Breytenbach, Breyten

(South African, 1939– )

Born in the Western Cape, Breytenbach is an Afrikaner. A controversial and uncompromising figure, he has consistently spoken out against injustice in South African society. A painter, poet, and fiction writer, Breytenbach writes almost entirely in Afrikaans, his native tongue. Always experimental with language, Breytenbach's novels are dislocated and often stylized. A Season in Paradise (1973) is a moving philosophical novel which explores the predicament of the Afrikaner who has rejected his own people by speaking out against apartheid. Return to Paradise (1993) is a fascinating critique of post-apartheid South Africa where the new black government comes under as much scrutiny as the apartheid regime. In 1975 Breytenbach was imprisoned for entering South Africa illegally. His long and horrific experiences are recorded in Mouroir: Mirrornotes of a Novel (1983) and The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist (1984).

André Brink, Nadine Gordimer, Albert Camus  EW