Alan Stewart Paton

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Alan Stewart Paton(1903-1988). Writer, teacher, reformatory principal, influential novelist and anti-apartheid activist. Best known for his seminal novel Cry, the Beloved Country (1948).


Biography

He was born in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu Natal on 11 January 1903. He was a founder member of the Liberal Party and its leader between 1955 and its dissilusion in 1968. He died in Durban on 12 April 1988.

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

His novel Cry, the Beloved Country (1948) became an internationally acclaimed work, and has been adapted to stage and screen a number of times. He also collaborated on a number of other theartrical projects, including the musical presentation Mkhumbane (with Todd Matshikiza) and Sponono (with Krishna Shah).

He wrote and presented Man and Poet at the Inaugural Festival of the 1820 Settlers National Monument in 1974.

Sources

South African History Online [1].

Wikipedia [2].

Tucker, 1997.

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