Frederick Guy Butler (21 January 1918 – 26 April 2001) was a South African poet, academic and writer.

Early life

He was born and educated in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

town of Cradock. He attended

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

and received his MA in 1938. After marrying Jean Satchwell in 1940 he left South Africa to fight in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, he read English literature at

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, graduating in 1947.

Academic career

He returned to South Africa, lecturing in English at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

. In 1951, he returned to

in Makhanda then known as

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

, to take up a post as senior lecturer, and a year later was made professor and head of English. He remained there until his retirement in 1987, when he was appointed Emeritus Professor and Honorary Research Fellow. He received honorary doctorates from the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

, the University of the Witwatersrand and Rhodes University. Butler promoted the culture of English-speaking South Africans, which led to the charge of separatism from some critics, although he argued for integration rather than exclusivity. He was influential in achieving the recognition of South African English Literature as an accepted discipline. In his poetry he strove for the synthesis of European and African elements into a single voice. Butler's childhood is depicted in his autobiography, ''Karoo Morning'' (1977). ''Bursting World'' (1983) continues with an account of his student years and his experiences during World War II, in North Africa and Italy. ''Stranger to Europe'' (1952), his first poetry collection, contains fine war poems. ''Selected Poems'' appeared in 1975, updated with additional poems in 1989. ''Pilgrimage to Dias Cross'' (1987) is a long meditation on racial conflict, incorporating representative voices from various groups, and ending with a prayer for unity. Butler's plays include ''Richard Gush of Salem'' (1982) and ''Demea'' (1990). ''A Local Habitation'' (1991) continues his autobiography up to 1990. His sister, Dorothy Eyre Murray (née Butler), was also a poet. Butler died in Grahamstown in 2001. The main theatre in the

1820 Settlers National Monument The 1820 Settlers National Monument, which honours the contribution to South African society made by the British 1820 Settlers, overlooks Makhanda in the Eastern Cape. It commemorates the Anglo-Africans, as well as the English language, as much a ...

in Grahamstown is named in his honour. Guy Butler House, a student residence at

is also named after him.

Works

Plays

* ''The Dam'' * ''The Dove Returns'' * * * * ''Cape Charade'' * ''Kaatjie Kekkelbek''

Poetry

* ''Stranger to Europe'' * ''South of the Zambezi'' * * ''Songs and Ballads'' * ''Oxford Book of South African Verse'' (1959) *

Autobiographical books

* * ''Bursting World'' *

Other works

* *

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Guy 1918 births 2001 deaths People from Cradock, Eastern Cape South African people of British descent South African male poets Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Rhodes University alumni Academic staff of Rhodes University 20th-century South African poets South African military personnel of World War II South African expatriates in the United States