BOOKS & AWARDS BY DECADE
“I think I always knew I would be a writer, but when I finished high school and for the first time resisted my father’s will and didn’t become an accountant, I went to Cape Town. I lived in District Six … in a room above Hanover Street and watched the world go by, and I had to record it. In a year, I had finished a monstrously big novel, which took me ten years to turn into something publishable. That’s when I knew—sitting there and recording what I saw in front of me.”[1]
Achmat Dangor, interview by Yvette Christiansë, 2007
Painting of a selection of Achmat’s books by Hermann Niebuhr. Audrey Elster Private Collection
Books & awards by decade
We have arranged Achmat’s writing according to the decade in which his books were published and awards received. Although reference is made to Achmat’s activism and work in these decades we have created a separate section which focuses exclusively on Achmat’s activism and work and the context in which he lived.
Explore Achmat Dangor’s extraordinary literary life, as told in his own words and by his family, friends, and colleagues, by clicking on the boxes below or access via the menu bar at the top of the page.
Waiting for Leila (1981), Bulldozer (1983), Majiet: A Play (1986), and Exiles Within (1986)
BBC Prize for African Poetry (1990), The Z Town Trilogy (1990), Private Voices (1992), Life Vita Short Story Award (1993), Kafka’s Curse (1997) and Herman Charles Bosman Prize (1997)
Bitter Fruit (2001), short-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (2003) and Man Booker Prize (2004)
Strange Pilgrimages (2013), Lifetime Achievement Award South African Literary Awards (2015) Dikeledi: Child of Tears, No More (2017)
