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

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 countri ...

n publisher.

Biography

Born in

Bilthoven Bilthoven is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. It is home to the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health an ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, he learned book

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

from his father (Ad. Donker,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

) and

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 and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He emigrated as sales representative to South Africa in 1966. Under

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 ...

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 ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, initiating the international Poetry Festival and The Time of the Writer. He was awarded an honorary doctorate for his contribution to South African literature.

Publications

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 m ...

and

Sipho Sepamla Sydney Sipho Sepamla (22 September 1932 – 9 January 2007) was a contemporary South African poet and novelist. Biography Born in a township near Krugersdorp, Sipho Sepamla lived most of his life in Soweto. He studied teaching at Pretoria Norm ...

. Playwright and author

Athol Fugard Athol Fugard, Hon. , (born 11 June 1932), is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apart ...

(''

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 Johann ...

'') 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’s ''

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

'',

Sol T. Plaatje Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje (9 October 1876 – 19 June 1932) was a South African intellectual, journalist, linguist, politician, translator and writer. Plaatje was a founding member and first General Secretary of the South African Native Nation ...

'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, and one of the first published African novels by a black African to be published in English. The novel was republi ...

'' and the then banned work by Bloke Modisane ''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'' – Christoher 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 Rose Zwi (8 May 1928 – 22 October 2018) was a Mexican-born South African–Australian writer and anti-apartheid activist best known for her work about the immigrants in South Africa. Biography Zwi was born in Oaxaca, Mexico, to Jewish refugees ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donker, Ad 1933 births 2002 deaths South African book publishers (people) People from De Bilt