Elsabé Antoinette Murray Joubert OIS (19 October 1922 – 14 June 2020) was a Sestigers

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

-language writer. She rose to prominence with her novel '' Die swerfjare van Poppie Nongena'' (The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena), which was translated into 13

languages Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing. Human language is ch ...

, as well as staged as a drama and filmed as '' Poppie Nongena''.

Early life and career

Elsa Joubert was born and raised in the Cape settlement of

Paarl Paarl (; ; derived from ''parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a city with 294,457 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the largest city in the Boland, Western Cape, Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni ...

and matriculated from the all-girls school

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

in Paarl in 1939. She then studied at the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) 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 university in Sub-Sahara ...

from which she graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1942 and an SED (Secondary Education Diploma) in 1943. She continued her studies at 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 ...

which she left with a

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

degree in Dutch-Afrikaans literature in 1945. After graduating, Joubert taught at the Hoër Meisieskool, an all-girls high school in Cradock, then worked as the editor of the women's pages of ''

Huisgenoot ''Huisgenoot'' (Afrikaans language, Afrikaans for ''Housemate'') is a weekly South African Afrikaans-language general-interest family magazine. It has the highest circulation figures of any South African magazine and is followed by sister magaz ...

'', a well-known Afrikaans family magazine, from 1946 to 1948. She then started writing full-time and travelled extensively in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, from the springs of the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, through the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, as well as to

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, and

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. She also visited

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. In 1950, Joubert married Klaas Steytler, a journalist and later publisher and author, who died in 1998. She had three children, two daughters and one son, and lived in Oranjezicht,

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. She died in Cape Town on 14 June 2020 due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

-related causes during the

COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa was part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On 5 March 2020, Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize had confirme ...

. In May 2020, during the pandemic, she wrote an open letter to relax restrictions and allow home care residents to see family. “We are in the last months and weeks of our lives,” she wrote, “and we who live in homes or institutions, however wonderful, are totally cut off from our family members.”

Awards

* Fellow of the British

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from Stellenbosch University (2001) * Eugène Marais Prize for ''Ons wag op die kaptein'' (1964) * CNA Prize for ''Bonga'' (1971) * W.A. Hofmeyr Prize, for ''Poppy Nongena'' (1979) * W.A. Hofmeyr Prize and

Hertzog Prize The Hertzog Prize (or Hertzogprys) is an annual award given to Afrikaans writers by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for the Sciences and Art), formerly the South African Academy for Language, Literature ...

for ''Die reise van Isobelle'' * Louis Luyt Prize and CNA Prize (1997) * Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize of the

for ''Poppie'' (1980) *

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

for the best play (

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 ...

) * Obi Award for best script (

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 ...

) *

for prose (1998)

List of works

Travelogues

* '' Water en woestyn (Uganda en Kaïro)'', Dagbreek Boekhandel, 1957 * '' Die verste reis (Wes-Europa)'', 1959 * '' Suid van die wind (Madagaskar)'', 1962 * '' Die staf van Monomotapa (Mosambiek)'', 1964 * '' Swerwer in die Herfsland (Oos-Europa)'', 1968 * '' Die nuwe Afrikaan (Angola)'', Tafelberg, 1974 * '' Gordel van Smarag (Indonesië)'', Tafelberg, 1997

Novels and short stories

* '' Ons wag op die kaptein'' – ''To die at sunset'', Tafelberg, 1963 * '' Die Wahlerbrug'', Tafelberg, 1969 * '' Bonga'', Tafelberg, 1971 * '' Die swerfjare van Poppie Nongena'', Tafelberg, 1978 – ''The long journey of Poppie Nongena'' (1980), translated into 13 languages and also performed on stage as drama * ''

Melk Melk (; older spelling: ) is a city in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,257 (as of 2012). It is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery named ...

'' (Short Stories), Tafelberg, 1980 * '' Die laaste Sondag'' – ''The last Sunday'', Tafelberg, 1983 * '' Poppie – die drama'' (co-author Sandra Kotzé), 1984 * '' Die vier vriende'', 1985 – ''The four friends'' (1987) (children's book) * '' Missionaris'', 1988 * '' Dansmaat'' (Short Stories), Tafelberg, 1993 * '' Die reise van Isobelle'', Tafelberg, 1995 * '' Twee Vroue'', Tafelberg, 2002

Autobiographies

* '' 'n Wonderlike Geweld'', Tafelberg, 2005 – ''A Lion on the Landing'' (2014), translated into English by Irene Wainwright * '' Reisiger'', Tafelberg, 2010 * '' Spertyd '', Tafelberg, 2017

References

External links

* * Obituary. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joubert, Elsa 1922 births 2020 deaths Afrikaner people Anti-apartheid activists Sestigers Stellenbosch University alumni University of Cape Town alumni Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Hertzog Prize winners for prose South African women novelists South African travel writers Women travel writers South African women short story writers South African short story writers Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa