By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Prominent Afrikaans writer, poet and painter Breyten Breytenbach has died at the age of 85 years in Paris, France, his family confirmed.
Breytenbach left South Africa in the early 1960s to settle in Paris, where he became one of the most influential voices against apartheid.
He was born in the small Western Cape town of Bonnievale in 1939.
“He passed away peacefully in Paris (France) at the age of 85 – with his wife Yolande by his side,” Breytenbach’s family said in a statement.
“Breyten was a celebrated South African wordsmith – a poet, novelist, painter and activist, whose work profoundly shaped literature and the arts, both locally and abroad,” the statement continued.
Breytenbach’s work has been much celebrated, as he touched on themes of exile, identity and justice, and he used his writings to be a critic of apartheid South Africa.
“A vocal opponent of apartheid, Breytenbach joined Okhela, a separate ideological wing of the ANC in exile, and was imprisoned upon his clandestine return to South Africa in 1975. Despite this, his artistic and literary contributions flourished, cementing his place as one of South Africa’s most courageous and visionary figures,” the statement said.
According to the statement, he spent much of his life abroad, but remained deeply connected to his South African roots.
“Interestingly, since Breyten’s 80th birthday, he had been exploring denouement towards death, and expressing his uncomfortable discoveries through his art and writings,” the statement shared. “In this way, he had the courage to give form to the forever formlessness from which we come, and to which we shall surely return.
“The family appreciates the support and condolences received during this difficult time and requests privacy as they finalise funeral arrangements, details of which will be shared in due course.”
Breytenbach is survived by his wife, Yolande, daughter Daphnée, and two grandsons.
Democratic Alliance (DA) justice spokesperson Glynnis Breytenbach said Breytenbach was widely considered to be one of Afrikaans’ most important poets and, throughout his long career, was awarded among others the Zbigniew Herbert International Literature Prize (2017) and the Alan Paton Prize for Literature.
She said he had accompanied his friend and politician Frederik van Zyl Slabbert to the Dakar Conference in 1987 that paved the way for negotiations with the ANC.
He continued to work towards the establishment of a democratic SA and continued with his involvement with the Gorée Institute in Dakar, Senegal, after this, Breytenbach said.