Bartho Smit (15 July 1924 – 31 December 1986) was a South African writer, poet, dramatist and director. He was a member of the

Sestigers The Sestigers (Sixtiers), also known as the Beweging van Sestig (the movement of sixty), were a group of influential resistant Afrikaans-language writers in the 1960s started by André Brink and Breyten Breytenbach, which also included Reza de We ...

, a group of influential Afrikaans writers of the 1960s. He wrote ''Moeder Hanna'' ("Mother Hanna") in 1959, which was an acclaimed drama about the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. In 1962, he wrote the play ("Well Without Water"), but it could not be performed in South Africa because of its overly political message.

Biography

Bartholomeus Jacobus Smit was born on in Klerkskraal, near

Ventersdorp Ventersdorp is a town of 4,200 in Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality, North West Province, South Africa. It was the seat of the defunct Ventersdorp Local Municipality until 2016. Ventersdorp is centrally located, making it easier to access m ...

, South Africa. He graduated from Standerton in 1949 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and in 1951 got a Master of Arts degree from the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...

. In 1949 he met actress Kita Redelinghuys and they married. From 1952 to 1957 they toured Paris, Munich and London as drama students under Jan Rabie. He also immersed himself in philosophy while in Europe. His first publication was the story ''Outa Lukas, die natuurkind'', which was published on 27 March 1941. In the forties he published stories and poems in magazines such as ''The Sentinel'' and ''

Huisgenoot ''Huisgenoot'' (Afrikaans for ''House Companion'') is a weekly South African Afrikaans-language general-interest family magazine. It has the highest circulation figures of any South African magazine and is followed by sister magazine '' YOU'', ...

''. In 1949 the publisher Unie-Boekhandel debuted his first book of poems, ''Mure: verse''. He made his drama debut in 1955 with ''Moeder Hanna'', but really came to public acclaim in 1962 with his play ''Putsonderwater''. In 1978 he received the

Hertzog Prize The Hertzog Prize (or Hertzogprys) is an annual award given to Afrikaans writers by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for the Sciences and Art), formerly the South African Academy for Language, Literature a ...

for drama for his body of work. In 1979 he won the Perskor Prize for Literature for ''Die Keiser''. Also, in 1960, he received the Encyclopædia Britannica Award for the English translation of ''Die verminktes'' (The Maimed). He died on from cancer.

Publications

Poetry

*''Mure: verse''. Unie-Boekhandel, 1949

Plays

*''Moeder Hanna''. Afrikaanse Persboekhandel, 1955 *''Don Juan onder die boere''. Human & Rousseau, 1960 *''Die verminktes''. Perskor, 1960 *''Putsonderwater: ’n toneelstuk in vier dele''. Afrikaanse Persboekhandel, 1962 *''Die man met die lyk om sy nek: ’n moord-komedie''. Afrikaanse Persboekhandel, 1967 *''Christine''. Tafelberg, 1971 *''Die man met die alibi''. Afrikaanse Persboekhandel, 1971 *''Bacchus in die Boland''. Perskor, 1974 *''Die keisier: variasies op ’n sprokie van Hans Andersen''. Perskor, 1977

Sketches

*''Losgoed''. Perskor, 1974

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smit, Bartho 1924 births 1986 deaths People from JB Marks Local Municipality Afrikaner people Afrikaans-language writers South African poets Sestigers 20th-century poets University of Pretoria alumni Hertzog Prize winners for drama Deaths from cancer in South Africa