Donald Alasdair Calum Maclennan (9 December 1929 – 9 February 2009) was a South African poet, critic, playwright and English professor. He published a number of plays, short stories, collections of poems and scholarly works. Born on 9 December 1929, in London, England, Maclennan came to South Africa as a child in 1938. He was educated at

Witwatersrand University The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...

and

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

."Maclennan, Donald (Alasdair Calum)"
article, ''Student Encyclopedia of African Literature'', by Douglas Killam, Alicia L. Kerfoot, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 , retrieved via Google Books on 13 February 2009 Maclennan's academic career included lecturing at

Wits University The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...

and the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

.Loewe, Mike
"Poet and playwright Maclennan dies at 79"
article, 12 February 2009, Independent Online website of the Independent newspaper, article "was originally published on page 9 of Cape Argus on February 12, 2009", according to the Web page, retrieved 13 February 2009 He taught in both South Africa and the United States. He began teaching at

Rhodes University Rhodes University () is a public research university located in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, Rhodes University is the prov ...

in 1966, teaching English there for more than 40 years, although he officially retired in 1994. In later years, he continued to teach at the university, giving weekly seminars for another decade."RIP Don Maclennan: 1929 – 2009. February 10th, 2009 by Ben – Editor", article at Book SA News website, retrieved 13 February 2009
In his final years, he self-published a number of works of poetry. In his last decade, Maclennan had motor-neuron disease. He suffered a stroke in January 2009, although his mind was not affected by it. He died on 9 February 2009, in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

Bibliography

Years link to corresponding "

ear In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear co ...

in poetry" article for poetry; for literature, to corresponding "

in literature" article:

Poetry

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

: ''In Memoriam Oskar Wolberheim'', A.A. Balkema, combining Maclennan's poetry and the music of Norbert Nowotny *

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

: ''Life Songs'', Bateleur Press * ''Bateleur Poets'', "Bateleur Poets"
at BookFinder.com website, retrieved 13 February 2009 *

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

: ''Reckonings'', New Africa Books, *

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

: ''Collecting Darkness'', Justified Press, *

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

: ''Letters: New Poems'', Carrefour Press, *

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

: ''The Poetry Lesson: New Poems'' Snailpress, *

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

: ''Solstice: Poems'', , winner of South Africa's Sanlam Literary Award for 1997 *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

: ''Of Women and Some Men'' with George Coutouvidis, Firfield Poetry Press, *

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

: ** ''Notes from a Rhenish Mission'', Firfield Press, ** ''A Brief History of Madness in the Eastern Cape'', with drawings by

Siddis Firfield The Siddi (), also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, are an ethno-religious group living mostly in Pakistan. Some Siddis also live in India. They are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa, most ...

, Firfield Press, *

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

: ''Rock paintings at Salem'', self-published, Rhodes University GSU *

: ''The Road to Kromdraai'', Publisher Snailpress, *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

: ''The Dinner Party'', self-published, Rhodes University GSU *

: ''A Letter to William Blake'', self-published, Rhodes University GSU *

: ''Under Compassberg'', self-published, Rhodes University GSU *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

: ''Excavations'', self-published, Rhodes University GSU *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

: ''Reading the Signs'', Carapace *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

: ''The necessary salt'', self-published, Rhodes University GSU *

: ''Selected Poems'', Quartz Press *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

: ''The owl of Minerva'', self-published, Rhodes University GSU *

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

: ''Through a Glass Darkly'', self-published, Rhodes University GSU *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

: ''Dress Rehearsal'', self-published, Rhodes University GSU *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

: ''Collected Poems'', Print Matters Heritage Press (ed. Dan Wylie)

Other works

* ''An Enquiry into the Voyage of the Santiago'', a play * ''Job Mava'', a play, written and performed in 1972/3 by The Ikhwezi Players, published 1981/2 * ''My Childhood'', adaptation of Maxim Gorky's play, performed in 1975 by The Ikhwezi Players *

: Editor, with Malcolm Hacksley, ''A Ruthless Fidelity: Collected Poems of Douglas Livingstone'', publisher: Ad Donker, * ''Olive Schreiner and After: Essays on Southern African Literature in Honour of Guy Butler'' Publisher: D. Philip, * Sarah Christie, Don Maclennan, Geoffrey Hutchings, ''Perspectives on South African Fiction'', Publisher Ad. Donker, "Perspectives on South African Fiction"
at BookFinder.com website, retrieved 13 February 2009

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclennan, Don 1929 births 2009 deaths 21st-century South African poets Academic staff of Rhodes University 20th-century South African poets South African male poets 20th-century South African male writers 21st-century South African male writers