsha commanded a great deal of respect
among journalists and readers alike and has inspired many journalists who
remain the household names in South African journalism.
While still wiping our tears after the passing of Bikitsha, we opened our
eyes to devastating news: we learned that Sipho Sepamla, one of our most
outstanding and prolific poets had also passed away. Sepamla was born in 1932
in West Rand, outside Krugersdorp. He was trained as a teacher at Pretoria
Normal College but is better known as a poet and novelist. He published six
collections of poetry, including with Selected Works (1984) and From Goree to
Soweto (1988), and several novels, as well as The Root Is One (1979), A Ride on
the Whirlwind (1981) and Rainbow Journey (1996). He received the Thomas Pringle
Award in 1976 and in 1985 was recognised in France with the Order of Arts and
Literature.
After the Soweto Uprisings in 1976, Sepamla released a deeply moving and
politically charged collection of poetry, The Soweto I Love (1977), which was
banned by the apartheid government shortly after its release. What
distinguished Sepamla's poetic flair was his ability to deploy the urban
patois, better known as Tsotsi-taal, in his writing without compromising
fundamental literary aesthetics. Sepamla left us shortly after completing his
biography of Victor Ndlazilwane, a legendary jazz musician from Daveyton and
leader of the Jazz Ministers.
The loss of these outstanding writers is a horrific blow to the arts
fraternity, the South African society at large and the writing community across
the globe. We can only derive solace in the realisation that in their lifetime
they served the nation diligently and left their mark in the annals of our
cultural history.
I would like to convey my deepest condolences to the families and friends of
the departed writers. I hope that we will all derive solace from the
realisation that these great writers have served the nation with distinction
and that their contribution was recognised while they were still alive.
Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
22 January 2007
Source: Department of Arts and Culture (http://www.dac.gov.za/)
