Diederik (or Dirk) Johannes Opperman, commonly referred to as D.J. Opperman ( 29 September 1914 – 22 September 1985) was an

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

Biography

He was born on 29 September 1914 in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

in Natal, where he grew up. He went to school in the towns of Estcourt and Vryheid, and afterwards received an M.A. degree from the University of Natal. He taught at schools in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

and

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, and later on became editor of ''

Die 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'', i ...

''. In 1949 he became a lecturer at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. During this period he completed one of his most important publications – ''Digters van Dertig'' (Poets of the thirties) – in 1953. He won the prestigious Hertzog prize for poetry in 1947 for his collection ''Heilige beeste'' ("Holy cattle"). From 1960 to 1975 he was a professor of Afrikaans at Stellenbosch University, where he also served on the editorial board of the publication '' Standpunte'' ("Points of View"). He died in 1985 in Stellenbosch. He won four Hertzog prizes (in 1947, 1956, 1969 and 1980), four

Hofmeyer Hofmeyr is a small Karoo town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, 20 km west of the Bamboesberg mountain range. It lies 64 km north-east of Cradock at an altitude of 1,252 metres. According to the 2011 census, the population ...

prizes (in 1954, 1956, 1966 and 1980), two

CNA Prize The Central News Agency Literary Award (CNA Literary Award, CNA Prize) was a major annual literary award in South Africa. It was named for the CNA chain of bookstores. Founded by Phillip Stein, it recognised works in prose and poetry, and in both t ...

s (in 1964 and 1980), a prize from the ''"Drie-Eeue Stigting"'' ("Three Centuries Foundation") in 1956, the Louis Luyt-prize in 1980 and the

Gustav Preller Gustav Schoeman Preller (4 October 1875 in Klein Schoemansdal, Klipdrift, Pretoria – 7 October 1943 in Pelindaba) was a journalist, historian, writer and literary critic. He fought for the recognition of Afrikaans. Preller helped the Afrika ...

prize for

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

in 1985. The South African composers Cromwell Everson and Prof

Piet de Villiers Pieter Johannes de Villiers (19 June 1924 – 18 May 2015) was a South African pianist, organist and composer. His nicknames were "Prof Piet" and "Piet Vingers". He is known for setting Boerneef poems to music, teaching piano and organ, and acco ...

wrote music for some of Opperman's poems, such as ''Kontraste'' and ''Nagstorm oor die see''.

List of works

Poetry

*''Heilige Beeste'' ("Holy cows" 1945) *''Negester oor Ninevé'' ("Nine star over Niniveh" *''Joernaal van Jorik'' ("The Journal of Jorik" 1949) *''Engel uit die klip'' ("Angel from the Stone" 1948) *''Blom en baaierd'' ("Flower and Chaos" or "Flower and Rubble" 1948) *''Dolosse'' ("Large T-shaped concrete bollards used to curb waves breaking close to infrastructure" ) *''Kuns-mis'' ("Fertilizer") *''Edms. Bpk'' ("Pty. Ltd") *''Komas uit 'n bamboesstok'' ("Comas from a Bamboo Pole" 1979)

Verse plays

*''Periandros van Korinthe'' ("Periandros of Corinth" 1954) *''Vergelegen'' (A place name, lit. "faraway" 1956) *''Voëlvry'' ("Outlaw"; lit. "bird-free" 1987)

Essays on literature

*''Wiggelstok'' ("Divining rod") *''Naaldekoker'' Daggaroker ("Dragonfly") *''Verspreide opstelle'' ("Spread-out essays" – the direct opposite of "Collected essays" in Afrikaans)

References

1914 births 1985 deaths People from Umzinyathi District Municipality Afrikaans-language poets Afrikaner people South African male poets Afrikaans-language writers Calvinist and Reformed poets University of Natal alumni Academic staff of the University of Cape Town Hertzog Prize winners for poetry Academic staff of Stellenbosch University 20th-century South African poets 20th-century South African male writers {{SouthAfrica-poet-stub