Breyten Breytenbach Dies Aged 85

Hello Gentle Reader,

Breyten Breytenbach was one of the greatest South African Afrikaans language writers of his generation, an icon of who defended human rights and revolted against the barbaric delineation of apartheid. A statement from Breytenbach’s family perfectly summarizes and defines the author shortly after his peaceful passing:

“an immense artist, militant against apartheid, he fought for a better world until the end.”

As a writer, Breyten Breytenbach literary themes were formed in relation to that of Nadine Gordimer, J.M. Coetzee, and Antjie Krog, an unmistakable outrage and disgust over the National Party’s hyper racial segregation policies and oppression of the majority black population or any other ethnicity designated ‘non-white.’ During his time at university, Breytenbach founded the Sestigers literary group with fellow wrier Andre Brink. The Sestigers were a group of dissident writers who opposed and challenged the prevailing doctrine of apartheid; they also sought to elevate the Afrikaans language, transcending it above its two-dimensional political associations of being a language of an oppressive minority. The Sestigers is affectionally referred to as a literary movement of exile within its own country, and its continued legacy reverberates today, being the foundational lifeblood of the explosion of Afrikaans language and art. The notion of Afrikaans language and the idea of Afrikaner were complex subjects for Breyten Breytenbach remarking:

“I'd never reject Afrikaans as a language, but I reject it as part of the Afrikaner political identity. I no longer consider myself an Afrikaner.”

As in the case of many writers whose work is influenced by its criticism of political realities, language for Breyten Breytenbach became homeland. In the 1960’s Breytenbach entered exile, living abroad in Paris, but remained a cultural icon in South Africa and a vocal critic. In the 1970’s, Breytenbach returned to South Africa, but was promptly arrested for allegedly supporting resistance movements and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Unrepented and unhindered Breyten Breytenbach continued to write poetry during his incarceration. The then French president François Mitterrand worked to facilitate Breytenbach’s release in 1982, afterwards Breytenbach would be granted French citizenship. These years of imprisonment provided Breyten Breytenbach the necessary material to write the monumental novel “The Albino Terrorist,” an account of his in incarceration, including the first two years spent in solitary confinement. Ever politically motivated Breyten Breytenbach continued his political discourse even as apartheid ended, refuting Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress of becoming corrupt and corroded with power.

Rest in Peace Breyten Breytenbach.

Thank you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
 
M. Mary