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Lewis Nkosi (5 December 1936 – 5 September 2010) was a South African writer, who spent 30 years in exile as a consequence of restrictions placed on him and his writing by the Suppression of Communism Act and the Publications and Entertainment Act passed in the 1950s and 1960s. A multifaceted personality, he attempted multiple genre for his writing, including literary criticism, poetry, drama, novels, short stories, essays, as well as journalism.


Early life

Nkosi was born in a traditional Zulu family in a place called Embo in
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
, South Africa. He attended local schools, before enrolling at M. L. Sultan Technical College in
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
."Lewis Nkosi"
South African History Online.


Later life

Nkosi in his early twenties began working as a journalist, first in Durban, joining the weekly publication ''
Ilanga lase Natal ''Ilanga lase Natal'' (''The Natal Sun'' or ''Sun of Natal'') is a Zulu language newspaper, published in KwaZulu-Natal. It was the first ever newspaper to be published in the language. It was co-founded in 1903 by John Langalibalele Dube.
'' ("Natal sun") in 1955, and then 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 ...
for ''Drum'' magazine and as chief reporter for ''Drum''s Sunday newspaper, the ''Golden City Post'', from 1956 to 1960.


Literary career in South Africa

He contributed essays to many magazines and newspapers. His essays criticised
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 ...
and the racist state, as a result of which the South African government banned his works.


Life as an exile

Nkosi faced severe restrictions on his writing due to the publishing regulations found in the Suppression of Communism Act and the Publications and Entertainment Act passed in the 1950s and 1960s. His works were banned under the Suppression of Communism Act, and he faced severe restrictions as a writer. At the same time, he became the first black South African journalist to win a
Nieman Fellowship The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. ...
from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
to pursue his studies. When he applied for permission to go to United States, Nkosi was granted a one-way exit permit to leave South Africa, thus being barred from returning. In 1961, accepting the scholarship to study at Harvard (1961–1962), he began a 30-year exile. In 1962, he attended the
African Writers Conference In June 1962"The First Makerere African W ...
at
Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...
, along with the likes of
Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...
,
Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...
,
Ngugi wa Thiong'o Ngugi or Ngũgĩ is a name of Kikuyu origin that may refer to: *Ngugi wa Mirii (1951–2008), Kenyan playwright *Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (born 1938), Kenyan writer *David Mwaniki Ngugi, Kenyan politician and member of the National Assembly of Kenya *Jo ...
and
Ezekiel Mphahlele Es'kia Mphahlele (17 December 1919 – 27 October 2008) was a South African writer, educationist, artist and activist celebrated as the Father of African Humanism and one of the founding figures of modern African literature. He was given the ...
.Denis Herbstein
"Lewis Nkosi obituary"
''The Guardian'', 22 September 2010. Moving to
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 ...
, Nkosi obtained work with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and between 1962 and 1965 produced the radio programme ''Africa Abroad'', also interviewing major African writers for the television series ''African Writers of Today'' on
NET Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...
, and serving as literary editor for ''The New African'' magazine (1965–1968). He appeared in ''Three Swings on a Pendulum'', a programme about "
Swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, mus ...
" in 1967, which can be viewed on BBC iplayer. In 1970, he was visiting Regents professor at the
University of California-Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...
, and having earned a BA degree in English literature from 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 ...
(1974) and an MA from the
University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...
(1977), he went on to become a Professor of English at the
University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...
(1991–91), as well as holding visiting teaching positions at universities in
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
and in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.


Return to South Africa

Lewis Nkosi returned to South Africa in 2001, after a gap of nearly four decades. His final years before his death in 2010 were passed in financial difficulties and ill health. He was apparently injured in a car crash in 2009 and spent his time on the bed, slowly recuperating from the wounds; however, a recovery never really happened and he drifted towards death. Despite Nkosi being considered an African literary legend, none of his efforts in literature gave him any economic relief and his friends and fans gathered a charity fund to pay his last medical bills. Nkosi died aged 73 on Sunday, 5 September 2010, at the Johannesburg Wellness Clinic.Ntongela Masilela
"Lewis Nkosi (1936-2010): An Appreciation"
Claremont (Los Angeles), California, 7 and 8 September 2010, survived by his partner, Astrid Starck-Adler, and his twin daughters, Joy and Louise. A memorial service for Nkosi was held on 8 September at the Museum Africa, Newtown Cultural Precinct, in Johannesburg, and his funeral took place in Durban on 10 September.


Works


Novels

Though Nkosi started his literary career in the 1960s, he entered the realm of fiction much later than his ''Drum'' colleagues. His first novel, ''Mating Birds'', was published in 1983. His next novel, ''Underground People'', came out in 2002 and his third novel, ''Mandela's Ego'', in 2006. ''Mating Birds'' (1986) ''Mating Birds'' is the narration of an educated South African black native called Ndi Sibiya. He narrates the story from prison, awaiting a death sentence. As a jobless youth Sibiya wanders the city of Durban and reaches the segregated beach. There he finds a white girl on the other side of the fence (on the white side of the beach). They silently exchange looks and enter into a muted affair. They were well aware that race laws in South Africa would sentence them to imprisonment if caught. The white girl intentionally allows her naked body to be seen by Sibiya. He takes the entire episode as a love affair between the white girl and himself. The girl with her regular appearances on the beach and seeming interest dupes Sibiya into believing her. After several silent meetings on the beach, Sibiya follows her to her bungalow, finds her lonely and willing, and enters into sexual copulation. But they are discovered by neighbours, and the white girl accuses Sibiya of rape. A trial by white judges begins. In the court, the white girl, Veronica, denies any knowledge of Sibiya and reiterates the charge of rape against him. The court finds Sibiya guilty and sentences him to death. The novel generated a controversy and received critical attention, being awarded the Macmillan Silver Pen Prize in 1986. ''The New York Times'' declared the novel one of the best hundred books of 1986. ''Underground People'' (2002) Nkosi's second novel, ''Underground People'', is a political thriller. In this novel, he moved away from the theme of inter-racial sexual relations and centred the story on the armed struggle in South Africa. Cornelius Molapo is a language teacher and a member of the National Liberation Movement, an organisation waging armed war against the racist white minority government. He is a poet, a great orator, hungry reader of many books, and even plays cricket. He often criticises the policy of the Central Committee and irks its members. To counter him, they draw a strategy. The Central Committee of the Organization advises Cornelius to go to a remote part of the country called Tabanyane and to participate in peasant uprisings. The Central Committee plans to make use of his absence from mainstream life into an act of abduction by the Government. At first he hesitates, but reluctantly agrees. After reaching Tabanyane, Cornelius organises the poor illiterate jobless country men into revolutionary men and leads them. In this task, he enlists the support of Princess Madi, who is a daughter of the deposed chief of Tabanyane. During the clandestine operations, he takes two white hostages into his custody. However, he is unwilling to execute the unarmed civilians. Meanwhile, the Central Committee starts a big propaganda about the disappearance of Cornelius from duties. They blame it on the South African police, who deny any knowledge of him. The National Liberation Movement brings the matter to international organisations like the United Nations and Human Rights International. The latter sends its official Anthony Ferguson, who was born in South Africa and immigrated to England, to investigate the matter. Anthony's sister and mother are still living in South Africa. After some rest he undertakes to search for Cornelius unsuccessfully. The Central Committee members, plagued by jealousy of his success as a revolutionary, want to use the issue of white hostages for the release of their leader from prison, engage in talks with the Government and to observe a ceasefire. But contrary to the expectations of the Central Committee, Cornelius defies them and conducts attacks on the police stations and other locations. To escape police persecution, Cornelius leaves his hideout, and allows the white hostages to leave unharmed. The white hostages reach police and recognise Cornelius's photo and confirm his active presence in the fight. Naturally, police suspect the intentions of Anthony Ferguson and ask him to go to Tabanyane, to convince Cornelius to surrender. He takes the help of a member of the Central Committee and reaches Tabanyane. However, Cornelius refuses to surrender and ditch the people for whom he had been fighting. Eventually, the police shoot, and he dies. ''Mandela's Ego'' (2006) Nkosi's third novel, ''Mandela's Ego'' (2006), is the story of Dumisani Gumede, a teenage boy who has come of age in a Zulu village and runs after every girl and woman to satiate his newly acquired power. His uncle Simon tells him many stories about
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
and makes him a follower of the great leader. Uncle Simon's storytelling is invested with lies and half-truths. He also tells Dumisani that Mandela is a great pursuer of women. Taking cue from the "real life" of Mandela, Dumisani goes unstopped in his conquests. In his village, every girl falls for his charms except Nobuhle, a beautiful orphaned girl. Dumisani's admiration for Mandela goes to the extent of starting a football club, with Dumisani as its chairman. He even goes to the city of Pietermartizburg to see Mandela, who comes there to address a convention demanding equal rights for all races and a dialogue among all the races. After his schooling, Dumisani joins a tourist company as a guide. Dumisani's friend Sofa Sonke, driver of the tourist bus, brings every day a newspaper from Durban for him. After many attempts to win Nobuhle, Dumisani finally succeeds and gets accepted by her. She invites him to meet her on the river bank. On the same day, Dumisani receives the news of Mandela's arrest. The news shocks him and takes his nerve away. When Dumisani tries to unite with Nobuhle, his body fails. He tries again but his sexual energy deserts him. Nobuhle leaves in tears. Dumisani consults many witch doctors, tribal doctors and conventional doctors in hospitals. But nothing works to cure him. He leaves his home, wanders the country aimlessly for years. When he reaches middle age, one day he hears the news of Mandela's release from prison. He attends the first public address of Mandela after the release. He rejoices. In his joy, he huddles a woman next to him, and his lost sexual urge returns. His life is restored. ''Mandela's Ego'' was shortlisted for the 2007 ''Sunday Times'' Fiction Award.


Drama

Nkosi's plays include ''The Black Psychiatrist'' and some drama for radio.


Poetry

Nkosi's few poems include "To
Herbert Dhlomo Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo (1903, Siyamu/Pietermaritzburg (Natal) – 20 October 1956, Durban) is one of the major founding figures of South African literature and perhaps the first prolific African creative writer in English. His elder brother ...
" in ''Ilanga lase Natal'' (22 October 1955). Ntongela Masilela notes that, despite Nkosi's early promise, "in his whole life he wrote seven poems, the last one written in
Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...
in the early 1980s where he was then living and published at that time in ''Sechaba'', the political and cultural review of the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
."


Short stories

Nkosi wrote a good number of short stories. His story of police violence and popular resistance in a black township, "Under the Shadow of the Guns", appeared in the 1990 anthology '' Colours of a New Day'', the book taking its title from an optimistic phrase used by one of the characters in Nkosi's story.


Literary criticism and journalism

He wrote critical essays on many issues, including politics, history, African affairs, American culture, and civilisation. No other critic touches upon such diversified themes. His critical works include ''Home and Exile'' (1965), ''The Transplanted Heart'' (1975), and ''Tasks and Masks: Themes and Styles of African Literature'' (1981). His essays and other works were published over four decades in America, England and Africa. Publications in which his writing appeared include ''
Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
'', ''
Ilanga lase Natal ''Ilanga lase Natal'' (''The Natal Sun'' or ''Sun of Natal'') is a Zulu language newspaper, published in KwaZulu-Natal. It was the first ever newspaper to be published in the language. It was co-founded in 1903 by John Langalibalele Dube.
'', ''Golden City Post'', '' Transition'', ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', ''
The Africa Report ''The Africa Report'' is an English-language quarterly magazine that focuses on African politics and economics. History and profile Created in 2005 by Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 2 ...
'', ''Afro-Asian Writings'', ''Sechaba'', ''
New Society ''New Society'' was a weekly magazine of social inquiry and social and cultural comment, published in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1988. It drew on the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, psychology, human geography, social history and so ...
'', ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'', ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'', ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'', ''
Negro Digest The ''Negro Digest'', later renamed ''Black World'', was a magazine for the African-American market. Founded in November 1942 by publisher John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company, ''Negro Digest'' was first published locally in Chicago, Illi ...
'', ''
Black Orpheus ''Black Orpheus'' (Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play '' Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Morae ...
'', ''Fighting Talk'', ''
Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...
'', ''The African Guardian'', ''Southern African Review of Books'', ''
London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of ...
'', ''Genèva-Afrique'', ''The New African'', and ''
Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at ...
''.


Themes

As opposed to
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 ...
, Nkosi's work explores themes of politics, relationships, and sexuality. His works, possessing great depth, received less recognition than they had actually deserved. In the post-apartheid era, his works are gaining critical attention across the third world. Nkosi joined forces with African powerhouse authors
Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...
and
Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...
in an interview in the third chapter of Bernth Lindfors' ''Conversations With Chinua Achebe''. In 1978, Nkosi and composer
Stanley Glasser Stanley 'Spike' Glasser (28 February 1926 – 5 August 2018), was a South African-born British composer and academic who studied with Benjamin Frankel and Mátyás Seiber. His concert music was deeply influenced by his ethnomusicological investiga ...
wrote a collection of six Zulu-style songs called ''Lalela Zulu'' for
The King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 19 ...
, a group of six white British, male ''
a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
'' singers.


Quotations

On the situation in South Africa during apartheid : "Africans have learned that if they are remaining sane at all it is pointless to try to live within the law. In a country where the Government has legislated against sex, drinks, employment, free movement and many other things, which are taken for granted in the Western world, it would take a monumental kind of patience to keep up with the demands of the law. A man's sanity may even be in question by the time he reaches the ripe age of twenty-five." (Nkosi: ''Home and Exile'', 22) On black writers and their literature : "Black South Africans did not produce on elite which was alienated form the black masses or even from the conditions of everyday life under which our people laboured. In South Africa we were saved from the emergence of Black Bourgeoisie by the leveling effect of apartheid." (Nkosi: ''Home and Exile'', 32) On his exile : "A writer needs his roots; he needs his people perhaps more than they need him in order that they should corroborate the vision he has of them, or at least, to dispute the statements he may make about their lives." (Nkosi: ''Home and Exile'', 93) On the writers and commitment : "…whether we consider ourselves revolutionaries or not, are playing a marginal role. We may be good for propaganda; we may raise some money and build up contacts for the people of South Africa-but there is no such thing as a revolution fought in exile, without a base among the oppressed masses of the country for which the change is desired." (Nkosi: ''On South Africa'', 286–292) : "Ambushed by history, deprived of the moral and material support of the socialist camp by the fall of the Soviet Union and its satellite states, a negotiated peace, between a lame government and weary liberation movements was probably the next best thing.… The negotiated peace enacted what Doris Somer, writing about the South Africa, described as a premature end of a history." (''The Republic of Letters: Mandela’s Republic'')


Critical appraisal and research

The first comprehensive and critical review on Nkosi appeared in 2006, edited by Professor Lindy Steibel and Professor Liz Gunner, entitled ''Still Beating the Drum: Critical Perspectives on Lewis Nkosi'', published by Wits University Press. Nkosi's works are gaining recognition and being prescribed as university and college textbooks. Some of his works of criticism and essays have been accepted as standard reference texts in the area of African literary criticism and literature. Research on Nkosi's work has also gained momentum across the Third World countries. He is a featured writer in the
KZN Literary Tourism KZN Literary Tourism is a literary tourism research project initiated in 2002 by Professor Lindy Stiebel, a lecturer in the English Studies department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The project has created an online archive of over a 100 writ ...
project.


Bibliography

; Collections of essays * ''Home and Exile'', Longman, 1965 * ''Home and Exile and other selections'', Longman, 1983, * ''The Transplanted Heart: Essays on South Africa'', 1975 * ''Tasks and Masks: Themes and Styles of African Literature'', Longman, 1981, ; Plays * ''The Rhythm of Violence'' (1964) * ''The Chameleon and the Lizard'' * ''The Black Psychiatrist'' (2001) ; Novels * ''Mating Birds'', Constable, 1986, (Winner of the Macmillan Pen prize) * ''Underground People'', Kwela Books, 2002, , originally published in Dutch in 1994 * ''Mandela's Ego'', Struik, 2006, ; Short stories * "The Hold-Up", Lusaka, Zambia: Wordsmith ; Films * Nkosi shared the writing credits with
Lionel Rogosin Lionel Rogosin (January 22, 1924, New York City, New York – December 8, 2000, Los Angeles, California) was an independent American filmmaker. Rogosin worked in political cinema, non-fiction partisan filmmaking and docufiction, influenced by I ...
on ''
Come Back, Africa ''Come Back, Africa'' is a 1959 film, the second feature-length film written, produced, and directed by American independent filmmaker Lionel Rogosin. The film had a profound effect on African cinema, and remains of great historical and cultur ...
'' (1959), a film shot mainly in
Sophiatown Sophiatown , also known as Sof'town or Kofifi, is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Sophiatown was a black cultural hub that was destroyed under apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "apart ...
.


Awards

* 1961:
Nieman Fellowship The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships. Nieman Fellowships for journalists A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. ...
, Harvard University * 1965: Dakar Festival Prize * 1977: C. Day-Lewis Fellowship * 1987: Macmillan Silver Pen Award * 2009: Presidential National
Order of Ikhamanga The Order of Ikhamanga is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003 and is granted by the President of South Africa for achievements in arts, culture, literature, music, journalism, and sports (which were initially recognised b ...
: Silver (OIS)


Posthumous honour

In February 2011, wordsetc.co.za published a commemorative volume entitled ''The Beautiful Mind of Lewis Nkosi''. On 13 June 2011,
Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writin ...
participated in a colloquium to commemorate the life and works of Lewis Nkosi.Deborah Minors
"Gordimer, Mtshali, Khumalo remember Lewis Nkosi"
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 19 July 2011. On 12 April 2012, the
Durban University of Technology The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is a multi-campus university situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 following the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and it was initially known as the Durban Instit ...
(DUT) conferred on Nkosi a posthumous honorary Doctor of Technology degree in Arts and Design in recognition of his significant contributions as a prolific and profound South African writer and essayist."DUT posthumous honorary Doctorate for Professor Lewis Nkosi"
, Durban University of Technology, 28 February 2012. The award was accepted by his widow, Professor Astrid Starck-Adler, at the graduation ceremony at the DUT Midlands Campus. She was also the guest speaker during the ceremony.Leanne Jansen
"Honours for top South Africans"
''IOL News'', 27 February 2012.


References


Further reading

* Bernth Lindfors (ed.), ''Conversations With Chinua Achebe'', University Press of Mississippi (October 1997) * Geoffrey V. Davis (ed.), ''Southern African Writing: Voyages and Explorations'', Rodopi (January 1994) * Lindy Stiebel and Liz Gunner (eds), ''Still Beating the Drum: Critical Perspectives on Lewis Nkosi'', KwaZuluNatal University Press, 2006. * Gall, Emily
"Lewis Nkosi: A Fragile Soul’s Quest for Home"
''English in Africa'' 39, no. 3 (2012): 65–80.


External links

* Sandile Ngidi
"Lewis Nkosi Selected Milestones: Writing and Honours"
''Mail & Guardian'', 12 November 2021.
Tribute to Lewis Nkosi by the Minister of Arts and Culture, Ms Lulama Xingwana MP
South African Government Information, 8 September 2010.
"RIP Lewis Nkosi, 1936 – 2010"
''Sunday Times'' Books Live, 6 September 2010. * Vuyo Seripe
"Writer's Block"
Mahala, 28 September 2010.
"Lewis Nkosi, writer and academic"
''The Witness'', 16 September 2010; reprinted in ''Pambazuka News''.
"Lewis Nkosi (1936–2010): An Appreciation"
Post-Colonial Networks. * Litzi Lombardozzi
"The Journey Beyond Embo: the construction of place and identity in the writings of Lewis Nkosi"
University of Kwa-Zulu Natal
"Journeying beyond Embo: the construction of exile, place and identity in the writings of Lewis Nkosi"
dissertation, January 2007.
A documentary on Lewis Nkosi
* Ryan Wells
"Hands Off, Westerner"
Cinespect, 24 January 2012. * Zodidi Mhlana
"Follow the literary trails of great writers"
''The New Age Online'', 23 February 2012. * Janice Harris

Weber State University, Spring/Summer 1994, Volume 11.2. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nkosi, Lewis 1936 births 2010 deaths 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century essayists 20th-century short story writers 20th-century South African male writers 20th-century South African novelists 21st-century short story writers 21st-century South African male writers 21st-century South African novelists Male dramatists and playwrights Nieman Fellows People from KwaZulu-Natal Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga South African dramatists and playwrights South African exiles South African expatriates in the United Kingdom South African expatriates in the United States South African journalists South African male novelists South African male short story writers South African short story writers Zulu people