The forties
The 1940s saw the beginnings of a flowering of literature by black South Africans, as a generation of mission-educated Africans came of age. Among them was HIE Dhlomo, whose work preached a "return to the source" - the wisdom of finding traditional ways of dealing with modern problems. His work includes several plays and the long poem The Valley of a Thousand Hills (1941). Poets such as BW Vilakazi, who wrote in Zulu, gave new literary life to their indigenous languages.Peter Abrahams, an important voice who began writing in the 1940s, was of mixed-race descent. His early novel, Mine Boy (1946), was published in the same year in which a large miners' strike was violently suppressed by Smuts' government. Mine Boy depicts life in black areas of the time, and dramatises the problems of rural people in a depressed urban environment - a theme that was referred to as the "Jim comes to Jo'burg" phenomenon in South African literature.
Later works by Abrahams (who left South Africa and settled in Britain before finally moving to Jamaica) include The Path of Thunder (1948), which deals with interracial love; Return to Goli (1953), about his journey back to report on life in Johannesburg; and his autobiography Tell Freedom (1954).
Another South African writer who emerged in the 1940s, Herman Charles Bosman, has become one of the country's best-loved authors, particularly for his short stories set in the Groot Marico farming district. These tales, first published in the late 1940s, are a sometimes-gentle-sometimes-savage portrait of Afrikaner storytelling skills and social attitudes. Bosman uses the voice of narrators such as Oom Schalk Lourens who relate the stories as if from their own viewpoint, but in a way that allows the reader to see through their prejudices and blind spots. Among the most famous are Unto Dust and In the Withaak's Shade.
Bosman's first collection of stories was published in Mafeking Road in 1947. A colourful character, who was jailed for the mysterious murder of his stepbrother, Bosman also wrote poetry, novels, and much journalism, often satirical. One of his best works, Cold Stone Jug (1949), is a semi-fictionalised account of his time in jail. All his books have been reissued in new 2001 editions to coincide with the 50th anniversary of his death.
For a more comprehensive discussion of Bosman's life and work, go to Relections on Great Literature
Bosman had satirised social attitudes in South Africa, but it was the work of a former schoolteacher - published in the very year in which the Afrikaner Nationalists came to power and established apartheid - that brought the world's attention to the situation of black people in South Africa. And it was written by a white man.
Cry, The Beloved Country (1948) is possibly the most famous novel to have come out of South Africa. When it was first published, it was an international bestseller, launching its author, Alan Paton, to worldwide fame. The novel put South Africa on the map of international politics by making visible to Western audiences the effects of racial prejudice and the oppression of black people.
It is the story of a black priest who travels to Johannesburg in search of his son, who had fallen victim to the corrupting influence of the city. The novel explores themes of corruption and forgiveness, putting forward a liberal-humanist view of South Africa's racial politics - as well as Paton's deeply felt Christianity. The novel has a lovely poetic language, with extensive use of Biblical cadences, though Paton has also been criticised for a possibly condescending portrayal of black people.
He later got involved in South African politics through the Liberal Party, of which he was a leader; he opposed the apartheid state while refusing to countenance the use of violence against it. He also wrote biography, much journalism, poetry and two further novels.
Find out more about the Alan Paton centre or read up on biographical information at Books and Writers.
For other detailed resources on Paton, access Resources for Alan Paton
