Home   Alpabetical list of all authors   Your feedback
I need a better photo, please!
D F Malherbe
1881 -- 1969

Author of novels, plays and poems

Daniël François Malherbe was born on 28 May 1881, on the farm Kleinbosch in Daljosafat near Paarl. He studied at Victoria College in Stellenbosch (BA 1902). He continued his education in Germany (1902-1906), where he studied German, French and English in Halle and Freiburg. In 1906 he obtained a Dr phil, magna cum laude, with the thesis: Das Fremdwort im Reformationszeitalter.
Back in South Africa, he joined the Tweede Taalbeweging (the second language movement) to fight for the recognition of Afrikaans as a written language and gave a famous speech at Wellington: Is Afrikaans 'n dialek?
He lectured at teachers' colleges in Wellington and Stellenbosch and was head of the school at Carnavon (1907-1909). In 1910 he became professor of Modern Languages (Dutch, German, French) at the Grey-University College in Bloemfontein and, in 1918, the very first professor of Afrikaans of a South African university, (but also still teaching modern languages until 1928). He was Rector of Grey-Universiteitskollege from 1929 until 1934 and retired to be a full-time writer in 1941. He was editor of Tydskrif vir Wetenskap en Kuns (1922-1939) and wrote book reviews and essays for various journals and newspapers including Die Brandwag, Die Nuwe Brandwag and Die Huisgenoot.
D F Malherbe died on 12 April 1969, at Bloemfontein

Awards and Honours:

Hertzog Prize for prose 1926, 1930 and 1939
Academy Award 1933
Stals Prize for Linguistics 1959
Honorary member of SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns 1963
F.A.K. Honorary Award 1968
Doctor honoris causa, University of South Africa (Unisa)
On the occasion of Malherbe's 60th birthday his colleagues and students dedicated a book to him, D F Malherbe, die mens en sy kuns.

Poetry:
Karoo blommetjies
Klokgrassies 1914
Vir vryheid (epical poem) 1916
In rivier en veld 1922
Somerdae 1928
Brood op die weg 1939
Novels:
Vergeet nie 1913
Die meulenaar 1926
Hans-die-Skipper 1929
Loutervure 1931
Bybelromans: Hart van Moab 1933, Saul die worstelheld 1935 and Die profeet 1947
Trekkertriologie: Die bergstroom ruis 1940, Vlam van die suurveld 1943 and En die wawiele rol 1945
Spore van Vleiland 1947
Die skeur van vaalspruit 1952
Plays:
Meester 1917
Koringboere 1921
Die mense van Groenkloof 1925
Op die trekpad1931
Die seeman (adaptation of Hans-die-Skipper) 1933
Die meul dreun (adaptation of Die meulenaar) 1943
Amrach, die tollenaar 1935
Moeder en seun 1945
Abimelech 1948
Die uur van die rooi maan en ander eenbedrywe 1950
Hulle het 'n boom afgekap 1953
Sisera 1958
Translations:
Die skoonseun van meneer Poirier 1919, Wilhelm Tell (Schiller) 1944, Koopman van Venesië (Shakespeare) 1949
Academic books and compilations:
Afrikaanse taalboek 1917, Afrikaanse letterkunde 1922, Afrikaanse verse I 1935, Afrikaanse verse II 1938, Afrikaanse Spreekwoorde en verwante vorme 1925

Read also his CV (in Afrikaans) by A T Raubenheimer in: Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde te Leiden 1970-1971, pag. 112-119 .



Webmasterwww.StellenboschWriters.com © Rosemarie Breuer