-
Edition 17 (1977) Winner
-
Edition 20 (1980) Winner
-
Edition 23 (1983) Winner
John Maxwell Coetzee
ジョン・マクスウェル・クーツィー
John Maxwell Coetzee
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1940-02-09 (Cape Town, Union of South Africa)
- Nationality
- South African, Australian
- Languages
- English, Afrikaans, Dutch
- Residence History
- Cape Town, South Africa → Worcester, South Africa → London, United Kingdom → Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, essayist, screenwriter, literary critic, linguist, translator, professor
- Active Years
- 1964-2025
- Affiliations
- University of Cape Town (lecturer, professor, emeritus), University of Texas at Austin (student), State University of New York at Buffalo (lecturer), University of Adelaide (honorary research fellow, patron)
- Memberships
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL), Member of the American Philosophical Society, Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
- Influenced By
- Samuel Beckett, Jorge Luis Borges, Rainer Maria Rilke, James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Zbigniew Herbert
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Cape Town | Arts/Science (English & Mathematics) | English and Mathematics | BA (Hons) | 1957–1961 | South Africa |
| University of Texas at Austin | Humanities | Bibliography / Old English / Stylistics | PhD | 1965–1969 | United States |
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Nobel Prize in Literature | — | — | Swedish Academy | 受賞 |
| 1983 | Booker Prize | Life & Times of Michael K | — | Booker Prize Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1999 | Booker Prize | Disgrace | — | Booker Prize Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1977 | CNA Literary Award | — | — | Central News Agency | 受賞 |
| 1980 | CNA Literary Award | — | — | Central News Agency | 受賞 |
| 1983 | CNA Literary Award | — | — | Central News Agency | 受賞 |
| 1987 | Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society | — | — | Jerusalem Prize Committee | 受賞 |
| 1998 | Lannan Literary Award for Fiction | — | — | Lannan Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2005 | Order of Mapungubwe (Gold) | — | — | Government of South Africa | 受章 |
| 2025 | Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) | — | — | Government of Australia (Governor-General) | 叙勲 |
| 2000 | Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Africa region) | Disgrace | — | Commonwealth Foundation | 受賞 |
Awards & Nominations
-
Edition 62 (1980) Winner
-
Edition 18 (1982) Winner
-
Edition 24 (1988) Winner
-
Edition 15 (1983) Winner
-
Edition 31 (1999) Winner
-
Edition 13 (1987) Winner
-
Edition 9 (1995) Winner
-
Edition 14 (2000) Winner
-
Edition 96 (2003) Winner
-
Edition 16 (2004) Winner
-
Edition 22 (2010) Winner
-
Edition 18 (2008) Winner
-
Edition 31 (2010) Winner
Works
Major Works
Dusklands
1974 NovelCoetzee's first novel. A two-part experimental work addressing colonialism and violence, set against contexts including South Africa and the Vietnam War.
- Dusklands (translations available)
Waiting for the Barbarians
1980 Novel (allegorical)An allegorical novel about power, bureaucracy and torture; it questions violence and conscience through the imagined threat of 'barbarians'.
- Waiting for the Barbarians (Japanese translation)
Life & Times of Michael K
1983 NovelSet in apartheid-era South Africa, this spare, allegorical tale of alienation and survival won the 1983 Booker Prize.
- Life & Times of Michael K (Japanese translation)
Disgrace
1999 Novel 224 pagesA novel of personal fall and possible redemption set in post-apartheid South Africa. Winner of the 1999 Booker Prize; it addresses nationhood, sexuality and violence.
- [Film] Disgrace / Steve Jacobs (2008)
- Disgrace (Japanese translation)
The Pole and Other Stories / The Pole
2023 Short stories / NovelA recent collection reflecting interests in Polish ancestry and European history; some material was first published in Spanish in 2022.
- The Pole (translations may vary by edition)
Bibliography
- Dusklands (1974)
- In the Heart of the Country (1977)
- Waiting for the Barbarians (1980)
- Life & Times of Michael K (1983)
- Foe (1986)
- Age of Iron (1990)
- The Master of Petersburg (1994)
- Disgrace (1999)
- Elizabeth Costello (2003)
- Slow Man (2005)
- Diary of a Bad Year (2007)
- The Childhood of Jesus (2013)
- The Schooldays of Jesus (2016)
- The Death of Jesus (2019)
- The Pole and Other Stories (2023)
Adaptations
- Film adaptation: Disgrace (2008)
Translations of Works
- Many works have been translated into numerous languages, including Japanese
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- concise, analytical proseintrospective and allegorical narrationexperimental narrative structures mixing autobiographical and fictional elements
- Recurring Motifs
- outsider perspectivelanguage and poweranimals and ethicsguilt, redemption, and violence
Legacy
J. M. Coetzee is one of the most highly regarded contemporary English-language writers, internationally celebrated with the Nobel Prize and multiple major literary awards. His rigorous prose and probing explorations of colonialism, ethics and language continue to have wide academic and cultural impact.
Academic Societies
- Royal Society of Literature
- American Philosophical Society
- Australian Academy of the Humanities (Honorary)
Archives
- Papers held at the Harry Ransom Center (University of Texas)
- Related holdings at the Barr Smith Library, University of Adelaide
In Popular Culture
- Influence on popular culture including the film adaptation of Disgrace (2008)
Quotes
-
“in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider.”
Source: Swedish Academy (Nobel Prize in Literature press release, 2003) (2003)
Trivia
- He was the first writer to win the Booker Prize twice (1983 and 1999).
- He moved to Australia and became an Australian citizen in 2006.
- He is an advocate for animal rights and is a vegetarian.