Staff Reporter.
It is a sad day for the literary community, as it has been announced by advocate Vusi Pikoli that his son Phumlani Pikoli has passed away.
The cause of death is unknown and is still under investigation.
Phumlani was a Zimbabwean-South African writer and multidisciplinary artist who was born in Zimbabwe to parents who left South Africa during the apartheid era.
A few years after Phumlani’s birth the family moved back to South Africa, where they lived in Pretoria.
Pikoli’s first book titled The Fatuous State of Severity was written while the artist was recuperating from a depressive episode.
The book consists of a collection of short stories, as well as drawings. The book was self-published by the artist and was later republished by Pan Macmillan.
The writer then wrote his debut novel, Born Freeloaders, which follows the lives of a crew of young friends who live a life of drinking, wild parties and a lot more reckless activities.
As the novel progresses, Born Freeloaders captures a political and cultural moment in the city’s and South Africa’s history. The book was published by Pan Macmillan in 2019.
The book was awarded the K Sello Duiker Memorial prize for a debut novel at the South African Literary Awards in 2020.
Plans are to have a memorial service on Wednesday and the funeral on Friday. More details, including the time and venue, will be communicated later.