Herman Charles Bosman

Herman Charles Bosman (1905-1951) [1] was a South African writer, dramatist and journalist

Biography

Bosman was born near Cape Town but grew up and lived in the Transvaal for most of his life. In 1926, while on holiday at home from his new teaching post on a farm school near Zwingli in the Marico District, he was arrested and subsequently convicted for the murder of his step-brother. He was condemned to hang on death row, but his sentence was commuted to hard labour and he was eventually released after four years in prison. His unique account of this time was published as Cold Stone Jug in 1949.

After his release on parole in 1930, he worked as a journalist in Johannesburg. In 1934 he left for London, returning to South Africa in 1940, following the outbreak of war across Europe. It was during this time in London that Bosman wrote the bulk of stories that were eventually published as Mafeking Road in 1947. Bosman became quite famous for these short stories that were set against the background of the Marico district in Western Transvaal and introduced one of South Africa's most endearing fictional characters, "Oom Schalk Lourens". In the same year, Bosman published his first novel, Jacaranda in the Night.

Bosman also wrote under the pseudonyms Will-o'-the-Wisp, Ben Eath, Ben Africa, Ben Onion, Ferdinand Fandango, Herman Malan or simply as H.C.B.

Bosman died of heart failure in 1951 at the age of forty-six.

Education

Bosman was educated at Jeppe High School and the University of the Witwatersrand, where he trained as a teacher.

Plays

He wrote three short one-act plays:

• The Urge of the Primordial (1925)

• Mara (1932)

• Street-Woman (1951).

Adaptations of other writing

A number of Bosman's works have been dramatised, notably of course the popular "Oom Schalk Lourens" series of short stories done as one-man shows by Patrick Mynhardt: beginning with A Sip of Jerepigo (1969); More Jerepigo, (1973); Just Jerepigo, or A Sundowner with Oom Schalk (19??); Another Sip of Jerepigo (1989); and Tjeerio Jerepigo (2003). Other performers who have done these stories include Percy Sieff, David Muller and Paul Luckhoff (Oom Schalk Lourens Se Mampoerstories, 2015)

Other dramatizations of his works include:

• Cold Stone Jug (text by Stephen Gray, first directed by Barney Simon for the Baxter Theatre, 1980) ; and Patrick Mynhardt's own one-man stage adaptation.

• Marico Moonshine and Mampoer, inspired by certain Bosman stories, was directed by Janice Honeyman and Barney Simon at the Market Theatre in 1981.

Sources

https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Charles_Bosman

De Beer, 1995;

Gosher, 1988;

Gray 200*;

MacKenzie, C. (ed). 2003. Young Bosman - The Anniversary Edition. Human & Rousseau.

Mynhardt, P. 1981. The Bosman I Like - a personal selection. Human & Rousseau.

Mynhardt, P. 2005. Celebrating Bosman. Wits University Press.

Go to South African Theatre/Bibliography

Return to

Return to ESAT Personalities B

Return to South African Theatre Personalities

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page