Occupation Poet Children 3 daughters Language Afrikaans Name D. Opperman | Nationality South African Role Poet Spouse Marie van Reenen | |
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Born Diederik (Dirk) Johannes Opperman29 September 1914Dundee, Natal Province ( 1914-09-29 ) Books Joernaal Van Jorik, Periandros Van Korinthe, Dolosse, Lied Van Die Land | ||
Diederik (or Dirk) Johannes Opperman, commonly referred to as D.J. Opperman ( 29 September 1914 – 22 September 1985) was an Afrikaans poet. He is considered to be one of the best known Afrikaans poets of the twentieth century.
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Biography
He was born on 29 September 1914 in Dundee in Natal, where he grew up. He went to school in the towns of Estcourt and Vryheid, and afterwards received an M.A. degree from the University of Natal. He taught at schools in Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg, and later on became editor of Die Huisgenoot. In 1949 he became a lecturer at the University of Cape Town. During this period he completed one of his most important publications – Digters van Dertig (Poets of the thirties) – in 1953.
In 1947, he was awarded the prestigious Hertzog Prize for poetry for his work "Heilige beeste" ("Holy Cattle"). Between 1960 and 1975, he held the position of professor of Afrikaans at Stellenbosch University and contributed to the editorial board of "Standpunte" ("Points of View"), a publication of the university. He passed away in Stellenbosch in 1985.
He won four Hertzog prizes (in 1947, 1956, 1969 and 1980), four Hofmeyer prizes (in 1954, 1956, 1966 and 1980), two CNA Prizes (in 1964 and 1980), a prize from the "Drie-Eeue Stigting" ("Three Centuries Foundation") in 1956, the Louis Luyt-prize in 1980 and the Gustav Preller prize for literary criticism in 1985.
The South African composer Cromwell Everson wrote music for some of Opperman's poems, such as Kontraste and Nagstorm oor die see.
Poetry
Verse plays
Essays on literature
