Douglas Ridley Beeton

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Douglas Ridley Beeton (1929-1997) was a widely respected poet, teacher, literary critic, essayist and lexicographer.

Also known as D.R. Beeton, Ridley Beeton or simply R. Beeton

Biography

He started his career as librarian at the CSIR, and later became Professor and head of UNISA Department of English till his retirement in 1984.

He was also a council member of the Human Sciences Research Council from 1976 till his retirement, and was elected as President of the English Academy of South Africa on three occasions .

His poetry was published in various journals as well as in two collections, The Landscape of Requirement (1981) and Tattoos (1983).

He was furthermore the editor of A Pilot Bibliography of South African English Literature (1976) and one of the compilers of the Companion to South African English Literature, a founding editor (with Helen Dorner) of the journal English Usage in Southern Africa and the Dictionary of English Usage in Southern Africa (1975).

He died in Cape Town in April 1997.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

His theatre works include a collection entitled Four South African One-Act Plays (Cape Town: Nasou, 1973).

Sources

Richmond, Keith. 1985. "Speaking to a Writer: An Interview With Ridley Beeton". English Usage in Southern Africa 16 (2):1-12. [1].

Obituary published in Pretoria News, 29 April 1997.

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