Finuala Dowling (born June 1962) is a South African poet and writer.
Biography
The seventh of eight children born to radio broadcasters Eve van der Byl and Paddy Dowling, Finuala Dowling obtained an MA in English from the
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
(UCT), and a D.Litt. from the
University of South Africa
The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...
(UNISA), where she lectured in English for eight years.
Her first poetry anthology, ''I Flying'', was published in 2002 and won the
Ingrid Jonker Prize. She has also won the Sanlam Award for Poetry and the
Olive Schreiner Prize
The Olive Schreiner Prize has been awarded annually since 1961 to emerging writers in the field of drama, prose, or poetry. It is named after Olive Schreiner, the South African author and activist. It rewards promising novice work, by writers who ...
. She won the 2012
M-Net Literary Award (English category) for ''Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart''.
With Tessa and Cara Dowling she has set up an entertainment company, Dowling Sisters Productions.
Family
Dowling lives in Kalk Bay, Cape Town with her daughter Beatrice, who also writes poetry.
Publications
Poetry
*''I Flying'', Carapace (2002)
*''Doo-Wop Girls of the Universe'', Penguin (2006)
*''Notes from the Dementia Ward'', Kwela Books/Snailpress (2008)
*''Pretend You Don't Know Me: New and Selected Poems'', Bloodaxe Books (2018)
Novels
*''What Poets Need'', Penguin (2005)
*''Flyleaf'', Penguin (2007)
*''Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart'', Kwela Books (2011)
*''The Fetch'', Kwela Books (2015)
*''Okay, Okay, Okay'', Kwela Books (2019)
Appearances in anthologies
*''Portraits of African Writers'', ed. George Hallett, Wits University Press (2006)
*''Lovely Beyond Any Singing: Landscape in South African Literature'', Helen Moffett, Double Storey (2006)
Awards
*
Ingrid Jonker Prize for ''I Flying'' (2004)
*Sanlam Award for Poetry for ''Doo-Wop Girls of the Universe'' (2006)
*
Olive Schreiner Prize
The Olive Schreiner Prize has been awarded annually since 1961 to emerging writers in the field of drama, prose, or poetry. It is named after Olive Schreiner, the South African author and activist. It rewards promising novice work, by writers who ...
for ''Notes from the Dementia Ward'' (2010)
"Finuala Dowling"
, nb.
* M-Net Literary Award (English category) for ''Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart'' (2012)
*Herman Charles Bosman Award
The Media24 Books Literary Awards (known before 2011 as the Via Afrika Awards, and before that as the Nasboek Literary Awards) are a group of five South African literary prizes awarded annually by Media24, the print-media arm of the South African ...
for ''The Fetch''
References
1962 births
South African women poets
Living people
21st-century South African poets
21st-century South African women writers
Writers from Cape Town
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