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Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels ''
Cry, the Beloved Country ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher Benn ...
'' and '' Too Late the Phalarope''.


Family

Paton was born in
Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...
in the
Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Natalia Republic, Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three o ...
(now South Africa's
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 loca ...
province), the son of a civil servant (who was of Christadelphian belief). After attending
Maritzburg College Maritzburg College is a semi-private English-medium high school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1863 and it's the oldest boys' high school in KwaZulu-Natal – and one of the ...
, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at 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 ...
in his hometown, followed by a diploma in education. After graduation, Paton worked as a teacher, first at the Ixopo High School, and subsequently at
Maritzburg College Maritzburg College is a semi-private English-medium high school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1863 and it's the oldest boys' high school in KwaZulu-Natal – and one of the ...
. While at Ixopo he met Dorrie Francis Lusted. They married in 1928 and remained together until her death from
emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alv ...
in 1967. Their life together is documented in Paton's book ''Kontakion for You Departed,'' published in 1969. They had two sons, Jonathan and David. In 1969, Paton married Anne Hopkins. This marriage lasted until Paton's death. Paton was a strong Christian. His faith was one of the reasons he was so strongly opposed to the apartheid.


Early career

He served as the principal of Diepkloof Reformatory for young (native African) offenders from 1935 to 1949, where he introduced controversial "progressive" reforms, including policies on open dormitories, work permits, and home visitation. The men were initially housed in closed dormitories; once they had proven themselves trustworthy, they would be transferred to open dormitories within the compound. Men who showed great trustworthiness would be permitted to work outside the compound. In some cases, men were even permitted to reside outside the compound under the supervision of a care family. Fewer than 5% of the 10,000 men who were given home leave during Paton's years at Diepkloof ever broke their trust by failing to return.


Later career

Paton volunteered for military service with the British Commonwealth forces during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, but was refused by the South African authorities. After the war he took a journey, at his own expense, to tour correctional facilities across the world. He toured Scandinavia, Britain, continental Europe, Canada, and the United States. During his time in Norway, he began work on his seminal novel ''
Cry, the Beloved Country ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher Benn ...
'', which he completed over the course of his journey, finishing it on Christmas Eve in San Francisco in 1946. There, he met Aubrey and Marigold Burns, who read his manuscript and found a publisher: the editor
Maxwell Perkins William Maxwell Evarts "Max" Perkins (September 20, 1884 – June 17, 1947) was an American book editor, best remembered for discovering authors Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Thomas Wolfe. Early life and ...
, noted for editing novels of
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
and
Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist of the early 20th century. Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels as well as many short stories, dramatic works, and novellas. He is known for mixing highly origi ...
, guided Paton's first novel through publication with Scribner's. Paton published numerous books in the 1950s and became wealthy from their sales. On 11 January 2018, a
Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...
honored the author on what would have been his 115th birthday.


Opposition to apartheid

In 1948, four months after the publication of ''
Cry, the Beloved Country ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher Benn ...
'', the right-wing National Party was elected in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. Paton, together with
Margaret Ballinger Margaret Ballinger (''née'' Hodgson; 1894–1980) was the first President of the Liberal Party of South Africa and a South African Member of Parliament. In 1944, Ballinger was referred to as the "Queen of the Blacks" by TIME magazine. Biogra ...
,
Edgar Brookes Professor Edgar Harry Brookes (4 February 1897–22 April 1979) was a South African Liberal senator and South African representative to the League of Nations. Biography Brookes was born in Smethwick, England in 1897. He attended Maritzburg C ...
, and Leo Marquard, formed the Liberal Association in early-1953. On 9 May 1953, it became the
Liberal Party of South Africa The Liberal Party of South Africa was a South African political party from 1953 to 1968. Founding The party was founded on 9 May 1953 at a meeting of the South African Liberal Association in Cape Town. Essentially it grew out of a belief that ...
, with Paton as a founding co-president, which fought against 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 ...
laws introduced by the National Party government. He served as President of the LPSA until its forced dissolution by the government in the late 1960s, officially because its membership comprised both Blacks and
Whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...
. Paton was a friend of
Bernard Friedman Bernard Friedman (1896 – 1984) was a South African surgeon, politician, author, and businessman who co-founded the anti-apartheid Progressive Party. Biography Education, Medical Training and Role in WW2 He was educated at Pretoria Boys ...
, founder of the
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...
. Paton's writer colleague
Laurens van der Post Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, (13 December 1906 – 15 December 1996) was a South African Afrikaner writer, farmer, soldier, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer and conservationist. He was noted for his interest in J ...
, who had moved to England in the 1930s, helped the party in many ways. The South African Secret Police were aware that van der Post was providing money to Paton and the LPSA, but they could not stop it by legal procedures. Paton himself advocated peaceful opposition to apartheid, as did many others in the party. Yet, some LPSA members took a more violent stance, and consequently some stigma attached to the party, not just within South Africa, but also outside the country. Paton's passport was confiscated by the South African government upon his return from New York in 1960, where he had been presented with the annual Freedom Award. It was not returned to him for ten years. Paton retired to
Botha's Hill Botha's Hill (locally , ) is a small town outside Hillcrest in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It remains a peaceful beautiful hill where regular country style food and craft markets are held. It is the gateway to the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Kea ...
, where he resided until his death. He is honored at the Hall of Freedom of the
Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism aroun ...
organisation.


Other works

''Cry, the Beloved Country'' has been filmed twice (in 1951 and 1995) and was the basis for the Broadway musical ''
Lost in the Stars ''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948) by Alan Paton. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1949; it was the composer's last work ...
'' (adaptation by
Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...
, music by
Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...
). Paton's second and third novels, '' Too Late the Phalarope'' (1953) and '' Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful'' (1981), and his short stories, ''Tales From a Troubled Land'' (1961), all deal with the same racial themes that concerned the author in his first novel. '' Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful'' was built on parallel life stories, letters, speeches, news and records in legal proceedings, and mixed fictional and real-life characters, such as Donald Molteno,
Albert Luthuli Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli ( – 21 July 1967) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, traditional leader, and politician who served as the President-General of the African National Congress from 1952 until his death in 1967. Luthuli wa ...
and
Hendrik Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966) was a South African politician, a scholar of applied psychology and sociology, and chief editor of '' Die Transvaler'' newspaper. He is commonly regarded as the architect ...
. The novel is categorised as historical fiction, as it gives an accurate account of the resistance movement in South Africa during the 1960s. "Paton attempts to imbue his characters with a humanity not expected of them. In this novel, for example, we meet the supposedly obdurate Afrikaner who contravenes the infamous Immorality Act. There are other
Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cast ...
s, too, who are led by their consciences and not by rules, and regulations promulgated by a faceless, monolithic parliament." Paton was a prolific essay writer on race and politics in South Africa. In '' Save the Beloved Country'' he plays on the famous title of his first novel, but keeps a serious tone in discussing many of the famous personalities and issues on different sides of South Africa's apartheid struggle. His
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
faith was another factor in his life and work: the title of one work is ''Instrument of Thy Peace''. Paton also wrote two autobiographies: '' Towards the Mountain'' deals with Paton's life leading up to and including the publication of ''
Cry, the Beloved Country ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher Benn ...
'' (an event that changed the course of his life) while '' Journey Continued'' takes its departure from that time onwards. He also wrote biographies of his friends Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (''
Hofmeyr Hofmeyr is a small Karoo town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, 20 km west of the Bamboesberg mountain range. It lies 64 km north-east of Cradock at an altitude of 1,252 metres. According to the 2011 census, the population ...
''), and Geoffrey Clayton ('' Apartheid and the Archbishop''). Another literary form that interested him throughout his life was poetry; the biographer Peter Alexander includes many of these poems in his biography of Paton. Publications of Paton's work include a volume of his travel writing, '' The Lost City of the Kalahari'' (2006), and a complete selection of his shorter writings, '' The Hero of Currie Road''. The
Alan Paton Award The ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Awards are awarded annually to South African writers by the South African weekly newspaper the ''Sunday Times''. They comprise the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Award for Non-fiction and the ''Sunday Times'' ...
for non-fiction is conferred annually in his honour.


Selected works

* ''
Cry, The Beloved Country ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher Benn ...
'', 1948 – made into a film in 1951, directed by
Zoltan Korda Zoltan Korda (June 3, 1895 – October 13, 1961) was a Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, director and producer. He made his first film in Hungary in 1918, and worked with his brother Alexander Korda on film-making there and in London ...
with a screenplay by Paton himself; in 1995, directed by Darrell Roodt; also a musical and an opera * ''
Lost in the Stars ''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948) by Alan Paton. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1949; it was the composer's last work ...
'' 1950 – a musical based on the above work (book and lyrics by
Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...
, music by
Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...
) * '' Too Late the Phalarope'', 1953 * '' The Land and People of South Africa'', 1955 * '' South Africa in Transition'', 1956 * '' Debbie Go Home'', 1960 * '' Tales from a Troubled Land'', 1961 * ''
Hofmeyr Hofmeyr is a small Karoo town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, 20 km west of the Bamboesberg mountain range. It lies 64 km north-east of Cradock at an altitude of 1,252 metres. According to the 2011 census, the population ...
'', 1964 * '' South African Tragedy'', 1965 * '' Sponono'', 1965 (with
Krishna Shah Krishna Shah (10 May 1938 – 13 October 2013) was an Indian-American/Gujarati film and theatre director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, and production/distribution executive. Shah was considered the first Indian to create the crossover be ...
) * ''The Long View'', 1967 * '' Instrument of Thy Peace'', 1968 * '' Kontakion For You Departed'', 1969 (also: ''For You Departed'') * '' D. C. S. Oosthuizen Memorial Lecture'', 1970 * '' Case History of a Pinky'', 1972 * '' Apartheid and the Archbishop: the Life and Times of Geoffrey Clayton, Archbishop of Cape Town'', 1973 * '' Knocking on the Door'', 1975 * '' Towards the Mountain'', 1980 * '' Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful'', 1981 * '' Journey Continued: An Autobiography'', 1988 * '' Save the Beloved Country'', 1989 * '' The Hero of Currie Road: the complete short pieces'', 2008


Awards and honours

* In 20 April 2006 he was posthumously awarded the
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 ...
in Gold "Exceptional contribution to literature, exposing the apartheid oppression through his work and fighting for a just and democratic society."


Further reading

Fullerton, Ian (1980), ''Politics and the South African Novel in English'', in Murray, Glen (ed.), ''
Cencrastus ''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...
'' No. 3, Summer 1980, pp. 22 & 23


See also

*
Liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...
*
Contributions to liberal theory Contribution or Contribute may refer to: * ''Contribution'' (album), by Mica Paris (1990) ** "Contribution" (song), title song from the album *Contribution (law), an agreement between defendants in a suit to apportion liability *Contributions, a ...
*
List of African writers This is a list of prominent and notable writers from Africa. It includes poets, novelists, children's writers, essayists, and scholars, listed by country. Algeria ''See: List of Algerian writers'' Angola ''See: List of Angolan writers'' Beni ...
*
List of South Africans This is a list of notable and famous South Africans who are the subjects of Wikipedia articles. Academics Academics * Estian Calitz, academic (born 1949) * Jakes Gerwel, academic and anti-apartheid activist (1946–2012) * Miriam Green, ac ...
– In 2004 Paton was voted 59th in the
SABC3's Great South Africans ''Great South Africans'' was a South African television series that aired on SABC3 and hosted by Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu and Denis Beckett. In September 2004, thousands of South Africans took part in an informal nationwide poll to determine t ...


Notes


Further reading

* 116 pp. * .


External links


The Alan Paton Centre & Struggle Archives

Alan Paton — A short biography and bibliography

A mixture of ice and fulfilled desire
''
Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'' is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, local arts, music and popular cult ...
'', 14 November 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, Alan 1903 births 1988 deaths Anglican anti-apartheid activists People from Pietermaritzburg University of Natal alumni South African Anglicans South African male novelists Anglican writers Alumni of Maritzburg College White South African anti-apartheid activists Liberal Party of South Africa politicians South African autobiographers South African people of British descent Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga 20th-century South African novelists 20th-century South African historians 20th-century South African male writers 20th-century Anglicans