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'' (1948), '' Too Late the Phalarope'' (1953), and the short story ''The Waste Land''.

Early life

Paton was born in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

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 Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

(now South Africa's

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

province), the son of a civil servant (who was of Christadelphian belief) and his wife. After attending

Maritzburg College Maritzburg College is a State school, semi-private English language, English-medium high school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest boys' high school i ...

for high school, Paton 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- ...

in his hometown. He also got a diploma in education. After graduation, Paton worked as a teacher, first at the Ixopo High School, and subsequently at Maritzburg College.

Early career

Paton served as the principal of Diepkloof Reformatory for young (native African) offenders from 1935 to 1949. He introduced controversial "progressive"

reforms Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

, including policies on open dormitories, work permits, and home visitation. The young 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 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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'', 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, 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. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

and

Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist and short story writer. He is known largely for his first novel, '' Look Homeward, Angel'' (1929), and for the short fiction that appeared during the last ye ...

, 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 Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

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'', the right-wing National Party was elected to power in

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 ...

. Black South Africans did not receive the vote until 1994 so were unable to oppose this directly. The legislature soon passed laws to formally establish

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 ...

, a system of racial segregation. Paton, together with Margaret Ballinger,

Edgar Brookes Professor Edgar Harry Brookes (4 February 1897 – 22 April 1979) was a British-born South African Liberal Party (South Africa), Liberal senator and South African representative to the League of Nations. He initially supported apartheid but his ...

, and Leo Marquard, formed the Liberal Association in early 1953. On 9 May 1953, it became the Liberal Party of South Africa, with Paton as a founding co-president, which fought against the

laws introduced by the National Party government. Alan and his wife Dorrie at times sought shelter from the police, at the safe house of Colin Webb. Paton served as President of the LPSA until the government forced its dissolution in the late 1960s, officially because its membership comprised both Blacks and

Whites White is a racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view. De ...

. Paton was a friend of Bernard Friedman, founder of the Progressive Party. Paton's writer colleague Laurens van der Post, 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 advocated peaceful opposition to apartheid, as did many others in the party. Yet, some LPSA members took a more violent stance. Consequently some stigma attached to the party, not just within South Africa, but also outside the country. The South African government confiscated Paton's passport when he returned from New York City in 1960, where he had been presented with the annual Freedom Award. His passport was not returned to him for ten years, making it impossible for him to travel to speak to other countries. Paton retired to Botha's Hill, 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 liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...

organisation.

Other works

Paton continued to explore racial themes and apartheid in his second and third novels, '' Too Late the Phalarope'' (1953) and '' Ah, but Your Land Is Beautiful'' (1981), and his collected short stories, ''Tales From a Troubled Land'' (1961). ''Ah, but Your Land Is Beautiful'' was built on parallel life stories, letters, speeches, news and records in legal proceedings. Its fictional characters interacted with some historic figures, such as Donald Molteno, Albert Luthuli and

Hendrik Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966), also known as H. F. Verwoerd, was a Dutch-born South African politician, scholar in applied psychology, philosophy, and sociology, and newspaper editor who was Prime Mini ...

. The novel is classified as historical fiction. 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 Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

who contravenes the infamous Immorality Act. There are other Afrikaners, too, who are led by their consciences and not by rules, and regulations promulgated by a faceless, monolithic parliament." He also wrote biographies of his friends Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr ('' Hofmeyr''), and Geoffrey Clayton ('' Apartheid and the Archbishop''). Another literary form that interested him throughout his life was poetry.

Personal life

While at Ixopo, Paton he met Dorrie Francis Lusted. They married in 1928, and remained together until her death from

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

in 1967. Their life together is documented in Paton's memoir ''Kontakion for You Departed,'' (1969). They had two sons, Jonathan and David. In 1969, Paton remarried, to Anne Hopkins. This marriage lasted until Paton's death in 1988. Paton was a Christian. His faith was one of the reasons he was so strongly opposed to apartheid.

Adaptations

''Cry, the Beloved Country'' was twice adapted for films, in 1951 and 1995. It was the basis for the Broadway musical ''

Lost in the Stars ''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical theatre, 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 theatre, Broadway in 19 ...

'', which was adapted by American playwright

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Anderson faced many challenges in his career, frequently losing jobs for expressing his opinions or supporting ...

, 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 hi ...

Selected works

* '' Cry, The Beloved Country'', 1948 – made into a film in 1951, directed by

Zoltan Korda Zoltan Korda (May 3, 1895 – October 13, 1961) was a Hungary, Hungarian-born motion picture screenwriter, film director, director and film producer, producer. He made his first film in Hungary in 1918 and worked with his brother Alexander Korda ...

with a screenplay by Paton himself; in 1995, directed by Darrell Roodt; also a musical and an opera * ''

'' 1950 – a musical based on the above work (book and lyrics by

, music by

) * '' 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'', 1964 * '' South African Tragedy'', 1965 * '' Sponono'', 1965 (with Krishna Shah) * ''The Long View'', 1967 * '' Instrument of Thy Peace'', 1968 * ''

Kontakion For You Departed ''Kontakion for You Departed'' is a book by Alan Paton dedicated to his wife Dorrie Francis Lusted. The book was published in 1969, two years after her death from emphysema in 1967. Synopsis External linksBook Details on Amazon 1969 n ...

'', 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, Paton was posthumously awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in Gold "Exceptional contribution to literature, exposing the apartheid oppression through his work and fighting for a just and democratic society."

Notes

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'', formerly the ''Weekly Mail'', 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, loca ...

'', 14 November 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, Alan 1903 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Anglicans 20th-century South African historians 20th-century South African male writers 20th-century South African novelists Alumni of Maritzburg College Anglican anti-apartheid activists Anglican writers Liberal Party of South Africa politicians People from Pietermaritzburg Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga South African Anglicans South African anti-apartheid activists South African autobiographers South African male novelists South African people of British descent University of Natal alumni White South African anti-apartheid activists