Diederik (or Dirk) Johannes Opperman, commonly referred to as D.J. Opperman ( 29 September 1914 – 22 September 1985) was an

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

Biography

He was born on 29 September 1914 in Dundee in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, where he grew up. He went to school in the towns of

Estcourt Estcourt () is a town in the uThukela District of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The main economic activity is farming with large bacon and processed food factories situated around the town. The N3 freeway passes close to the town, link ...

and

Vryheid Vryheid ( zu, IVryheid) is a coal mining and cattle ranching town in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Vryheid is the Afrikaans word for "freedom". History After Boer farmers, who lived in the Vryheid area, had helped King Dinuzulu defeat his ...

, and afterwards received an M.A. degree from 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 ...

. He taught at schools in Pietermaritzburg and

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 Dem ...

, and later on became editor of '' Die Huisgenoot''. In 1949 he became a lecturer at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. During this period he completed one of his most important publications – ''Digters van Dertig'' (Poets of the thirties) – in 1953. He won the prestigious Hertzog prize for poetry in 1947 for his collection ''Heilige beeste'' ("Holy cattle"). From 1960 to 1975 he was a professor of Afrikaans at

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

, where he also served on the editorial board of the publication '' Standpunte'' ("Points of View"). He died in 1985 in

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

. He won four Hertzog prizes (in 1947, 1956, 1969 and 1980), four

Hofmeyer 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 ...

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 Louis Luyt (18 June 1932 – 1 February 2013) was a South African business tycoon and politician, and one-time rugby administrator. Having been a rugby player as a young man, Luyt went on to become a businessman. He founded Triomf Fertiliser a ...

-prize in 1980 and the Gustav Preller prize for literary criticism in 1985. The South African composers

Cromwell Everson Cromwell Everson (28 September 1925 – 11 June 1991) was primarily known as a composer during his lifetime. He was brought up as an Afrikaner by his mother, Maria De Wit and father, Robert Everson. He continued this tradition and all his childr ...

and Prof Piet de Villiers wrote music for some of Opperman's poems, such as ''Kontraste'' and ''Nagstorm oor die see''.

List of works

Poetry

*''Heilige Beeste'' ("Holy cows" 1945) *''Negester oor Ninevé'' ("Nine star over Niniveh" *''Joernaal van Jorik'' ("The Journal of Jorik" 1949) *''Engel uit die klip'' ("Angel from the Stone" 1948) *''Blom en baaierd'' ("Flower and Chaos" or "Flower and Rubble" 1948) *''Dolosse'' ("Large T-shaped concrete bollards used to curb waves breaking close to infrastructure" ) *''Kuns-mis'' ("Fertilizer") *''Edms. Bpk'' ("Pty. Ltd") *''Komas uit 'n bamboesstok'' ("Comas from a Bamboo Pole" 1979)

Verse plays

*''Periandros van Korinthe'' ("Periandros of Corinth" 1954) *''Vergelegen'' (A place name, lit. "faraway" 1956) *''Voëlvry'' ("Outlaw"; lit. "bird-free" 1987)

Essays on literature

*''Wiggelstok'' ("Divining rod") *''Naaldekoker'' Daggaroker ("Dragonfly") *''Verspreide opstelle'' ("Spread-out essays" – the direct opposite of "Collected essays" in Afrikaans)

References

1914 births 1985 deaths People from Umzinyathi District Municipality Afrikaans-language poets Afrikaner people South African male poets Afrikaans-language writers Calvinist and Reformed poets University of Natal alumni Academic staff of the University of Cape Town Hertzog Prize winners for poetry Academic staff of Stellenbosch University 20th-century South African poets 20th-century South African male writers {{SouthAfrica-poet-stub