Martie Meiring
Martie Meiring (1934-2024) was an influential journalist, critic and cultural commentator.
Also known as Martie Retief, Martie Retief Meiring, or Martie Retief-Meiring
BEING WRITTEN
Contents
Biography
Born Martie Retief on 26 December 1934 in Johannesburg, she completed her school career in 1951 at Port Natal High School in Durban. In 1954 she obtained a BA at Stellenbosch University.
She started working as a journalist at the Eastern Cape newspaper Die Oosterlig in Port Elizabeth in 1955, then joined Die Vaderland in Johannesburg (1957 to 1959), NewsCheck (1960 to 1961),
In 1962 she left for London, where she did freelance work for the next two years before being appointed to the London office of National Newspapers and National Magazines in 1964.
She returned in 1967 to join Die Beeld in Johannesburg in 1967, before starting at the Huisgenoot after six months. In 1975 she moved once more to work for the newly founded daily Beeld.
From 1978 to 1981 she was editor of Bonanza, one of the first magazines specifically aimed at a black female market. Meiring was able to recruit several influential collaborators for the project, including Leah Tutu, wife of Desmond Tutu, Aggrey Klaaste, and Nthato Motlana.
After the closure of Bonanza, she became a freelancer for the Sunday Times, where she wrote, among other things, a political column. She also wrote for overseas publications and for national magazines. At the beginning of the 1990s, she was an editorial member of the Vrye Weekblad team.
Upon their retirement, Retief Meiring and her husband, the cultural leader architect Hannes Meiring (deceased in 2010), settled in Stellenbosch, where she was became involved in numerous projects as a community leader in this town. Among other things, she taught column writing in the honours course at Stellenbosch Univerity's Department of Journalism for a number of years.
She was married to the architect, author, artist and cultural facilitator Hannes Meiring (1935-2010). Their daughter is the cultural administrator, director and TV presenter Kabous Meiring.
Contribution to South African theatre, film, media and performance
Besides her political journalism, she also produced articles on and reviews of art, music and theatre, and was involved in the founding of the cultural De Kat, while also writing columns for, among others, Die Burger's "Van alle kante.
With her wide range of interests in the arts and culture of South Africa, she was involved in the founding, evolution and/or management of several festival, including the Aardklop National Arts Festival (as a board member, with her husband), the Suidoosterfees and the Stellenbosch Woordfees. Also of various one-off festivals, such as the e'Bosch Heritage Festival, the Harvest Festival in Saldanha in 2000, and the Slave Festival in Stellenbosch in 2008.
As an arts and culture activist, she was a long time a member of SOST, the Stellenbosch Outdoor Sculpture Trust.
Sources
Lizette Rabe 2024. "Voorlopervroue in die Afrikaanse joernalistiek: Een eeu, drie baanbrekers, drie generasies", LitNet (Seminare en essays), 2024-06-26 [1]
https://maroelamedia.co.za/nuus/sa-nuus/jou-spore-le-mooi-hier-huldeblyke-vir-martie-retief-meiring/
https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/nuus/aktueel/martie-retief-meiring-sterf-20241006
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