Antjie Krog Biography
Antjie Krog was born on 23rd October 1952 in Kroonstad, South Africa. She is a South African poet, academician and author.
Antjie Krog Education Background
In 1973 she graduated witha Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from the University of the Orange Free State, and an MA in Afrikaans from the University of Pretoria in 1976.She also hasa Diploma in teaching from the University of South Africa (UNISA)
Antjie Krog Career
In 1970 when sheS was 17 years old her first volume of poetry ‘Dogter van Jefta’ was published, following adverse publicity about the poem ‘My mooi land’ (‘My beautiful land’) published in a school yearbook.
In the 1980s she taught at a high school and teachers’ college in Kroonstad.In 1993 she became editor of the journal Die Suid-Afrikaan (The South African), based in Cape Town.
In 1995 she began working for the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) as a radio journalist, reporting on the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commision from 1996 to 1998. During this time she also wrore articles for newspapers and journals until she resigned in 2000.
In 2004 she was appointed professor extraordinaire at the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town.
Antjie Krog Poetry
- 1970: Dogter van Jefta (Daughter of Jephta)
- 1972: Januarie-suite (January Suite)
- 1974: Beminde Antarktika (Beloved Antarctica)
- 1974: Mannin (Difficult to translate: the name of Eve given in Biblical terms if Adam being “man”, Eve was called “wo-man”)
- 1981: Otters in Bronslaai (Otters in Watercress Salad)
- 1985:Jerusalemgangers (Jerusalem-goers)
- 1989: Lady Anne
- 1995: Gedigte 1989–1995 (Poems)
- 2000: Kleur kom nooit alleen nie (Colour never comes alone)
- 2000: Down to my last skin
- 2002: Met woorde soos met kerse (With words as with candles)
- 2004: The stars say tsau
- 2006:Body bereft
- 2013 :Skinned
Antjie Krog Poetry for children
- 1989: Mankepank en ander Monsters (Mankepank and other monsters)
- 1992: Voëls van anderster vere (Birds of different feathers)
- 2007: Fynbosfeetjies by Antjie Krog & Fiona Moodie (Fynbos Fairies)
Antjie Krog Prose
- 1995: Relaas van ‘n Moord (Relaying of a Murder)
- 1998: Country of my Skull
- 2003: A Change of Tongue, translated into Afrikaans in 2005 as ‘n Ander Tongval
- 2009: There was this goat, with Nosisi Mpolweni and Kopano Ratele
- 2010: Begging to be Black
Antjie Krog Translation
- Domein van Glas, from the Dutch Een Mond vol Glas by Henk van Woerden (“Domain of Glass” from the Dutch “Mouthful of Glass”)
- Lang Pad na Vryheid, from the English Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
- Mamma Medea, from the Dutch play Mamma Medea by Tom Lanoye
Antjie Krog Awards
- 1973: Eugene Marais Prize
- 1976:Reina Prinsen-Geerligs Prijs
- 1987: Rapport Prize
- 1990: Hertzog Prize
- 1996: Foreign Correspondent Award
- 1996: Pringle Award
- 1996: Alan Paton Award
- 1999: Booksellers Award
- 2000: Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation Award
- 2000 : Olive Schreiner Prize
- 2001: RAU-Prys vir Skeppende Skryfwerk
- 2003: South African Translators’ Institute Award for Outstanding Translation
- 2017: Hertzog Prize
Antjie Krog Plagiarism
In February 2016 she was accused of plagiarism by StephenWatson, a poet and the head of the University of Cape Town’s English department. He made the charges in the New Contrast literary review saying that ‘Country of My Skull’ used words and phrases from Hughes’s 1976 essay Myth and Education.
Krog denied the claim and said she was unaware of the essay until well after her bestseller, based on her experiences as a radio reporter covering the hearings into apartheid-era crimes, was published in 1998.
Eve Gray, a copyright consultant with the book’s publisher, Random House, said that although one phrase bore a “striking” similarity to one in the essay the book was radically different in thinking and philosophy.
Watson also accused her of stealing material in her 2004 collection of bushmen poems. He claimed that Krog lifted the entire concept of her collection from his own book published in 1991.
Prof Watson based his text on a collection of bushmen prose translated in the 19th century by the linguists Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd. Krog did the same but in a manner which ripped off his idea and the work of the linguists, he said.
Ms Gray, rejected the accusation as spurious, saying Krog had credited her sources. “She feels this is an attempt to destroy her. She is not the sort of person who can ride this accusation. She is very concerned to protect her integrity.”
Antjie Krog Family
Antjie Krog is married to architect John Samuel and has four children: Andries, Susan, Philip, and Willem.
Antjie Krog Photo
Antjie Krog