Media24 Books Literary Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 0 (2005) Winner
Keorapetse William Kgositsile
ケオラペトセ・ウィリアム・コシシレ
Keorapetse William Kgositsile
Aliases:
Kgosi
Pen Names:
Bra Willie（Used as a pen name）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1938-09-19 （Johannesburg）
- Died
- 2018-01-03 （Johannesburg） age 79
- Nationality
- South Africa
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Johannesburg, South Africa → Dar es Salaam, Tanzania → United States (1962-1975)
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, journalist, political activist
- Active Years
- 1960-2018
- Affiliations
- African National Congress (ANC), Congress of South African Writers (COSAW)
- Influenced By
- Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, Charles Dickens, D. H. Lawrence, John Coltrane
- Influenced
- African-American poets
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln University | — | Literature | — | 1960年代初頭 | United States |
| University of New Hampshire | — | — | — | — | United States |
| The New School for Social Research | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Columbia University | — | Creative Writing | MFA | 1960年代後半-1971 | United States |
Lincoln University
Literature
Period:
1960年代初頭
Country:
United States
Studied black literature
University of New Hampshire
Country:
United States
The New School for Social Research
Country:
United States
Columbia University
Creative Writing
Degree:
MFA
Period:
1960年代後半-1971
Year of Graduation:
1971
Country:
United States
MFA in creative writing
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | National Poet Laureate | — | — | South African Government | 受賞 |
| 2008 | Order of Ikhamanga Silver (OIS) | — | — | South African Presidency | 受賞 |
| — | Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize | — | — | — | 受賞 |
| — | Harlem Cultural Council Poetry Award | — | — | — | 受賞 |
| — | Conrad Kent Rivers Memorial Poetry Award | — | — | — | 受賞 |
| — | Herman Charles Bosman Prize | — | — | — | 受賞 |
National Poet Laureate
2006
Organization:
South African Government
Result:
受賞
Order of Ikhamanga Silver (OIS)
2008
Organization:
South African Presidency
Result:
受賞
Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize
Result:
受賞
Harlem Cultural Council Poetry Award
Result:
受賞
Conrad Kent Rivers Memorial Poetry Award
Result:
受賞
Herman Charles Bosman Prize
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
South African Literary Awards (SALA)
1 appearances
-
Edition 2 (2006) Winner
Works
Major Works
My Name is Afrika
1971 Jazz poetryCollection bridging African and African-American poetry
African cultureBlack cultureDiaspora
Spirits Unchained
1969 PoetryFirst collection of poems
LiberationOppression
For Melba: Poems
1970 PoetryBibliography
- Spirits Unchained (1969)
- For Melba: Poems (1970)
- My Name is Afrika (1971)
- Places and Bloodstains: Notes for Ipeleng (1975)
- The Present is a Dangerous Place to Live (1975)
- When the Clouds Clear (1990)
- To the Bitter End (1995)
- If I Could Sing: Selected Poems (2002)
- This Way I Salute You (2004)
- Beyond Words: South African Poetics (2009)
- Keorapetse Kgositsile: Collected Poems, 1969–2018 (2023)
Translations by Author
- The Word Is Here: Poetry from Modern Africa (1973, editor)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- LyricalPerformance-orientedJazz-influenced rhythm
- Recurring Motifs
- Apartheid critiqueBlack aestheticAfrican diaspora unity
Health
-
Short illness2018年初頭Led to death
Legacy
South Africa's National Poet Laureate, bridged African and African-American poetry
In Popular Culture
- Son is rapper Earl Sweatshirt
Quotes
-
In a situation of oppression, there are no choices beyond didactic writing: either you are a tool of oppression or an instrument of liberation.
Source: Interview (1978) -
Your destination remains / Elusive.
Source: Recollections
Trivia
- Son Thebe Neruda Kgositsile is hip-hop artist Earl Sweatshirt
- Ex-wife Baleka Mbete is a South African politician