Adriaan Donker (5 December 1933 – 17 July 2002) was a pioneering

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n publisher, who was born in the Netherlands and emigrated in 1966 to South Africa, where he founded his own company to produce South African literature.

Biography

Born in

Bilthoven Bilthoven is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht (city), Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. It is home to the Ne ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, on 5 December 1933, he grew up in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

during the Second World War. He learned book

publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

from his father, who was a notable Dutch publisher (Ad. Donker,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

), and was also trained at

Collier Macmillan Crowell-Collier Publishing Company was an American publisher that owned the popular magazines ''Collier's'', ''Woman's Home Companion'' and ''The American Magazine''. Crowell's subsidiary, P.F. Collier and Son, published ''Collier's Encyclopedia ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He emigrated as sales representative to South Africa in 1966, and in 1973 opened his self-titled publishing company, which was committed to publishing South African literature. Under

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

, many of Donker's publications were considered "subversive". Despite pressure from government officials, surveillance by the security police, including threats of loss of passport and illegal house searches, Donker adamantly continued publishing social critical works. He was founder and director of the Centre of Creative Arts in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, initiating the international Poetry Festival and The Time of the Writer. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by 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- ...

in 2000 for his contribution to South African literature. Donker died at his home in Rooi Els, South Africa, in July 2002, aged 68.

Publications of AD Donker (Johannesburg)

The first publications of black literature in South Africa were under AD Donker Publisher in 1974, with

Mongane Wally Serote Mongane Wally Serote (born 8 May 1944) is a South African poet and writer. He became involved in political resistance to the apartheid government by joining the African National Congress (ANC) and in 1969 was arrested and detained for several ...

and Sipho Sepamla. Playwright and author

Athol Fugard Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard (; 11 June 19328 March 2025) was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director. Widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright and acclaimed as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaki ...

(''

Tsotsi ''Tsotsi'' is a 2005 crime drama film written and directed by Gavin Hood and produced by Peter Fudakowski. It is an adaptation of the novel '' Tsotsi'' by Athol Fugard, and is a South African/UK co-production. Set in the Alexandra slum in Jo ...

'') and imprisoned poet Dikobe wa Magole (''Baptism of Fire'', ) are among the many authors Donker promoted. With his love for literature, he republished forgotten works by

Bessie Head Bessie Amelia Emery Head (6 July 1937 – 17 April 1986) was a South African writer who, though born in South Africa, is usually considered Botswana's most influential writer. She wrote novels, short fiction and autobiographical works that are ...

(''Tales of Tenderness and Power''),

Olive Schreiner Olive Schreiner (24 March 1855 – 11 December 1920) was a South African author, anti-war campaigner and intellectual. She is best remembered today for her novel '' The Story of an African Farm'' (1883), which has been highly acclaimed. It dea ...

's ''

The Story of an African Farm ''The Story of an African Farm'' was South African author Olive Schreiner's first published novel. It was published in 1883 under the pseudonym Ralph Iron. It was an immediate success and has become recognised as one of the first feminist nov ...

'', Sol T. Plaatje's ''

Mhudi ''Mhudi: An Epic of South African Native Life a Hundred Years Ago'' is a South African novel by Sol Plaatje, first published in 1930. The novel has been republished many times, including in the influential Heinemann African Writers Series. The ...

'' and the then banned work by

Bloke Modisane William Modisane (28 August 1923 – 1 March 1986), better known as Bloke Modisane, was a South African writer, actor and journalist. Biography William "Bloke" Modisane, the eldest son of Joseph and Ma-Willie Modisane,Nelly E Sonderling (e ...

''Blame Me On History''.

Poetry

*''Hurry up to it!'' – Sydney Sipho Sepamla, 1975 () *''The Blues in You and Me'' – Sipho Sepamla, 1976 () *''Children of the Earth'' – Sipho Sepamla, 1983 () *''Behold Mama Flowers'' – Mongane Wally Serote, 1978 () *''Tsetlo'' – Mongane Wally Serote, 1974 () *''Yakhal'inkomo'' – Mongane Wally Serote, 1972 () *''It's Time to Go Home'' – Christopher van Wyk, 1979 () *''Prison Poems'' – Dikobe Wa Mogale, 1992 () *''Jol'iinkomo'' – Mafika Pascal Gwala, 1977 ()

Plays

*''Marigolds in August'' – Athol Fugard and Ross Devenish, 1982 ()

Novels

*''Exiles: A Novel'' – Rose Zwi, 1984. () *''This Time of Year and Other Stories'' – Sheila Roberts, 1983. ()Wilhelm, Peter
"Review: 'This time of year and other stories' by Sheila Roberts"
''English Academy Review: A Journal of English Studies'', Volume 1, Issue 1, 1983. Retrieved 29 September 2019.

Biography

Publications of AD Donker (Johannesburg)

Poetry

Plays

Novels

See also

References

Further reading