Karel Schoeman (26 October 1939 – 1 May 2017) was one of South Africa’s most prolific writers. His idiosyncratic style contributed to a unique form of authorship. Schoeman’s novels were awarded...Show moreKarel Schoeman (26 October 1939 – 1 May 2017) was one of South Africa’s most prolific writers. His idiosyncratic style contributed to a unique form of authorship. Schoeman’s novels were awarded with many prizes and the output of his historical work is unsurpassed. His status however remains relatively unknown in the world outside South Africa. This can be attributed mainly to the fact that most of his work is written in Afrikaans. Schoeman was raised in three languages. His first language was Dutch, which was spoken at home with his mother. Afrikaans was his second and English his third language. His first unpublished novels were in Dutch and English. From his early twenties on he wrote predominantly in Afrikaans. A decade later he distanced himself from the Afrikaner part of the community. This raises the social-linguistic problem of how it is possible for an author to deeply engage in a language and at the same time not be part of its social group. This matter will be discussed in paragraph two where the course of Schoeman’s life and his attraction and aversion concerning the Afrikaners can be followed and in paragraph four which deals with Schoeman’s creative writing. Schoeman’s work has been the subject of several articles, reviews and theses; many of them are of South African origin. A thesis that investigates the problem posed above has not been written yet.Show less
