Difference between revisions of "Wilma Stockenström"
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She began her working life by working as a radio announcer in Cape Town for a year, before moving to Pretoria in 1954. There she married [[Ants Kirsipuu]], an Estonian by birth and a linguist and translator by trade. For a while she worked as a translator and began writing poetry. Though her earliest writing – and her first love – would be a few plays, this soon became her her prime medium and her first important claim to literary fame, later followed by her prose writing. | She began her working life by working as a radio announcer in Cape Town for a year, before moving to Pretoria in 1954. There she married [[Ants Kirsipuu]], an Estonian by birth and a linguist and translator by trade. For a while she worked as a translator and began writing poetry. Though her earliest writing – and her first love – would be a few plays, this soon became her her prime medium and her first important claim to literary fame, later followed by her prose writing. | ||
| − | She gradually returned to acting in the 1970s. | + | She gradually returned to acting in the 1970s and in 1993 they moved to Cape Town, where her husband passed away in 2003. She has continued living in Cape Town since then. |
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Revision as of 10:51, 31 January 2022
Wilma Stockenström (1933-) [1] is a South African actress, poet, novelist and playwright.
(Also credited in some cases as Wilma Kirsipuu.)
Contents
Biography
She was born in Napier in the Overberg district of South Africa on 7 August 1933, where she completed high school in 1949. She then went to Stellenbosch University, where obtained a BA (Drama) in 1952, having studied drama with Robert Mohr.
She began her working life by working as a radio announcer in Cape Town for a year, before moving to Pretoria in 1954. There she married Ants Kirsipuu, an Estonian by birth and a linguist and translator by trade. For a while she worked as a translator and began writing poetry. Though her earliest writing – and her first love – would be a few plays, this soon became her her prime medium and her first important claim to literary fame, later followed by her prose writing.
She gradually returned to acting in the 1970s and in 1993 they moved to Cape Town, where her husband passed away in 2003. She has continued living in Cape Town since then.
Her earliest writing – and her first love – was in the field of drama: two one-act plays, Katlagters ("Babblers") and Op deurreis ("Passing Through") were published in the literary magazines of the time, Wurm and Contrast. These were followed by children's plays Dawid die dik dom kat ("Dawid the Fat Dumb Cat") and Trippens se patatta, ("Thrupenny's worth of sweet potato") which were published by DALRO (The Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation). However, it was only with the 1978 publication and subsequent production of Die Laaste Middagmaal ("The last midday meal") that she gained serious attention as a dramatist.
She played parts in a variety of productions, including Hugo Claus’s Bruid in die môre ("A Bride in the Morning"), Ionesco’s The Chairs, and Chekhov’s Drie susters ("Three Sisters").
She later achieved fame for her film and television appearances in Manakwalanners (Namakwalanders), Hoggenheim Edms Bpk (Hoggenheim Pty Lt.), Die besoeker (The Visitor; 1977) – Athol Fugard’s drama on the life of the Afrikaans author, scientist and morphinist Eugène N. Marais – for which she was awarded the Rapport-Oscar. This was followed by Die perdesmous (The Horse Trader; 1982), Verspeelde lente (Lost Spring; 1983), Die storie van Klara Viljee (The Story of Klara Viljee; 1992), Friends (1993), and Promised Land (2002), which is based on Karel Schoeman’s homonymous novel.
Her career as writer
Her very first piece of writing was a short play, written while she was still in primary school, followed by few poems published in the periodical Wurm. Thereafter she concentrated on plays and the theatre for a while, before turning to poetry in the late 1960s, producing her first collection, Vir Die Bysiende Leser ("for the short-sighted reader"), published in 1970 by Reijger Uitgewers.
This turned out to be the beginnings of a remarkable career as a highly regarded poet and later novelist, leading to ** collections of poems, ** novels, ** plays, and a number of prestigious awards, including the Hertzog Prize for poetry (1977) and for prose (1991), as well as the SALA Literary Lifetime Award (2008).
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
Her very first piece of writing was a short play written while she was still in primary school, . this was then followed by two one-act plays, Katlagters and Op Deurreis, that were published in the periodicals Wurm and Contrast respectively; a play for children, Dawid, die Dik Dom Kat published by DALRO (1971), an adult fairytale called Die Patatta (or alternatively Trippens se Patatta, DALRO, 1971) and another adult work called Die Laaste Middagmaal, probably her best known play. The latter was the joint winner of the one-act play competition which was held at The Space in 1972/3. (The other winner was Sheila Roberts’s My Weekend, Too). The play was performed by the Space and published by Taurus in 1978.
She was a very competent translator, responsible for Afrikaans translations of inter alia Andorra (with her husband, Ants Kirsipuu), Leonce en Lena, Die Dans van die Reier, Die Paradysboot, WAM (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) and (with Schalk Jacobsz) the film script for Die Besoeker, an Afrikaans version of Athol Fugard's script for The Guest.
She went on to work as a freelance actress for The Space Theatre ** and **. Among her key performances were in God's Forgotten (Pieter-Dirk Uys, 1976), Strike Up the Banned (Pieter-Dirk Uys, 1976), **. She played in 'n Bruid in die Môre, The Chairs and Drie Susters directed by Robert Mohr. She starred in Barney Simon’s production of Fugard’s Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act together with Vivian Solomons at the Market Theatre in 1979.
She has also appeared in Agt Vroue, Hedda Gabler, The Seagull, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds, Ampie Oppie Diekens, Saterdag, Sondag, Maandag.
She also became an excellent film and television actress, appearing in films such as:
1972 – Vlug van die Seemeeu 1977 – Die besoeker/The Guest: An episode in the Life of Eugène Marais as "Tant Corrie" 1983 – Verspeelde lente as "Griet le Roux" 1990 – The Fourth Reich as "Mrs. Engelbrecht" 1992 – Die Storie van Klara Viljee as "Miss Lizzie Sauer" 1993 – Friends as "Iris" 1993 – Djadje – Last Night I Fell Off a Horse 2002 – Promised Land as "Mart".
Awards, etc
She is one of a handful of writers to have won the Hertzog Prize in two different categories. She won it first for poetry in 1977 and then for fiction in 1991.
She has been awarded:
1977: Hertzog Prize for Poetry for Van vergetelheid en van glans.
1984: CNA Award, Louis Luyt Prize and the Old Mutual Prize for Monsterverse.
1988: Grinzane Cavour Prize for Spedizione al Baobab.
1991: W.A. Hofmeyr Award and Hertzog Prize (for prose) for Abjater Wat So Lag.
2008: SALA Literary Lifetime Award.
2015: Receives a Fiësta-toekenning ("Fiësta award"), a lifetime award in recognition of her contribution to South African theatre and verbal art.
Sources
https://www.litnet.co.za/wilma-stockenstr-m-1933/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilma_Stockenstr%C3%B6m
https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilma_Stockenstr%C3%B6m
Die Patatta theatre programme notes, circa 1965.
Die Burger, 7 August 2008.
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