K. Sello Duiker
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Kabelo Sello Duiker (13 April 1974 – 19 January 2005) was a South African
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
. His
debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...
, '' Thirteen Cents'', won the 2001
Commonwealth Writers Prize Commonwealth Foundation has presented a number of prizes since 1987. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best First ...
for Best First Book, Africa Region. His second novel, ''The Quiet Violence of Dreams'', won the 2002 Herman Charles Bosman Prize. He also worked in advertising and as a
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
.


Life

Duiker, the eldest of three brothers, was born in Orlando West, Soweto, and raised in Soweto at the height of
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 ...
by middle-class university-educated parents. Sent out of the township to attend a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
primary school from grade 5, he went first to
La Salle College La Salle College (LSC; zh, t=喇沙書院, j=laa3 saa1 syu1 jyun2) is a boys' secondary school located in Kowloon City District, Hong Kong. It was established in 1932 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Catholic re ...
until grade 7 and in his early high school years he was sent on to Redhill School, an elite institution where he was one of the very few black pupils.Rachel Donadio, "Post-Apartheid Fiction", ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', 3 December 2006.
Duiker was schooled at the height of
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 ...
, which influenced him greatly. He spent two years in England as a sixth-form student at Huntington School, York, before returning to South Africa to attend university, where he studied copy-writing. He worked for an advertising company, before scriptwriting for the soapie ''Backstage''. Duiker received a degree in journalism from
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 ...
, and also briefly studied 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 ...
. Duiker used drugs such as
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...
,
marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
and others. After his expulsion from college, he was institutionalized at a psychiatric hospital. After release, he wrote his debut novel, ''Thirteen Cents'', in two months. He suffered a nervous breakdown in 2004, prior to committing suicide by hanging himself in Northcliff,
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, in January 2005. It is speculated that he had
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...
or borderline
schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
. Duiker was working as a commissioning editor at the
SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...
at the time of his death. He had gone off his medication as he believed that it was suppressing his creativity. A month before his death Duiker read the eulogy at the funeral of fellow young novelist Phaswane Mpe, who had died of a mysterious illness shortly after entering initiation to become a traditional healer.


''Thirteen Cents''

'' Thirteen Cents'' was published in 2000 by David Philip Publishers. The novella is written from the perspective of Azure, a black street child with blue eyes in Cape Town. Azure experiences gangsterism, the sex trade and alienation due to his unusual appearance. The novel is an example of magical realist style as it also possesses mythical, post apocalyptic content. The novella is said to be inspired by '' The Famished Road'' (1991) by
Ben Okri Sir Ben Golden Emuobowho Okri (born 15 March 1959) is a Nigerian-born British poet and novelist.Ben Okri" ...
, whose protagonist is named Azaro.


''The Quiet Violence of Dreams''

''The Quiet Violence of Dreams''''The Quiet Violence Of Dreams'', Kwela Books, 2001, . was published in 2001 by Kwela Books. The novel features the university student, Tshepo, who begins the novel in a mental hospital. The novel tracks his experience as a sex worker at a gay massage parlour that serves mostly white clients.


''The Hidden Star''

''The Hidden Star'' was published posthumously in 2006 by Random House Struik. The novel was the author's last and is a
magical realist Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical rea ...
tale featuring the young protagonist, Nolitye, who discovers a magical stone in her township.


Bibliography

* * ''The Quiet Violence Of Dreams'', Kwela Books, 2001, * "When You Least Expect It", ''Modern South African Stories'', Stephen Gray (ed), A.D. Donker, 2002, * ''The Hidden Star'' Umuzi, 2006, * ''K Sello Duiker's The Quiet Violence of Dreams: adapted for the stage'', Junkets Publisher, 2010,


Academic analysis of Duiker's writing

*Adebiyi-Adelabu, Kazeem. "Sex, Sexuality and Power Relation in K. Sello Duiker’s ''Thirteen Cents'' and ''The Quiet Violence of Dreams''." ''Ibadan Journal of English Studies'' 7 (2018):397-412. *Demir, D., Moreillon, O. & Muller, A. 2015. In Search of a ‘Rock Star’: Commemorating Kabelo Sello Duiker’s Life and Work Ten Years on. ''Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa''. 27(1):26–37. DOI
10.1080/1013929X.2015.1045206
* Kirton-Els, Teneille. ''Dreams, Sexuality and Fantasy: A Psychoanalytic Reading of K. Sello Duiker's Novel.'' PhD diss., University of Fort Hare, 2013.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duiker, K. Sello 1974 births 2005 suicides 21st-century South African novelists 2005 deaths Rhodes University alumni South African male novelists Suicides by hanging in South Africa People with bipolar disorder