Corlia Fourie

Corlia Fourie (1944-) Journalist, playwright, novelist and writer.

Biography

Cornelia (Corlia) Hilda Fourie was born on 11 December 1944 in Kuils River. Her father was the Hertzog Prize winner Mikro (CH Kühn). She matriculated at the Hendrik Verwoerd High School in Pretoria and in 1965 she obtained a BA degree at Stellenbosch University.

She then worked as journalist at Die Burger newspaper and the woman's journal Sarie, and later also as freelance journalist at Beeld and Huisgenoot.

She launched her playwriting career at the ATKV Kampustoneel in 198* with the play Moeders en Dogters and a few other works, before ceasing to write for the theatre to turn to children's books, and later short stories and novels, winning numerous awards.

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

She initially became known in the 1980s as playwright , writing three plays (Moeders en Dogters, 1985; Leuens, 1985; and En Die Son Skyn in Suid-Afrika, 1986).

In 2006 Moeders en Dogters was chosen as the flagship production for the Suidooster Festival – 21 years after it first appeared.

Her story, Die meisie wat soos ’n bottervoël sing (1991), was set to music by the composer Peter Klatzow and the work was performed with an orchestra and narrator as Tintinyane in Johannesburg and Cape Town.