Antjie Krog facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Antjie Krog
Krog in 2019
Born	1952 (age 72–73) Kroonstad, Orange Free State, Union of South Africa
Occupation	Writer, poet, critic, journalist
Language	Afrikaans
Nationality	South African
Alma mater	University of Pretoria
Literary movement	Postmodern Afrikaans poetry
Spouse	John Samuel
Children	4
Parents	Dot Serfontein

Antjie Krog (born in 1952) is a famous South African writer and professor. She is well-known for her Afrikaans poems, her reports on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and her 1998 book Country of My Skull. In 2004, she became a special professor at the University of the Western Cape.

Early Life and Education

Antjie Krog (2021)

Antjie Krog was born in 1952 into an Afrikaner family of writers. Her mother, Dot Serfontein, was also a writer. Antjie grew up on a farm in Kroonstad, in the Orange Free State.

Her writing journey started in 1970. During the time of apartheid (a system of unfair racial separation in South Africa), she wrote a poem against it. The poem was called "My mooi land" ("My beautiful country"). It said, "I'm building myself a country where skin colour doesn't matter." This poem caused a big stir in her community and was even talked about in the news.

Krog's first book of poems, Dogter van Jefta ("Daughter of Jephta"), came out soon after. She was only seventeen years old. Her poem "My mooi land" was later translated and read by important leaders like Ahmed Kathrada after he was released from prison.

Krog studied at several universities. She earned a BA (Honours) degree from the University of the Orange Free State in 1976. She also got an MA in Afrikaans from the University of Pretoria in 1983. She also has a teaching diploma from the University of South Africa.

Career Highlights

1980s: Poet and Activist

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Antjie Krog lived in Kroonstad with her family. She taught at a high school and a college for teachers. She was very active in politics, attending meetings and protests against apartheid. She even read a poem at a rally to free Nelson Mandela.

Her activities against apartheid and the challenges she faced are written about in her first prose book, Relaas van 'n moord (1995). This book means "Account of a Murder."

1990s: Journalist at the TRC

In 1993, Krog became the editor of an Afrikaans news magazine called Die Suid-Afrikaan.

From 1995 to 2000, she worked as a radio journalist for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). She led the team that reported on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) from 1996 to 1998. The TRC was set up to help South Africa heal after apartheid. Krog's reports from this time became her famous book, Country of My Skull (1998). She used her married name, Antjie Samuel, when reporting.

2000s–Present: Author and Professor

In the last twenty years, Krog has published many more books. These include new poetry collections, prose books, and essays. She has also translated several books, even from African languages. One important translation she did was Nelson Mandela's life story, Long Walk to Freedom, into Afrikaans.

After Country of My Skull was published, Krog gave talks about the TRC in Europe and the United States. She also taught a course on translation at Columbia University in the US. She has been a writer-in-residence at different universities in Europe.

Since 2004, she has been a special professor at the University of the Western Cape. She also does research there and often writes reviews about books.

Personal Life

Antjie Krog is married to an architect named John Samuel. They have four children: Andries, Susan, Philip, and Willem. She also has 11 grandchildren.

Poetry

Krog published her first book of poems, Dogter van Jefta, in 1970. Since then, she has published many more. Her poems often tell stories about her own life and feelings about love. Since the 1980s, her poems have also talked about race and gender. Krog said that her sixth collection, Jerusalemgangers (1985), was her first book with a strong political message. She mostly writes in free-verse, which means her poems don't always rhyme or have a strict rhythm.

Krog's poetry is highly praised in South Africa. She has won two Hertzog Prizes, which are very important awards, and many other national awards. Her poems have been translated into English, Dutch, French, and other languages. Her first English poetry collection was Down to My Last Skin (2000).

Prose and Non-fiction

Krog is most famous for her book Country of My Skull (1998). This book is based on her experiences reporting for the TRC. It mixes her own memories with factual reporting. A film was made from the book in 2004, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche.

Her second prose book in English, A Change of Tongue (2003), looks at how South Africa has changed since the first democratic elections in 1994. It also explores changes in Krog's own life. This book combines fiction, poetry, and reporting. It talks about finding identity and truth. The title also refers to the decreasing use of Afrikaans and her own move to writing in English.

Begging to be Black (2009) is another book by Krog that explores similar themes. Her publisher calls it the third book in an unofficial series.

She also co-wrote an academic non-fiction book called There Was This Goat (2009). This book tries to understand the story of a woman whose testimony at the TRC, given in Xhosa, seemed confusing when translated into English.

Krog says her prose writing is influenced by writers like J.M. Coetzee and Njabulo Ndebele. She also learns from translated works from African languages. She said these writings helped her understand a way of seeing the world that she had always lived with but hadn't fully understood.

Play and Theatre Adaptations

Krog has written one stage play called Waarom is dié wat voor toyi-toyi altyd so vet? (meaning "Why are those who toyi-toyi in front always so fat?"). It was performed in 1999. The play is about "the effort of two races to get into a dialogue," meaning how two different groups try to talk to each other.

Her Afrikaans translation of Mamma Medea by Tom Lanoye was also performed in South Africa in 2002. Her book A Change of Tongue was adapted for the theatre in 2008.

Works

Poetry

• Dogter van Jefta (1970)
• Januarie-suite (1972)
• Beminde Antarktika (1974)
• Mannin (1974)
• Otters in Bronslaai (1981)
• Jerusalemgangers (1985)
• Lady Anne (1989; English translation: Lady Anne: A Chronicle in Verse, 2017)
• Gedigte 1989–1995 (1995)
• Kleur kom nooit alleen nie (2000)
• Verweerskrif (2005; English translation: Body Bereft, 2006)
• Mede-wete (2014; English translation: Synapse, 2014)
• Plunder (2022); English translation: Pillage, 2022)

Collected poems

• Eerste gedigte (2004)
• Digter wordende: 'n keur (2009), compiled by Krog
• 'n Vry vrou (2020), compiled by Karen de Wet

Selected poems in English translation

• Down to My Last Skin (2000)
• Skinned (2013)

Poetry for children

• Mankepank en ander monsters (1989)
• Voëls van anderste vere (1992)
• Fynbosfeetjies (2007; English translation: Fynbos Fairies), with Fiona Moodie

Poetry anthologies

• Die trek die dye aan (1998), co-edited with Johann de Lange
• Met woorde soos met kerse (2002), a selection of poetry in indigenous South African languages, arranged and translated into Afrikaans by Krog
• Die sterre sê 'tsau' (2004), a selection of 35 San poems, arranged and translated into Afrikaans by Krog

Prose and non-fiction

• Relaas van 'n moord (1995; English translation: Account of a Murder, 1997)
• Country of my Skull (1998)
• A Change of Tongue (2003)
• Begging to be Black (2009)
• There Was This Goat: Investigating the Truth Commission Testimony of Notrose Nobomvu Konile (2009), with Nosisi Mpolweni and Kopano Ratele
• Conditional Tense: Memory and Vocabulary after the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2013)

Theatre

• Waarom is dié wat voor toyi-toyi altyd so vet? (1999)

Translations

• Lang pad na vryheid (2000), from the English Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
• Domein van glas (2002), from the Dutch history Een Mond vol Glas by Henk van Woerden
• Mamma Medea (2002), from the Dutch/Flemish play Mamma Medea by Tom Lanoye
• Black Butterflies: Selected Poems (2007), with André Brink, from the Afrikaans poetry of Ingrid Jonker
• Die Maanling (2021), from the English children's book The Moonling (2018) by Tjaart Lehmacher and Paula Oelofsen

Awards

Poetry

• Eugene Marais Prize (1973), for Januarie-suite
• Reina Prinsen Geerligs Prize (1976)
• Rapport Prize (1987), for Jerusalemgangers
• Hertzog Prize (1990), for Lady Anne
• FNB Vita Poetry Award (2000), for Down to My Last Skin
• RAU-Prys vir Skeppende Skryfwerk (2001), for Kleur kom nooit alleen nie
• Protea Prize for best Afrikaans poetry (2006), for Verweerskrif
• Elisabeth Eybers Prize (2015), for Mede-wete
• Hertzog Prize (2017), for Mede-wete

Prose

• Alan Paton Award for Non-Fiction (1999), for Country of My Skull
• Nielsen Booksellers' Choice Award (1999), for Country of My Skull
• Olive Schreiner Prize (2000), for Country of My Skull
• Nielsen Booksellers' Choice Award (2004), for A Change of Tongue

Translations

• South African Translators' Institute Award for Outstanding Translation (2001-3), for Met woorde soos met kerse

Journalism

• Foreign Correspondents' Association Award (1996)
• Pringle Medal for outstanding services to South African journalism (1997)

Both journalism awards were shared with the rest of the SABC's TRC reporting team.

Lifetime achievement

• Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation Award (2000)
• Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees Afrikaans Onbeperk Award for innovative thinking (2004)
• Central European University Open Society Prize (2005)
• SALA Lifetime Achievement Award (2015)
• Gouden Ganzenveer (2018)

Krog has also received special honorary doctorates from several universities. These include the Tavistock Clinic at the University of East London, the University of Stellenbosch, the University of the Free State, and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

See also

In Spanish: Antjie Krog para niños