Stephen Gray (30 November 1941 – 22 October 2020) was a South African writer and critic.

Career

Gray was born in Cape Town on 30 November 1941. He studied at

St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown , motto_translation = Difficulties do not dismay us , patron = St. Andrew , established = , schooltype = All-boys private school , grades = 812 , head_name ...

, and later at 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 ...

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, England (where he received a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Arts, both in English), and the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 coll ...

, US (where he studied a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing). He was also awarded a D. Litt and d. Phil. by Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg in 1978. Until 1992, he was Professor of English at the

Rand Afrikaans University The Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) was a prominent South African institution of higher education and research that served the greater Johannesburg area and surroundings from 1967 to 2004. It has since merged with the Technikon Witwatersrand ...

in Johannesburg. Gray was a prolific poet and published eight novels. Recurrent themes include attitudes to homosexuality and the many rewritings of history in South Africa, including examining attitudes to class and race. His literary journalism appeared in the South African weekly newspaper, the Mail & Guardian, from the 1990s to the 2010s. He also wrote for the theatre and edited collections of work by

Athol Fugard Athol Fugard, Hon. , (born 11 June 1932), is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apar ...

and

Herman Charles Bosman Herman Charles Bosman (5 February 1905 – 14 October 1951) is widely regarded as South Africa's greatest short-story writer. He studied the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain and developed a style emphasizing the use of satire. His Englis ...

. Gray died on 22 October 2020 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

at the age of 78.

Published works

: ote: Gray has been published in many countries by various publishers in other editions. consult ISBN in WorldCat and other sources for multiple editions.">WorldCat">ote: Gray has been published in many countries by various publishers in other editions. consult ISBN in WorldCat and other sources for multiple editions.

Novels and short stories

* ''Local Colour''. Ravan Press, 1975. * ''Visible People''. R. Collings, 1977. . * ''Caltrop's Desire''. Africa Book Centre, 1980. . * ''Time of our Darkness''. Arrow, 1988. . * ''Born of Man''. Gay Men's Press, 1989. . * ''War Child''. Serif, 1994. . * ''My Serial Killer and other Short Stories''. Jacana Media, 2005.

Plays

* ''Schreiner: A One-Woman Play''. David Philip, 1983. .

Poetry

* ''It's About Time''. David Philip, 1974. . * ''Hottentot Venus and other Poems''. David Philip, 1979. * ''Love Poems: Hate Poems''. Bellew Publishing, 1982. . * ''Apollo Café and Other Poems, 1982-89''. David Philip, 1989. . * ''Season of Violence'', Justified Press, 1992. * ''Selected Poems 1960-92'', David Philip, 1994. * ''Gabriel's Exhibition'', Mayibuye Books, 1998.

As editor

* C. Louis Leipoldt. ''Stormwrack''. David Philip, 1980. . * ''Modern South African Poetry''. A. D. Donker, 1984. . * ''The Penguin Book of Southern African Stories''. Penguin, 1985. . * ''The Penguin Book of Southern African Verse''. Penguin, 1988. . * ''South Africa Plays: New South African Drama''. Nick Hern, 1994. . *

Charles Rawden Maclean Charles Rawden Maclean, also known as "John Ross", was born on 17 August 1815 in Fraserburgh and died 13 August 1880 at sea on the RMS ''Larne'' while en route to Southampton. In a tribute to him during the re-dedication of his grave in Southamp ...

''alias'' John Ross. ''The Natal Papers of "John Ross"''. U of Natal P, 1996. .

Other

* ''Southern African Literature: An Introduction''. Barnes & Noble Imports, 1979. . * ''John Ross: The True Story''. 1987. * ''Human Interest and Other Pieces''. Justified Press, 1993. . * ''Accident of Birth: An Autobiography''. COSAW Publishing, 1993. . * ''Free-lancers and Literary Biography in South Africa''. Editions Rodopi BV, 1999. . * ''Life Sentence: A Biography of Herman Charles Bosman''. Human & Rousseau, 2005. .

References

* *Gray, Stephen (Ed.) ''Modern South African Poetry''. A. D. Donker, 1984. .

External links

Stephen Gray Collection
at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pu ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Stephen 1941 births 2020 deaths 20th-century South African poets South African male novelists South African non-fiction writers University of Cape Town alumni South African LGBT novelists South African male poets Alumni of St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown 20th-century South African male writers Male non-fiction writers