On Tuesday 2 November the Johannesburg Review of Books will host a literary commemoration of the life of poet and novelist Achmat Dangor, who died in September 2020. The event will take place online on Tuesday, 2 November at 5.30pm SAST/3.30pm GMT (watch on YouTube or Facebook).
Achmat Dangor was an acclaimed writer and prominent activist, one of the founding members of the Congress of South African Writers. He was a tireless campaigner for social justice, and over the years he headed up various non-governmental organisations, including the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. He was also the Southern Africa Representative for the Ford Foundation. In 2015 he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the South African Literary Awards (SALA).
He was the author of BITTER FRUIT, which was shortlisted for Man Booker Prize 2004 and the IMPAC Literary Award 2003 and was voted one of the 100 best books of 2004 by Canada’s Globe & Mail. It is considered a classic of Southern African literature.
His other works include the novels KAFKA’S CURSE (1997), which won the Herman Charles Bosman Prize, THE Z TOWN TRILOGY (1990) and WAITING FOR LEILA (1981); the short story collection STRANGE PILGRIMAGES (2013); a play, MAJIET (1986); and the poetry collection PRIVATE VOICES (1992).
Read an excerpt from BITTER FRUIT with a brief introduction by Achmat’s literary agent Isobel Dixon here.