Famous Afrikaans poet-author Breyten Breytenbach dies at 85

Breyten Breytenbach, a respected figure in literature, activism, and art, passed away peacefully in Paris with his wife by his side. Breytenbach was 85, and died on November 24, 2024.
Breytenbach was a fearless voice against apartheid and a champion of justice. He grew up in South Africa and witnessed oppressive policies of apartheid from the white minority government all over the country. And thus began his journey from a young Afrikaans poet to an international icon of resistance against racial discrimination.

According to reports, Breytenbach’s family described him as "an immense artist, militant against apartheid, [who] fought for a better world until the end."

Breytenbach was a member of the Sestigers, a group of Afrikaans poets and writers who opposed apartheid, and used their words as a weapon against the regime.

His life and prison sentence

In 1960, Breytenbach left South Africa, beginning a life of self-imposed exile mostly in Europe. He then settled in Paris, where he met his wife Yolande Ngo Thi Hoang Lien. But then in 1975 when he returned to South Africa, he was arrested and put behind bars for 7 long years. It was in this time that he wrote his most famous and iconic book ‘The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist’.

When he was released in 1982, Breytenbach became a French citizen and continued his activism from Paris.

Breytenbach wrote over 50 books, a mix of poetry, prose, and autobiographical works, and he also produced art that showed the sadness of captivity, and the feeling of liberation.

Awards and accolades

Breytenbach received many awards, the most prominent ones being - the Van der Hoogt Prize for Dutch Literature in 1982, which was proceeded by a Rapport Literature Prize in 1986.
He also received the Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award, the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (the most important Arts honour by the French government), the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Alan Paton Award for Literature, and the Mahmoud Darwish Award for Creativity.

He was a celebrated and respected author and artist who left behind a legacy of a beautiful language, and his words and artworks will continue to inspire with their message, meaning, and power.