Herman Charles Bosman facts for kids
Herman Charles Bosman (born 5 February 1905 – died 14 October 1951) is known as one of South Africa's best short-story writers. He learned from writers like Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain. He created a special writing style that used satire, which means making fun of things to show their flaws. His stories, written in English, often featured Afrikaner characters. They showed the interesting differences in Afrikaner life in the early 1900s.
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Early Life and School
Herman Charles Bosman was born in a place called Kuils River, near Cape Town. His family was Afrikaner, and he grew up speaking both English and Afrikaans.
When he was young, his family moved around a lot. He went to school in different places, including Potchefstroom and later Johannesburg. In Johannesburg, he attended Jeppe High School for Boys in Kensington. While at school, he wrote for the school magazine.
When Bosman was just sixteen, he started writing short stories for a big newspaper called the Sunday Times. He later went to the Johannesburg College of Education. This college is now part of the University of the Witwatersrand. He also entered many writing contests for students.
Becoming a Writer
After finishing college, Bosman became a teacher in a place called the Groot Marico district. He taught at an Afrikaans-speaking school there. This area became the setting for his most famous short stories. These include the Oom Schalk Lourens series, which features an older character named Oom Schalk Lourens. He also wrote the Voorkamer sketches, which are short, funny scenes.
In 1926, during a school break, Bosman visited his family in Johannesburg. During a difficult family situation, he was involved in an incident where his stepbrother died. Bosman was sent to prison for this. His original sentence was later changed, and he served time with hard labour. In 1930, he was released from prison after serving half of his sentence. His experiences in prison became the ideas for his book, Cold Stone Jug. This book tells a story that is partly about his own life.
After prison, Bosman started his own printing company. He also became part of a group of writers in Johannesburg. He spent time with poets, journalists, and other writers. He then travelled overseas for nine years, living mostly in London. The short stories he wrote during this time were used in another one of his well-known books, Mafeking Road.
When the Second World War began, he came back to South Africa. He worked as a journalist and also translated a famous poem, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, into Afrikaans.
Bosman often felt sad that Johannesburg did not keep its old buildings and history. He wrote that the city's people would "pull down all the old buildings... that were closely connected with the mining-camp days of Johannesburg." He believed Johannesburg was too eager to forget its past.
Bosman's second wife was Ella Manson. They were known for their lively parties. These parties were full of clever conversations and often lasted late into the night.
From 1948 until he passed away in 1951, Bosman worked as a proof editor for The Sunday Express newspaper. He also wrote a weekly Voorkamer story for The Forum magazine.
His last wife was Helena Lake. In October 1951, after a party, Bosman felt severe chest pains. He was taken to Edenvale Hospital. When asked where he was born, he famously replied, "Born Kuilsrivier – Died Edenvale Hospital." He was allowed to go home but collapsed a few hours later. Bosman died while being rushed back to the hospital. He is buried in Westpark Cemetery in Westdene. His triangular headstone reads, "Die Skrywer, The Writer, Herman Charles Bosman."
His Lasting Impact
After Bosman's death, the rights to his books were sold. His last wife, Helena, bought them. When she passed away, the rights went to her son, who still owns them today. However, in 1960, Helena sold some of his papers and many of his drawings to the Harry Ransom Center in Texas.
Only three of his books were published while he was alive: Mafeking Road, Jacaranda in the Night, and Cold Stone Jug. Mafeking Road has been so popular that it has been printed continuously since it first came out in 1947.
His life story has been written several times by Valerie Rosenberg. Her books include Sunflower to the Sun and Herman Charles Bosman: Between the Lines. The last book has new information and talks about parts of Bosman's life that were not well known before.
Many of Bosman's stories were first printed in old magazines that are now hard to find. Because of this, different collections of his stories have been put together over the years. Each collection might have a different selection of his works. His original books have also been published many times by different companies.
There is a group called the Herman Charles Bosman Literary Society. They meet every year to read, perform, and discuss his stories and writings.
Books by Herman Charles Bosman
- Mafeking Road & Other Stories (1947)
- Rubaijat van Omar Khajjam (1948)
- Cold Stone Jug (1949)
- Veld-trails and Pavements (1949), with Carel Bredell
- Cask of Jerepigo (1957)
- Unto Dust (1963)
- Bosman at his Best: a choice of stories and sketches (1965)
- Bosman's Johannesburg (1986)
- Ramoutsa Road (1987)
- A Bekkersdal Marathon (1971)
- The Earth is Waiting (1974)
- Willemsdorp (1977)
- Almost Forgotten Stories (1979)
- My Friend Herman Charles Bosman [1980] by Aegidius Jean Blignaut
- Dead End Road [1980] by Aegidius Jean Blignaut
- Selected Stories (1980)
- The Collected Works of Herman Charles Bosman (1981)
- The Bosman I like (1981)
- Death Hath Eloquence (1981)
- Uncollected Essays (1981)
- The Illustrated Bosman (1985)
- Makapan's Cave and other stories (1987)
- A Bosman Treasury (1991)
- Jurie Steyn's Post Office (1991)
- Herman Charles Bosman : the prose juvenilia (1998)
- Idle Talk : voorkamer stories (1999)
- Old Transvaal Stories (2000)
- The Rooinek and Other Boer War Stories (2000)
- Jacaranda in the Night (2000)
- Best of Bosman (2001)
- Seed-Time and Harvest, and Other Stories (2001)
- Verborge Skatte: Herman Charles Bosman in/on Afrikaans (2001)
Plays
- Cold Stone Jug (1982) adapted by Barney Simon from the play by Stephen Gray
