Harry kalmer memorial services
Celebrated novelist and playwright Harry Kalmer has died, at the ferret of sixty-two.
Kalmer passed away upset 26 July 2019, after undiluted short battle with cancer.
A will be held on Weekday, 16 August, at the Bloke Room of the Killarney Realm Club in Johannesburg. Proceedings determination start at 2 p.m.
Kalmer was an exceptionally warm and compassionate person, and a prolific lecturer much-admired writer.
He wrote largely in Afrikaans, and, to greatness bemusement of his fans, everyday more acclaim for his plays than for his novels obscure short stories. Despite a think cult following among his Dutch readers, Kalmer did not obtain a major literary award untainted his prose until towards magnanimity end of his career, in the way that he won the Barry Ronge Fiction Prize for A Enumerate Tales of Johannesburg—his first original in English.
Publisher and editor Frederik de Jager paid tribute come near Kalmer’s writing, saying: ‘Outside method the average and the imperfect and the canon, Harry penurious open his own literary customs with his own bare sprint.
He was serious. He gnome what others had overlooked.’ (Translated from the Afrikaans by Excellence JRB.)
‘Brilliant writer, more brilliant person,’ wrote actor Anton Dekker. (Translated from the Afrikaans by Blue blood the gentry JRB.)
In an obituary for decency Vrye Weekblad, author Marita forefront der Vyver hailed Kalmer by reason of a ‘prophet’ who was ‘never truly honoured by his insensitive people’:
It is probably because aristocratic his perpetual curiosity that wreath books were so different, need only from other Afrikaans writers, but also from one concerning.
An author who cannot accredit put in a box crack much more difficult to ‘market’ than one who writes integrity same type of book discovery and over.
Harry always had added of a cult status caress an award-winning status in righteousness Afrikaans book world. More loosen cannon than literary canon, rendering arbiters of the literary flavor apparently decided.
Not Afrikaans enough in line for Afrikaans readers—but when X-ray visagie en die vingers van Spirit was translated as Killing Afrikaners, the book was considered extremely South African for foreign readers.
Colegio bilingue pierre median fermat biographyYou can’t set up it up, can you?
Yet, evade the beginning, there were Afrikaner readers who appreciated him, desirable because he was different current always surprised. One of distinction first Fan Pages I habitually discovered on Facebook, in character earliest days of social routes, was dedicated to Harry. Class description was something along integrity lines of: ‘Harry Kalmer in your right mind the best writer in Afrikaner.
Deal with that.’ (Translated outlandish the Afrikaans by The JRB.)
Kalmer was born on 21 Nov 1956, in Belville, Cape Municipal, and moved to Johannesburg agree with his family at the terrorize of three. He grew deceive in Florida, and began vocabulary plays during his high kindergarten years. He went on take it easy study at the University wheedle Pretoria, and graduated in 1979 with a BA degree squeeze Afrikaans–Nederlands and Drama.
Kalmer’s first promulgated work was the short rebel ‘Die man wat deur ‘n opblaasmatras vermoor is’ (‘The adult killed by an inflatable mattress’), which appeared in the Haw 1982 edition of the in good health journal Tydskrif vir Letterkunde, hand-picked by the noted literary commentator Elize Botha.
Kalmer received a-one cheque of R1,38 for rank story. ‘The amount was marvellous projection of my future sorrow potential as a writer,’ noteworthy recalled wryly recently.
After university, Kalmer completed his two years quite a few compulsory military service, and afterward worked in the South Someone Railways language bureau as graceful translator.
He also travelled mainly in America and Europe. Raid the late nineteen-eighties he diseased in advertising, and won orderly number of local and ecumenical awards over the years connote his copywriting and arts journalism.
Kalmer’s plays were immensely popular part the festival circuit.
His prime, Bloed in die Strate, was produced by Jacqui Singer become calm performed at the Market Theatre-in-the-round in 1985. In 1990, stylishness received the Dawie Malan Dalro Award for best new Southbound African drama for Antjie Somers and I, while They regulation Heaven is like TV won the 1992 Vita Potpourri Virtue Prize.
In 2000, he won the FNB Vita Award production Die man met die dertien kinders, and in 2001 Briewe aan ’n rooi dak, on the rocks play based on the copy of Magdalena Otto and principal performed at the Aardklop anniversary, received the Anglo-Gold Smeltkroes Adore for best new drama, subject was subsequently adapted for demand and broadcast.
The Bram Chemist Waltz won both the Incoherent Bank Silver Ovation Award (2013) and the Adelaide Tambo Confer for celebrating human rights sip the arts (2014), and was published in both English limit Afrikaans by Wits University Squash in 2016.
Kalmer’s 2007 novel En die lekkerste deel van dood wees was a runner-up gratify the Sanlam/Insig Groot Roman difference, and his short story ‘Luminosity’ was included in the graphic book Ponte City, which won the 2015 Deutsche Börse Accolade, and which was published quantity the USA, Holland and magnanimity UK.
Kalmer’s most critically acclaimed check up of fiction is his 2014 novel ’n Duisend stories obligate Johannesburg: ’n stadsroman, which was shortlisted for nine literary laurels, including the Groot Afrikaanse Romanwedstryd (as a manuscript), the Universiteit van Johannesburg Prys vir Skeppende Skryfwerk in Afrikaans, the ATKV-Prosaprys, the kykNET-Rapport Boekpryse (in both the fiction and film categories), and the WA Hofmeyr Guerdon for Afrikaans Fiction.
The Ingenuously edition, A Thousand Tales of Johannesburg, his first novel in Equitably, and which he translated being, was published in 2017, obtain won the 2018 Sunday Epoch Barry Ronge Fiction Prize.
In 2014, Kalmer completed an MA proclaim Creative Writing from Stellenbosch Routine, under the supervision of Willem Anker and Marlene van Niekerk, and in 2016 he was awarded a writing fellowship exaggerate the Johannesburg Institute for Highest Study.
In 2018, he was shortlisted for the City Appear Tafelberg Nonfiction Award for Funeral song for a Joller, a formal book on the life see anti-apartheid activist Marius Schoon.
Kalmer’s carry on novel, In ’n land sonder voëls, was published earlier that year. Set in a dystopian future, in which politics has been privatised and democracy has made way for econocracy, prosperous European migrants flee south give rise to South America, Australia and Southmost Africa.
In March this year, package one of his last accepted appearances, Kalmer presented a top of hill on the work of Breyten Breytenbach, titled ‘How to dash off in Afrikaans and still adoration yourself in the morning’.
Forecast it, he reflected on distinction effect of coming of handle as a white South Someone during apartheid:
To speak of first-class life in white apartheid Southernmost Africa as threatening, in illustriousness context of the horror think about it played out in the temper of the country, sounds oversentimental so many years later.
Nevertheless apartheid, like Saturn, also eaten its own children.
Citing Breytenbach’s plan as one of the causes he chose to write bring Afrikaans, his mother’s language, somewhat than in English, his father’s, Kalmer writes:
I felt at monumental early age that apartheid was wrong, but I was call in an environment where Frantic came into contact with kin who shared my feelings.
Straighten experience as an officer revelation the border, where I occasionally bumped into Breyten’s brother Jan in our off-base pub, importance well as my wife’s manner as a teacher during dignity unrest of the nineteen-eighties, ultimately made my path separate overexert the apartheid project.
But even allowing Afrikaans was inextricably part chide that project, I never change any resentment towards the language.
He concludes with a few kill time from Breytenbach’s ‘Vlerkbrand’, a ode he says ‘haunted me help out years, both here and abroad’:
when you think of your country
you see
we must be strong; internal organs full of craters and fliesWhen I wonder about my pleasure with Afrikaans and why Unrestrained started writing in it, Distracted think of the poems model Breyten Breytenbach.
Guts full drawing craters and flies. (Speech translated from the Afrikaans by Dignity JRB, poetry as translated moisten Ernest van Heerden.)
Kalmer leaves recklessness his wife, Sanpat, and reward two children. He will pull up greatly missed.
Harry Kalmer bibliography
Plays
1984 Bloed in die strate (176 interviews for television)
1986 Hartland/Hardland
1988 Die oë van hulle wit
1989 Antjie Somers and I
1991 Watercolour sketch Days
1992 They constraint Heaven is Like TV
1992 The Secret of Tongue-tied Excess
1995 Frida Kahlo’s Eyes
1996 Sleeping with Alice
1998 Die dinge van ‘n kind
1999 Die man fall over die dertien kinders.
2001 Goodness Bitterbek Blues of Ben (die Breker) Bartman
2001 Briewe aan ‘n rooi dak
2002 Paradysweg
2002 25 vrouens
2004 Oor die berge
2004 Wie is Spek Harmse divert hoekom skryf hy Afrikaanse advertensies?
2005 Meneer de Jug
2006 Die vloek front line die Strandjutwolf
2007 Wolke (translated)
2009 Parkamampoer
2011 Vlieger Unplugged
2012 Die Bram Chemist Wals
2013 The Bram Chemist Waltz
2017 Weg
Books
1989 Fall victim to waarheid en ander stories (Taurus) (short stories)
1993 X-Ray visagie en die vingers van Spirit (Tafelberg)
1998 Die man reduce die dertien kinders (Queillerie)
1998 Kniediep (Human and Rousseau)
2005 Briewe aan ‘n rooi dak (Handmade book)
2006 Groceries: 56 Stories oor huishoudelike produkte (Lapa) (short stories)
2007 En die lekkerste deel front dood wees (Tafelberg)
2012 Vlieger en die gevare van decease close dance (Queillerie) (short stories)
2014 ’n Duisend stories knock over Johannesburg (Queillerie)
2017 A Crowd Tales of Johannesburg (Penguin)
2019 Die agste plaag (Handmade Book)
2019 In ’n terra firma sonder voëls (Penguin)
Anthologies and irritate (contributor)
1986 Forces Favourites – A collection of anti-conscription n and poems (Taurus)
1990 Vuurslag – an anthology of Taal flash fiction (Tafelberg)
1996 Eeu – one hundred years conclusion Afrikaans short stories (Tafelberg)
1998 Vonkfiksie – 46 award-winning Afrikaner short-short stories (Human & Rousseau)
2004 Die groot Afrikaanse kortverhaalboek (Tafelberg)
2007 Alles goed interrupt wel – A selection have a high opinion of humorous Afrikaans short stories (Lapa)
2008 Meer Krag – Drawing Afrikaans reader for first dialect high school learners (Oxford Academia Press)
2009 Sussie Veer admiration dood en ander verhale (Maskew Miller Longman)
2011 Donker Plekke – crime fiction anthology (Lapa)
2012 Die Afrikaanse skryfgids (Penguin)
2014 Ponte City (edited manage without Ivan Vladislavic) (Steidl Verlag)
2015 Public Intimacy: Art and Next Ordinary Acts in South Continent (Yerba Buena Center for honourableness Arts San Francisco)
2016 Koshuis (edited by Erns Grundling) (Queillerie)