Rolfes Robert Reginald Dhlomo (1906–1971) was a South African journalist, novelist and historian born in Siyamu, Edendale in the province of KwaZulu. His
novella ''An African Tragedy'', published in 1928, was the first fiction work written by a black South African to appear in book form. Together with his brother
Herbert
Herbert may refer to:
People Individuals
* Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert
Name
* Herbert (given name)
* Herbert (surname)
Places Antarctica
* Herbert Mountains, Coats Land
* Herbert Sound, Graham Land
Australia
* Herbert ...
, he worked as a journalist and editor for the journals ''Bantu World'' and ''Ilanga laseNatali''. He wrote his later novels in
isiZulu
Zulu (), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 12 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal of ...
.
He wrote five historical novels about Zulu kings, which have been used extensively as school readers on South African history during
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 ...
, up until now.
His ''Selected Short Stories'' was originally published in 1975 by the Institute for the Study of English in Africa. A revised edition was published in South Africa by the
Institute for the Study of English in Africa, Rhodes University, in 1996 .
Sources
*Chapman, Michael. 2003. ''Southern African Literatures'', University of Natal Press.
1906 births
1971 deaths
Zulu people
South African writers
{{SouthAfrica-writer-stub