Bhekizizwe Peterson

Bhekizizwe Peterson (1961-2021) Critic, creative writer, screenwriter, film maker and academic.

Biography

Born in 1961 in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, he attended the University of Cape Town, where he obtained a BA in Drama and African Studies (1982), followed by a BA Hons in African Literature (University of the Witwatersrand, 1985), an MA in Southern African Studies (York University, 1988) and a PhD in African Literature (University of the Witwatersrand, 1997).

He started his career at Wits as a Junior Lecturer in 1988, and progressed through the ranks in the Department of African Literature , becoming a Senior Lecturer in 1995. Between 1997 and 2000, he was Head of the Department and in 2000, promoted to Associate Professor and later Professor and Head of African Literature (2012 to 2021).

A B-rated researcher with an international reputation, he has been active as a participant and commentator on Black cultural practices since the late seventies, with research interests that include African literature, performance, film and popular culture; Southern African literary studies; black intellectual traditions and transnationalism; and studies of the black diaspora.

He held Fellowships at Yale University and Birmingham University. He has sat on various editorial, statutory and artistic committees, juries and boards across the continent. He has published extensively on African literature, performance, cultural studies and Black intellectual traditions in South Africa.

He passed away on 16 June, 2021, survived by his wife Pat, and two children Neo (a Lecturer in the Television Studies Department at Wits) and Khanyi.

Contribution to South African theatre, film, media and performance

His books on theatre include the collection Monarchs, Missionaries and African Intellectuals: African Theatre and the Unmaking of Colonial Marginality (Wits Press, 2000).

He easily crossed between academia and the creative arts producing high impact creative works such as feature films (Fools and Zulu Love Letter) and feature documentaries (Born into Struggle, Zwelidumile, The Battle for Johannesburg, and Miners Shot Down), many of which won local and international awards.

His film credits include producing and writing the screenplays for The Children and I (1993, directed by Ken Kaplan) and the acclaimed features film Fools (1997) and Zulu Love Letter (2004), both directed by Ramadan Suleman. He has also served as a creative consultant and producer on numerous projects including noted documentaries such as Dumsani Phakathi's Wa’n Wina (2001) and Rehad Desai's Born into Struggle (2004).

In 2020, he became chairperson of the art committee of the new eight-gallery Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria, which aims to bring the arts of Africa to the world and the arts of the world to Africa.