Can Themba

Robin Peter Gaylard (University of Stellenbosch)

Ed. by Anna Hildegard Gagiano, University of Stellenbosch
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 7.2.3.03: South Africa and other Southern Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Helen Rachel Cousins (Birmingham Newman University), David Firth (University of Manchester)

Dates

Born 21 Jun 1924
Died 1968
Activity 1950-1968

Places

Born in South Africa
Active in South Africa

Activities

Primary

Story-writer

Resources

Themba's Works

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Can Themba was perhaps the most talented of the writers associated with

Drum

magazine and Sophiatown in the 1950s. He was born in Marabastad (Pretoria) in 1924 and won the first Mendi Memorial Scholarship to study at Fort Hare. He graduated with a first-class degree in English in 1947 and taught at Madibane High School in Western Township (Johannesburg). In 1953 his short story “Mob Passion” won

Drum’s

first short story competition, and Themba resigned his teaching post to work as a reporter on

Drum

and subsequently on

Drum’s

sister publication,

The Golden City Post.

His exploits as a hard-drinking, fast-living journalist and man-about-town were legendary, and his house in Sophiatown, “The House of Truth”, became a meeting place for friends and associates. In the words of…

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2201 words

Citation: Gaylard, Robin Peter. "Can Themba". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 August 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4361, accessed 23 April 2024.]

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