Adam Small

(1936-) Poet, dramatist, and professor of philosophy and social work. Regarded by many as one of South Africa’s leading playwrights in Afrikaans, he was born in Wellington in 1936. His father’s family was Christian, and his mother’s family belonged to the Islamic faith. This is said to have instilled his sense of religious tolerance from an early age, and has also shaped the themes of his writing. Small moved to the Cape Flats with his family, where he was introduced to the Kaaps vernacular that he uses skilfully in his writings. Having attended Roman Catholic schools and completed school in 1953. He then completed a a BA in languages and philosophy at the University of Cape Town, followed by an MA (Cum Laude) in Philosophy. Appointed lectiurer in philosophy at the University of Fort Hare in 1959, and in 1960 moved to the University of Western Cape. In the seventies he became involved with the Black Consciousness Movement and the student organisation SASO, leading protests that eventually led to his forced resignation. He now moved to Johannesburg to work in the buro for student services at the University of the Witwatersrand, In 1977 he returned to Cape Town and in 1983 became head of the department of social services at the UWC. He retired there in 1997.

Perhaps the most prominent so-called “coloured” writer of the 1960-1970 period, he later rejected the label and for a while preferred writing in English and in the 1980s associated himself with the ideals of black consciousness and referred to himself as a black writer of Afrikaans. By the 1990s he returned to writing in Afrikaans. First made his name as a poet with the Afrikaans collection Kitaar my kruis ("Guitar my Cross", 1961) followed by Sê Sjibbolet (1963) and the English Bronze is Beautiful (1975).

As a dramatist he wrote (and directed) a number of works for the Drama Society of the University of the Western Cape (DRAMSOC). The first was Gone Canada, written in 196*, rewritten to become one of the most famous and influential of Afrikaans plays: Kanna, hy kô Hystoe ("Kanna Comes Home" - 1965, English 1990), which he orignally directed himself with the [Drama Society of the University of the Western Cape]] (DRAMSOC). Small was involved in founding the Cape Flats Players in 197* and the Peninsula Theatre in 198*. Small’s later works include Joanie Galant-hulle ("Joanie Galant and her people" - published 1978), The Orange Earth (1978), Die Krismis van Map Jacobs ("The Christmas of Map Jacobs" - A Nederburg commission for the Performing Arts Council of the Orange Free State, published 1983), What about the lô? (a programme of his poetry), Die Vyfde Evangelie ("The Fifth Gospel" - 19*) and ****. SMALL, Adam. His Kanna, hy kô Hystoe was staged at the Alexander in 1974. Wilna Snyman starred in this play for which she received a best actress award. His first play in English, The Orange Earth was directed by Jo Dunstan and staged at Upstairs at the Market in 1978.

Virtually all Small’s writing is focused on the plight of oppressed people under the apartheid system. Besides his published plays his highly regarded poetry has been published in [Verse van die Liefde, Culumborg (1957), Klein Simbool: Prosaverse (1958), Kitaar My Kruis (1961), Sê Sjibbolet, Perskor (1963), Oos Wes Tuis Bes: Distrik Ses (1973) (with photography by Chris Jansen) and Black Bronze Beautiful: quatrains (1975).

He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the Western Cape in 2012 and - controversially and very belatedly - a Hertzogprys vir (Hertzog Prize for Drama) by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns in the same year.

Sources

'n Saluut vir 'Kanna' in Die Burger, 12 September 2012 (Aktueel page 11).

Tucker, 1997

Celebration of Adam Small at Fugard Theatre - 26/01/2011 - Artslink.co.za News

Return to

Return to ESAT Personalities S

Return to South African Theatre Personalities

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page