F.A. Venter
Encyclopedia
Francois Alwyn Venter (27 November 1916 - 1997) was a prominent Afrikaans
writer of the 20th century. His novels explored biblical religious themes, or cultural identities in the South African context. He also examined relations between white and black more closely in Wit oemfaan, which describes a white boy's discovery of the customs of the Zulu nation. Swart pelgrim on the other hand relates the experiences and observations of a migrant from a black rural setting to the industrialised, white-dominated environment. He may be best known for his novel Geknelde land (Afrikaans
for Afflicted land), which describes the Eastern Cape
Boer
community living under Xhosa raids
and the English governance of the 19th century.
district. He attended rural schools at first, before attending the Strydenburg Secondary School, and matriculating from Hopetown High School in 1934. He studied at the University of Stellenbosch and commenced a career as journalist in 1938.
for prose in 1976 for his novels Swart pelgrim and Geknelde land. For Kambrokind he received the ruitertrofee ('equestrian trophy') of the Suid-Afrikaanse Federasie van Rapportryerskorpse in 1982. In 1981 the University of Port Elizabeth
awarded him the honorary degree
D. Litt in recognition for his writings. In 1996 he received the Andrew Murray Prize for Literature. He was in addition a member of the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde (a Dutch society for literature).
F.A. Venter died in 1997.
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...
writer of the 20th century. His novels explored biblical religious themes, or cultural identities in the South African context. He also examined relations between white and black more closely in Wit oemfaan, which describes a white boy's discovery of the customs of the Zulu nation. Swart pelgrim on the other hand relates the experiences and observations of a migrant from a black rural setting to the industrialised, white-dominated environment. He may be best known for his novel Geknelde land (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...
for Afflicted land), which describes the Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
community living under Xhosa raids
Xhosa wars
The Xhosa Wars, also known as the Cape Frontier Wars, were a series of nine wars between the Xhosa people and European settlers, from 1779 to 1879 in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa....
and the English governance of the 19th century.
Early life
He was born in Hopetown, and grew up on his parents' farm in the BritstownBritstown
Britstown is a small farming town situated in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, in the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, Emthanjeni Local Municipality. The town is named after Hans Brits who settled here after he accompanied David Livingstone on a venture into the interior. In 1877 a...
district. He attended rural schools at first, before attending the Strydenburg Secondary School, and matriculating from Hopetown High School in 1934. He studied at the University of Stellenbosch and commenced a career as journalist in 1938.
Adult career
For 25 years he would work as journalist in Cape Town, Pretoria, Windhoek and Johannesburg. In 1960 he began farming in the Kenhardt district near Vanwyksvlei, where his parents resided since the 1930s. In 1967 he had to leave the northern Cape due to declining health and settled in Strand, meaning to write full time. In 1970 however he returned to farming, this time as viticulturist at Vredendal in the Olifants river valley. In 1976 when his health deteriorated again, he retired for good from farming and returned to Strand.Recognition
Venter received the Hertzog PrizeHertzog Prize
The Hertzog Prize or is an annual award given to Afrikaans-language writers by the South African Academy for the Sciences and Arts , formerly the South African Academy for Language, Literature and Arts...
for prose in 1976 for his novels Swart pelgrim and Geknelde land. For Kambrokind he received the ruitertrofee ('equestrian trophy') of the Suid-Afrikaanse Federasie van Rapportryerskorpse in 1982. In 1981 the University of Port Elizabeth
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is a South African tertiary education institution with its main administration in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth. The merger creating the NMMU was realized in January 2005 but its history dates back to 1882 with the foundation of Port Elizabeth Art School...
awarded him the honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
D. Litt in recognition for his writings. In 1996 he received the Andrew Murray Prize for Literature. He was in addition a member of the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde (a Dutch society for literature).
F.A. Venter died in 1997.
Writings
The English names given, are translated from Afrikaans, and are not available under those titles.- Die geheim van die berg (The mystery of the mountain) (1944/1958) (young-adult novel)
- Gebondenes (The fettered) (1949)
- Eenderse morge (Similar morgen) (1950)
- Die drosters (The deserters) (1952)
- Swart pelgrim (Black pilgrim) (1952)
- Die tollenaar (The tax collector) (1954)
- Man van Ciréne (Man of Cyrene) (1957)
- Geknelde land (Afflicted land) (1960)
- Offerland (Land of sacrifice) (1963)
- Werfjoernaal (Yard journal) (1965)
- Wit oemfaan (White umfane) (1965) (young-adult novel)
- Gelofteland (Land of the covenant) (1966)
- Bedoelde land (Intended land) (1968)
- Die rentmeesters (The landlords) (1969)
- Water (Water) (1970) Commissioned by the Ministry of Water
- Die middag voel na warm as (The afternoon feels like warm ash) (1974)
- Kambro-kind (Kambro child) (1979)
- Die koning se wingerd (The king's vineyard) (1984)
- Die keer toe ek my naam vergeet het (The time when I forgot my name) (1995)
- Van Botterkraal na Altena: hoogtepunte uit vier outobiografiese romans (From Botterkraal to Altena: highlights from four autobiographical novels) (1996)