Daniel Pule Kunene (1923–2016) was a South African literary scholar, translator and writer. He was Emeritus Professor of African Languages and Literature at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

.Raj Shukla
The Lesson of Daniel Kunene (1923-2016)
Madison 365, June 3, 2016. Accessed August 26, 2020.

Life

Daniel Kunene was born on April 13, 1923, in Edenville,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He gained a BA in 1949 from the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

, an MA in 1951 from 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 ...

and a PhD in 1961 from the University of Cape Town. He married Selina Sekhuthe in 1953. In 1963 he and his family left South Africa, finding political asylum in the United States after a stay in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

.Daniel Kunene: 1923-1916
''University of Cape Town News'', May 27, 2016. Accessed August 26, 2020. Kunene taught at

UW Madison UW, U.W., ''Uw'', or uw may refer to: Universities Canada * University of Waterloo * University of Windsor * University of Winnipeg United States * University of Washington * University of Wisconsin System * University of Wisconsin–La Crosse ...

for 33 years. He also taught at the

, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, and the

Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...

. In summer 1993 Kunene toured South Africa, his first chance to return after three decades of exile. His wife Selina died in October 1993. In 2003 he married again, to Marci Ellis. He died on May 27, 2016.

Works

* ''Dithoko, dithothokiso le dithoholetso tsa sesotho''. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 1966. * ''The works of Thomas Mofolo : summaries and critiques : a forerunner of A digest of African vernacular literatures'', 1967 * ''The beginning of South African vernacular literature: A historical study''. * ''Heroic poetry of the Basotho'', 1971 * ''Pirates have become our kings: poems''. Nairobi, Kenya : East African Pub. House, 1978. * ''The ideophone in Southern Sotho'', Berlin: Reimer, 1978. * (tr.) ''Chaka'' by

Thomas Mofolo Thomas Mokopu Mofolo (22 December 1876 – 8 September 1948) is considered the greatest Basotho author. He wrote mostly in the Sesotho language, but his most popular book, '' Chaka'', has been translated into English and other languages. Biography ...

. 1980. * ''A seed must seem to die'', 1981 * ''From the pit of Hell to the spring of life'', 1984 * ''Thomas Mofolo and the emergence of written Sesotho prose'', 1989 * ''The Zulu novels of C.L.S. Nyembezi : a critical appraisal''. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2007.

References

1923 births 2016 deaths University of South Africa alumni University of Cape Town alumni South African refugees South African academics South African poets South African short story writers South African translators University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty South African emigrants to the United States Scholars of African literature 20th-century translators South African expatriates in the United Kingdom {{SouthAfrica-academic-bio-stub