Marguerite Poland facts for kids

Marguerite Poland is a well-known South African writer. She was born on April 3, 1950, in Johannesburg. She is famous for writing many books, including eleven children's books.

Early Life and Education

When Marguerite Poland was two years old, her family moved to the Eastern Cape. This is where she grew up. She went to St Dominic's Priory School in Port Elizabeth.

After school, she studied at Rhodes University. She learned about people and cultures (Social Anthropology) and the Xhosa language. Later, she studied African languages at Stellenbosch University. She also earned a master's degree and a PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her studies focused on Zulu literature and especially on cattle, which she found very interesting.

About Her Life

Marguerite Poland has had a varied career. She worked as a social worker in Port Elizabeth and Durban. She also worked at the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town. There, she studied different cultures.

More recently, she taught English at St. Andrew's College in Grahamstown. She was asked to write a book about the school's history for its 150th birthday in 2005. This book, called The Boy in You: a Biography of St Andrew's College, Grahamstown 1855–2005, was released in 2008.

Marguerite Poland is married to Martin Oosthuizen. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. They live in both Durban and Grahamstown. She continues to help with the history of St Andrew's College.

Her Creative Works

Marguerite Poland has written many books for both children and adults. Two of her children's books, The Mantis and the Moon and Woodash Stars, won the Percy FitzPatrick Award. This award is given for excellent children's literature. The Mantis and the Moon was even translated into Japanese and received an award there.

She has also written five novels for adults. Her book Shades was a very important book for high school students in South Africa for over ten years. It was also translated into Dutch. Another novel, Iron Love, was inspired by the lives of boys before World War I.

Some of her recent works, like Recessional for Grace and The Abundant Herds: a Celebration of the Nguni Cattle of the Zulu People, have been made into documentary films. Her novel The Keeper was published in 2014 and translated into Afrikaans. In 2019, she released A Sin of Omission, a historical novel.

Her books have been translated into many languages, including Afrikaans, Dutch, French, and Japanese. She is recognized internationally for her writing.

Awards and Recognition

Marguerite Poland has received many important awards for her writing.

• In 2005, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award for English literature from the Department of Arts and Culture.
• In 2010, she received another Lifetime Achievement Award from the South African Literary Awards.

She was the first person to win the Percy FitzPatrick Award for children's literature in 1979 for The Mantis and the Moon. She won it again in 1983 for Woodash Stars. In 1984, she received the Japanese Sankei Honourable Award for The Mantis and the Moon.

Her adult novels have also been recognized:

• Train to Doringbult was shortlisted for the CNA Award in 1988.
• Shades was shortlisted for the M-Net Award in 1994.
• Taken Captive by Birds was shortlisted for the Nielsen Booksellers' Choice Award in 2013.

In 2015, she won the Nielsen Booksellers' Choice Award for her novel The Keeper. This award is special because it's given to the book that booksellers in South Africa most enjoyed reading and selling.

Also in 2015, she won the Ingwazi Award for her contributions to the cultural history of KwaZulu-Natal.

On April 28, 2016, Marguerite Poland received the Order of Ikhamanga - Silver (OIS). This is a very high honor from the South African government. It was given to her for her excellent work in indigenous languages, literature, and anthropology.

Her Books

Novels

• Train to Doringbult (1987)
• Shades (1993)
• Iron Love (2003)
• Recessional for Grace (2010)
• The Keeper (2014)
• A Sin of Omission (2019)

Non-fiction

• The Boy in You: a Biography of St Andrew's College, Grahamstown 1855–2005 (2008)
• The Abundant Herds: a Celebration of the Nguni Cattle of the Zulu People (2012)
• The St Andrew's College Chapel - a history: 1955-2018 (2018)

Children's Books

• The Mantis and the Moon (1979)
• Die Bidsprikaan en die Maan (1981)
• The Bush Shrike (1982)
• Woodash Stars (1983)
• The Small Clay Bull (1984)
• The Story of the Fiery Necked Nightjar (1984)