Karel Schoeman facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Karel Schoeman

Born	(1939-10-26)26 October 1939 Trompsburg, Orange Free state, South Africa
Died	1 May 2017(2017-05-01) (aged 77) Bloemfontein, Orange Free State
Occupation	Novelist, Historian
Language	Afrikaans
Nationality	South African
Alma mater	University of the Free State
Genre	Prose Fiction, Biography, History

Karel Schoeman (born October 26, 1939 – died May 1, 2017) was a famous South African writer. He wrote many novels and history books. He was also a translator. Schoeman is known as one of South Africa's most respected writers. He mainly wrote in Afrikaans, but some of his non-fiction books were first written in English. His novels have been translated into many languages, like English, French, and Dutch.

Life and Career
Major Works
Awards and Honours
See also

Life and Career

Karel Schoeman was born in 1939 in Trompsburg, South Africa. He finished high school in 1956. In 1959, he earned a degree in languages from the University of the Free State.

In 1961, he joined the Franciscan Order in Ireland to study for the priesthood. But he later returned to Bloemfontein to get a diploma in Library Studies. During the 1970s, he lived outside South Africa. He worked as a librarian in Amsterdam and then as a nurse in Glasgow, Scotland.

He came back to South Africa in 1977. He worked as an archivist at the South African National Library in Cape Town until he retired in 1998. After retiring, he moved back to his hometown, Trompsburg. Later, he moved to Bloemfontein. He passed away on May 1, 2017.

Schoeman was famous for his novels, but he was also a well-known historian and biographer. He translated plays and wrote several travel books and an autobiography. He won the Hertzog Prize, which is the top Afrikaans literary award, three times. He also won the Recht Malan Prize for excellent non-fiction books four times.

In 1999, when President Nelson Mandela retired, Schoeman was one of only two writers to receive the State President Award for Excellent Service. In his later years, his books became very popular in France. He won the important Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger in 2009. Some people even thought he might win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

His 1972 novel, Na die Geliefde Land (which means "To the Beloved Country"), was made into a movie called Promised Land in 2002. Schoeman also wrote and published several screenplays. Some of these were shown on South African national television in the 1980s.

He wrote about his thoughts on life and death in his book Slot van die Dag (translated as At Close of Day). This book was published shortly after he passed away.

Major Works

Novels

Veldslag (1965)
By Fakkellig (1966)
’n Lug vol Helder Wolke (1967)
Spiraal (1968)
Op ’n Eiland (1971)
Na die Geliefde Land (1972)
Die Noorderlig (1975)
Om te Sterwe (1976)
Afrika: 'n Roman (1977)
Die Hemeltuin (1979)
Die Reisiger (1980)
Waar Ek Gelukkig Was (1981)
’n Ander Land (1984)
Afskeid en Vertrek (1990)
Hierdie Lewe (1993)
Die Uur van die Engel (1995)
Verkenning (1996)
Verliesfontein (1998)
Titaan: ’n Roman oor die Lewe van Michelangelo Buonarroti (2009)
Skepelinge: Aanloop tot ’n Roman (2017)

Screenplays

Besoek: 'n Teks vir Beeldradio (1975)
Die Somerpaleis: 'n Teks vir Beeldradio (1975)
Die Jare: 'n Teks vir Beeldradio (1976)
Op die Grens (broadcast on SA television, 1988, unpublished)
Veldslag: 'n Draaiboek (1989)
Die Vrou wat Alleen Bly: Twee Draaiboeke (2014)

Autobiographical and Travel Books

Berig uit die Vreemde: ’n Ierse Dagboek (1966)
Van ’n Verre Eiland: ’n Tweede Ierse Dagboek (1968)
Koninkryk in die Noorde: 'n Boek oor Skotland (1977)
Onderweg: Reisherinnerings (1978)
Stamland: 'n Reis deur Nederland (1999)
Die Laaste Afrikaanse Boek: Outobiografiese Aantekeninge (2002)
Riviereland: Twee Besoeke aan Nederland (2011)
Deelstad: ’n Boek oor Berlyn (2013)
Afskeid van Europa: Aantekeninge (2017)
Slot van die Dag: Gedagtes (2017)
Die Laaste Reis (2018)

Translations by Schoeman

Anton Chekhov, Oom Wanja: Tonele uit die Plattelandse Lewe in Vier Bedrywe (1968)
Uit die Iers: Middeleeuse Gedigte (1970)
Helde van die Rooi Tak: Die Saga van Cucullin en die Veeroof van Culne (1973)
Friedrich Schiller, Maria Stuart (1973)
Anton Chekhov, Die Kersieboord: Blyspel in Vier Bedrywe (1975)
Gode, Helde en Konings: Middeleeuse Ierse Verhale (1975)
Finn en sy Mense: Die Avonture van die Fianna van Ierland (1976)
Pieter Langendijk, Die Huweliksbedrog: 'n Blyspel (1976)
Herman Heijermans, Op Hoop van Seën: 'n Spel van die See in Vier Bedrywe (1979)
Arthur Schnitzler, Liebelei (1981)
Rob Nairn, ’n Stil Gemoed: 'n Inleiding tot die Boeddhisme en Meditasie (1997)

Translations of Schoeman's Works

English

Promised Land (Na die Geliefde Land), translated by Marian V. Friedman (1978)
Another Country (’n Ander Land) translated by David Schalkwyk (1991)
Olive Schreiner: A Woman in South Africa (Olive Schreiner: ’n Lewe in Suid-Afrika, 1855-1881), translated by H. Snijders (1991)
Take Leave and Go (Afskeid en Vertrek) translated by the author (1992)
This Life (Hierdie Lewe), translated by Elsa Silke (2005, re-issued in New York, 2015)
At Close of Day: Reflections (Slot van die Dag) translated by Elsa Silke (2018)

French

En Étrange Pays (’n Ander land) translated by Jean Guiloineau (1993, re-issued 2007)
La Saison des Adieux (Afskeid en Vertrek) translated by Pierre-Marie Finkelstein (2004), Prix Amphi (2006)
Retour au Pays Bien-Aimé (Na die Geliefde Land) translated by Pierre-Marie Finkelstein (2006)
Cette Vie (Hierdie Lewe) translated by Pierre-Marie Finkelstein (2009), Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (2009)
Des Voix Parmi les Ombres (Verliesfontein) translated by Pierre-Marie Finkelstein (2014)
L'Heure de l'Ange (Die Uur van die Engel) translated by Pierre-Marie Finkelstein (2018), Prix Transfuge du Meilleur roman africain (2018)

Dutch

Een Ander Land (’n Ander Land) translated by Riet de Jong-Goossens (1992, re-issued 2017)
Merksteen: Een Dubbelbiografie (Merksteen: ’n Dubbelbiografie) translated by Riet de Jong-Goossens (2004)
Dit Leven (Hierdie Lewe) translated by Rob van der Veer (2014)
Het Uur van de Engel (Die Uur van die Engel) translated by Rob van der Veer (2015)
Verliesfontein (Verliesfontein) translated by Rob van der Veer (2016)
De Hemeltuin (Die Hemeltuin) translated by Rob van der Veer (2019)

German

In Einem Fremden Land (Na die Geliefde Land) translated by Gisela Stege (1993)

Russian

V rodnuju stranu (В родную страну) (Na die Geliefde Land) translated by A.K. Slavinska (1978)

Historical Works

Monographs

Bloemfontein: The Start of a City, 1846–1946 (1980)
Free State Heritage: Buildings in the 19th Century (1982)
The Death of an Englishman: The Cox Murders of 1856 and the Early Years of the Orange Free State (1982)
Architectural Treasures of the Free State (1985)
The World of the Poet: A Book about Sutherland and the Roggeveld in Honor of N.P. van Wyk Louw (1986)
The Murder of Hesje van der Merwe, October 19, 1837 (1995)
J.J. Kicherer and the Early Mission, 1799–1806 (1996)
Armosyn of the Cape: Prelude to Settlement, 1415–1651 (1999)
Armosyn of the Cape: The World of a Slave Woman, 1652–1733 (2001)
The Griqua Captaincy of Philippolis, 1826–1861 (2002)
The Early Mission in South Africa, 1799–1819 (2005)
Children of the Company: Cape Lives from the Seventeenth Century (2006)
Early Slavery at the Cape of Good Hope, 1652–1717 (2007)
Patricians and Princes: European Society and the Founding of a Colony at the Cape, 1619–1715 (2008)
Seven Khoi Lives: Cape Biographies of the Seventeenth Century (2009)
Trade Empire in the East: The World of the VOC, 1619–1688 (2009)
Colony at the Cape: Jan van Riebeeck and the Establishment of the First Whites, 1652–1662 (2010)
Citizens and Officials: The Early Development of the Colony at the Cape, 1662–1679 (2011)
Cape Lives of the Eighteenth Century (2011)
Lords and Farmers: The Colony at the Cape under the Van der Stels, 1679–1712 (2013)
Portrait of a Slave Society: The Cape of Good Hope, 1717–1795 (2013)
High Tide: The Flourishing of a Colonial Culture at the Cape, 1751-1910 (2014)
Imperial Summer: South Africa between War and Union, 1902-1779 (2015)
Swan Song: The End of the Company Period at the Cape, 1771-1795 (2016)

Biographies

In Love and Loyalty: The Life of President Martinus Theunis Steyn and Mrs. Tibbie Steyn with a Selection from Their Correspondence (1983)
Olive Schreiner: A Life in South Africa, 1855–1881 (1989)
Only an Anguish to Live Here: Olive Schreiner and the Anglo-Boer War, 1899–1902 (1992)
Irma Stern: The Early Years, 1894–1933 (1994)
The Short Missionary Career of Sophia Burgmann, 1805–1812 (1994)
A Thorn Bush that Grows in the Path: The Missionary Career of Ann Hamilton, 1815–1823 (1995)
The World of Susanna Smit, 1799–1863 (1995)
A Debt of Gratitude: Lucy Lloyd and the 'Bushman Work' of G.W. Stow (1997)
Daughter of Zion: Machtelt Smit and 18th-century Society at the Cape, 1749–1799 (1997)
Landmark: A Double Biography (1998)
A German at the Cape, 1724–1765: The Life and Career of Hendrik Schoeman (2004)
Two Cape Lives: Henricus and Aletta Beck and the Society of Their Time, 1702–1755 (2013)
The Heart of the Sun: A Novel about the Life of Shakespeare (1965)

Awards and Honours

Karel Schoeman received many awards for his writing:

1970 Hertzog Prize for By Fakkellig, ’n Lug Vol Helder Wolke & Spiraal
1972 CNA Prize for Na die Geliefde Land
1983 Recht Malan Prize (for non-fiction) for Vrystaatse Erfenis
1984 Old Mutual Prize for ’n Ander Land
1985 W.A. Hofmeyr Prize for ’n Ander Land
1986 Hertzog Prize for ’n Ander Land
1988 Helgaard Steyn Prize for ’n Ander Land
1990 SABC Prize for Best Television Drama for Op die Grens
1991 Old Mutual Prize for Afskeid en Vertrek
1994 CNA Prize for Hierdie Lewe
1995 Hertzog Prize for Hierdie Lewe
1997 M-Net Book Award for Verkenning
1997 Stals Prize for Cultural History from the South African Academy for Arts & Science
1998 Recht Malan Prize (for non-fiction) for Dogter van Sion
1999 State President Award: Order for Excellent Service
2000 Honorary D.Litt from the University of Cape Town
2002 Recht Malan Prize (for non-fiction) for Armosyn van die Kaap
2003 Recht Malan Prize (for non-fiction) for Die Laaste Afrikaanse Boek
2004 Honorary D.Litt from the University of the Free State
2006 Prix Amphi for La Saison des Adieux (Afskeid en Vertrek)
2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from the South African Literature Awards
2009 Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger for Cette Vie (Hierdie Lewe)
2014 Shortlisted for the Alan Paton Award for Portrait of a Slave Society
2014 Shortlisted for the kykNET-Rapport Book Prize (for non-fiction) for Here en Boere: Die Kolonie aan die Kaap onder die Van der Stels, 1679–1712