Adam Small facts for kids

Adam Small (born 21 December 1936 – died 25 June 2016) was an important South African writer. He was known for his involvement in the Black Consciousness Movement, which fought for the rights and pride of black people during apartheid. Small was a Coloured writer who wrote many works in Afrikaans. His writings often talked about unfair treatment based on race and made fun of the political situation in South Africa. Some of his books also included English poems. He even translated poems by another Afrikaans writer, N P van Wyk Louw, into English.

Adam Small: A South African Voice

Early Life and Education

Adam Small was born on 21 December 1936 in a town called Wellington. He finished high school in 1953 at St Columbas High School in Athlone, Cape Town. After that, he went to the University of Cape Town. There, he studied Languages and Philosophy.

In 1963, he earned a special master's degree in philosophy. During this time, he also studied at famous universities in England, like the University of London and the University of Oxford.

His Work and Activism

Adam Small started his career as a philosophy lecturer in 1959 at the University of Fort Hare. In 1960, he helped start the University of the Western Cape (UWC). He became the head of the Philosophy Department there. In the early 1970s, he joined the Black Consciousness Movement. This movement encouraged black people to be proud of their identity and fight for their freedom.

In 1973, he left his job at UWC. He then moved to Johannesburg and worked at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). He helped students there. In 1977, he returned to Cape Town. He worked as a director for a community service foundation until 1983. In 1984, he went back to UWC. He led the Social Services Department until he retired in 1997.

Important Awards and Recognition

In 2012, Adam Small received the Hertzog Prize. This is a very important award for Afrikaans writers. He won it for his plays. Many people felt he deserved the award a long time ago. There was a small discussion because the rules usually say the award is for new work. However, Small's last play was published in 1983. One of his well-known poems is called "Doemanie."

After many years away from the public eye, Small was celebrated on 14 September 2013. He was the special guest at a Poet Festival in Wellington. He read poems from his book Klawerjas. In 2015, a new radio play he wrote, Maria, Moeder van God, was broadcast.

His Unique Writing Style

Adam Small was famous for using a specific way of speaking Afrikaans called Kaaps Afrikaans. This dialect was mostly used by working-class Coloured people. Some critics at the time didn't like this choice. They thought he was making fun of the community's language. However, his choice made him a pioneer in Afrikaans literature. He showed that this way of speaking was important and real.

Small was also part of the Sestigers. This was an important group of South African writers in the 1960s. They wanted to change literature by openly discussing the political and racial problems in the country.

Books and Plays

Here are some of Adam Small's works:

• Poems (undated)
• Die Eerste Steen (undated)
• Verse van die Liefde (1957)
• Kitaar My Kruis (1962)
• Sê Sjibbolet (1963)
• A Brown Afrikaner Speaks: A Coloured Poet and Philosopher Looks Ahead (1971)
• Oos West Tuis Best: Distrik Ses (1973, with Chris Jansen)
• Black Bronze Beautiful: Quatrains (1975)
• Oh Wide and Sad Land - Afrikaans Poetry of N P van Wyk Louw translated by Adam Small (1975)
• Kanna hy kô hystoe: 'n drama (1965)
• Klawerjas (2013)
• Maria, Moeder van God, a radiodrama (2015)