Lionel Abrahams (11 April 1928 – 31 May 2004) was a South African novelist, poet, editor, critic, essayist and publisher. He was born in

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 ...

, where he lived his entire life. He was born with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...

and had to use a wheelchair until 11 years of age. Best known for his poetry, he was mentored by

Herman Charles Bosman 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 and Mark Twain and developed a style emphasizing the use of satire. His Englis ...

, and later edited seven volumes of Bosman's posthumously published works. Abrahams went on to become one of the most influential figures in South African literature in his own right, publishing numerous poems, essays, and two novels. Through Renoster Books, which he started in 1956, he published works by

Oswald Mtshali Mr Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali (born 17 January 1940) is a South African poet. He has written in Zulu language, Zulu, English language, English, and Afrikaans language, Afrikaans. He studied at Columbia University. He now lives in greenhills. ...

and

Mongane Wally Serote Mongane Wally Serote (born 8 May 1944) is a South African poet and writer. He became involved in political resistance to the apartheid government by joining the African National Congress (ANC) and in 1969 was arrested and detained for several m ...

heralding the emergence of black poetry during the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

era. An account of his important role in introducing black writers to PEN is given by his close friend, the writer

Jillian Becker Jillian Becker (born 2 June 1932) is a South African-born British author, journalist, and lecturer. She specialises in research about terrorism, having written '' Hitler's Children: The Story of the Baader-Meinhof Terrorist Gang'' (1977), amo ...

In 1986, he married Jane Fox. That year, he was awarded honorary doctorates of literature by 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 ...

and 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 ...

Novels

* ''The Celibacy of Felix Greenspan: A novel in 18 stories'', published by Bateleur Press, 1977 * ''The White Life of Felix Greenspan'', published by M&G Books, 2002

Poetry

* ''Journal of a New Man'', published by Ad Donker, 1984 * ''The Writer in Sand'', published by Ad Donker, 1988 * ''A Dead Tree Full of Live Birds'', published by Snail Press, 1988 * ''Chaos Theory of the Heart'', published by Jacana Media, 2005 * ''To Halley's Comet'', publishers unknown.

Works about Lionel Abrahams

* ''Lionel Abrahams: A Reader'', ed. Patrick Cullinan, published by Ad Donker, 1988 * ''A Writer in Stone: South African Writers Celebrate the 70th Birthday of Lionel Abrahams'', ed. G. Friedman and Roy Blumenthal, published by David Philip, 1998

References

1928 births 2004 deaths Jewish writers South African male poets South African Jews 20th-century South African poets 21st-century South African poets 20th-century South African male writers 21st-century South African male writers {{SouthAfrica-writer-stub