Ahmed Essop (South Africa)
Encyclopedia
Ahmed Essop was born in 1931 in India
but grew up in Johannesburg
. He attended the University of South Africa
where he obtained a BA in 1956 and later an honours degree.
Employed as a teacher until 1986, Essop gave up teaching to pursue writing full-time. Much of his work focuses on Indians and their roles in South African society
, and include racial themes of apartheid
.
Essop was awarded the Olive Schreiner Prize
in 1979 by the English Academy of Southern Africa for The Hajji and Other Stories (1988).
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
but grew up 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...
. He attended the University of South Africa
University of South Africa
The University of South Africa is a distance education university, with headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa. With approximately 300 000 enrolled students, it qualifies as one of the world's mega universities.-History:...
where he obtained a BA in 1956 and later an honours degree.
Employed as a teacher until 1986, Essop gave up teaching to pursue writing full-time. Much of his work focuses on Indians and their roles in South African society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
, and include racial themes of apartheid
Crime of apartheid
The crime of apartheid is defined by the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as inhumane acts of a character similar to other crimes against humanity "committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other...
.
Writings
- The Dark Goddess (1959) (as Ahmed Yousuf)
- The Visitation (1980)
- The Emperor (1984)
- The Hajji and Other Stories (1988)
- Noorjehan and Other Stories (1990)
- The King of Hearts and Other Stories (1997)
- The Third Prophecy (2004)
Essop was awarded the Olive Schreiner Prize
Olive Schreiner Prize
The Olive Schreiner Prize is an annual award to new and emergent talent administered by the English Academy of South Africa.-Award winners:*2010 Poetry Finuala Dowling Notes from the Dementia Ward*2009 Prose Michael Cawood Green For The Sake of Silence...
in 1979 by the English Academy of Southern Africa for The Hajji and Other Stories (1988).