Herman Charles Bosman (5 February 1905 – 14 October 1951) is widely regarded as South Africa's greatest short-story writer. He studied the works of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

and Mark Twain and developed a style emphasizing the use of satire. His English-language works utilize primarily Afrikaner characters and highlight the many contradictions in Afrikaner society during the first half of the twentieth century.

Early life

Bosman was born at Kuils River, near

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, in

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

, to an Afrikaner family. He was raised with English as well as

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 ...

. While Bosman was still young, his family travelled frequently, he spent a short time at Potchefstroom College which would later become

Potchefstroom High School for Boys Potchefstroom High School for Boys is a public English medium high school for boys situated in Potchefstroom in the North West province of South Africa. It is one of the oldest schools in South Africa. Historical perspective School history ...

, he later moved to

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 Dem ...

where he went to school at

Jeppe High School for Boys Jeppe High School for Boys is a public English medium high school for boys located in Kensington, a suburb of Johannesburg in the Gauteng province of South Africa, one of the 23 Milner Schools and also one of the top schools in the Gauteng ...

in Kensington. While there he contributed to the school magazine. When Bosman was sixteen, he started writing short stories for the national Sunday newspaper (the '' Sunday Times''). He attended the Johannesburg College of Education (which in 2002 was incorporated into the

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

) and submitted various pieces to student literary competitions.

Career and adult life

After graduation, Bosman accepted a

teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely ...

position in the

Groot Marico Groot Marico is a hamlet in the North West Province of South Africa. The economy relies heavily on agriculture, mining and tourism. Groot Marico is named after the Marico River. Description The topography comprises dry bushveld with a climate that ...

district in an Afrikaans-language school. The area provided the backdrop for his best-known short stories, the ''Oom Schalk Lourens'' series (featuring an older character named Oom Schalk Lourens) and the ''Voorkamer'' sketches. Over the June school holidays in 1926, Bosman visited his family in Johannesburg. During an argument, he shot and killed his stepbrother. Bosman was sentenced to death for the crime and was sent to Death row at the

Pretoria Central Prison Pretoria Central Prison, renamed Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area by former President Jacob Zuma on 13 April 2013 and sometimes referred to as Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Services is a large prison in central Pretoria, within the City of Tshwane ...

. His sentence was later reduced to ten years with hard labour. In 1930, he was released on parole after serving half his sentence. His prison experiences formed the basis for his semi-autobiographical book, ''Cold Stone Jug''. Bosman then started his own printing-press company and was part of a literary set in Johannesburg, associating with poets, journalists and writers, including Aegidius Jean Blignaut. He toured overseas for nine years, spending most of his time in London. The short stories that he wrote during this period formed the basis for another of his best-known books, ''Mafeking Road''. At the start of 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 opposi ...

, he returned to South Africa and worked as a journalist. During this time he translated the ''

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam ''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'' is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English of a selection of quatrains (') attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia". Altho ...

'' into Afrikaans. Bosman lamented the fact that Johannesburg neglected its heritage. In ''The Standard Theatre'' he complained that the city's residents: "will pull down the Standard Theatre like they have pulled down all the old buildings, theatres, gin-palaces, dosshouses, temples, shops, arcades, cafes and joints that were intimately associated with the mining-camp days of Johannesburg. Because I know Johannesburg. And I am satisfied that there is no other city in the world that is so anxious to shake off the memories of its early origins." Bosman's second wife was Ella Manson. The couple were renowned for their

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

lifestyle and parties, which featured witty conversation and usually ended well after midnight. From 1948 to his death in 1951, Bosman was employed as proof editor at ''The Sunday Express''. In addition, he was contracted to write a weekly Voorkamer story for ''The Forum'' magazine. His last wife was Helena Lake (née Stegmann). After a

housewarming party A housewarming party is a party traditionally held soon after moving into a new residence. It is an occasion for the hosts to present their new home to their friends, post-moving, and for friends to give gifts to furnish the new home. House-warm ...

in October 1951, Bosman experienced severe chest pains and was taken to Edenvale Hospital. On admission, he was asked for his birthplace. He replied, "Born Kuilsrivier – Died Edenvale Hospital." He was discharged and collapsed at home a few hours later. Bosman died as he was being rushed to hospital. He is buried in

Westpark Cemetery Westpark Cemetery is a large cemetery in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is the resting place of some of the country's well-known citizens. It is a non-denomination designated burial ground, and thus has Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Chinese b ...

in Westdene under a triangular headstone that reads "Die Skrywer, The Writer, Herman Charles Bosman, b 3.2.1905, d 14.10.1951."

Legacy

After his death, the rights to his works were auctioned. They were purchased by his last wife, Helena, and upon her death, the rights were passed to her son, who retains them. In 1960, however, Helena sold some of his documents and 123 of his water colours and pencil sketches to the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

in Texas. Only three of his books were published during his lifetime: ''Mafeking Road'' published by Dassie, and ''Jacaranda in the Night'' and ''Cold Stone Jug'' published by APB. ''Mafeking Road'' has never been out of print since its publication in 1947. His biography was written several times by Valerie Rosenberg. Her first effort was called ''Sunflower to the Sun'', followed by ''Herman Charles Bosman, a Pictorial Biography'', and most recently by ''Herman Charles Bosman: Between the Lines''. The last of these contains much new research and deals in detail with aspects of Bosman's life and parentage that were previously considered taboo. Because many of his stories were originally published in long-forgotten magazines and journals, there are a number of anthologies by different collators each containing a different selection. His original books have also been published many times by different publishers. The Herman Charles Bosman Literary Society meets annually for readings, performances and discussions of his works.

Books

:''Some of the ISBNs and publishers below may not be for the original edition.'' * ''Mafeking Road & Other Stories'' (1947), Human & Rousseau, Archipelago Books (2008) * ''Rubaijat van Omar Khajjam'' (1948), Colin Reed-McDonald * ''Cold Stone Jug'' (1949), Human & Rousseau * ''Veld-trails and Pavements'' (1949), with Carel Bredell, Afrikaanse Pers-Boekhandel * ''Cask of Jerepigo'' (1957), Central News Agency * ''Unto Dust'' (1963), edited by Lionel Abrahams, Anthony Blond * ''Bosman at his Best: a choice of stories and sketches'' (1965) edited by Lionel Abrahams Human & Rousseau * ''Bosman's Johannesburg'' (1986) edited by Stephen Gray Human & Rousseau * ''Ramoutsa Road'' (1987) Ad. Donker * '' A Bekkersdal Marathon'' (1971), Human & Rousseau * ''The Earth is Waiting'' (1974) * ''Willemsdorp'' (1977), Human & Rousseau * ''Almost Forgotten Stories'' (1979) H. Timmins * ''My Friend Herman Charles Bosman'' 980Perskor. author: Aegidius Jean Blignaut * ''Dead End Road'' 980AD.Donker. author: Aegidius Jean Blignaut * ''Selected Stories'' (1980), edited by Stephen Gray, Human & Rousseau * ''The Collected Works of Herman Charles Bosman'' (1981), edited by Lionel Abrahams, Jonathan Ball * ''The Bosman I like'' (1981), edited by Patrick Mynhardt, Human & Rousseau * ''Death Hath Eloquence'' (1981), edited by Aegidius Jean Blignaut, Christelike Uitgewersmaatskappy * ''Uncollected Essays'' (1981), Timmins * ''The Illustrated Bosman'' (1985), Jonathan Ball * ''Makapan's Cave and other stories'' (1987), edited by Stephen Gray, Penguin Books. * ''A Bosman Treasury'' (1991), edited by Ian Lusted, Human & Rousseau * ''Jurie Steyn's Post Office'' (1991), Human & Rousseau * ''Herman Charles Bosman : the prose juvenilia'' (1998), collected and introduced by M. C. Andersen, University of South Africa * ''Idle Talk : voorkamer stories'' (1999), edited by Craig MacKenzie, Human & Rousseau * ''Old Transvaal Stories'' (2000), edited by Craig MacKenzie, Human & Rousseau * ''The Rooinek and Other Boer War Stories'' (2000), edited by Craig MacKenzie, Human & Rousseau * ''Jacaranda in the Night'' (2000), Human & Rousseau * ''Best of Bosman'' (2001), edited by Stephen Gray and Craig MacKenzie, Human & Rousseau * ''Seed-Time and Harvest, and Other Stories'' (2001), edited by Craig MacKenzie, Human & Rousseau * ''Verborge Skatte: Herman Charles Bosman in/on Afrikaans'' (2001), collected by Leon de Kock, Human & Rousseau

Plays

* ''Cold Stone Jug'' (1982) adapted by Barney Simon from the play by Stephen Gray Human & Rousseau

Notes

External links

The Herman Charles Bosman Literary SocietyCity of Johannesburg Bosman page

Snyman, Salomé. "Willemsdorp by Herman Charles Bosman: the small-town locale as fictional vehicle for commentary on social and moral issues in the South African historical context." Tydskrif vir letterkunde 49.2 (2012): 60-71.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosman, Herman Charles 1905 births 1951 deaths People from Kuils River Cape Colony people Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent South African male short story writers South African short story writers Prisoners sentenced to death by South Africa University of the Witwatersrand alumni Burials at Westpark Cemetery