Literature & Ideas
Landmark
Nadine Gordimer
1923 – 2014
The first South African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the South Africa Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Her novels traced what apartheid did to private life, and in 1991 made her the first South African awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Born in Springs, Gordimer wrote fiction that refused to treat apartheid as background: it appears in her work as the thing that shapes marriages, friendships and the smallest domestic choices.
The 1991 Nobel citation honoured a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has — in the words of Alfred Nobel — been of very great benefit to humanity". Several of her books were banned at home. She died in Johannesburg in July 2014, aged 90.
The 1991 Nobel citation honoured a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has — in the words of Alfred Nobel — been of very great benefit to humanity". Several of her books were banned at home. She died in Johannesburg in July 2014, aged 90.
- The Nobel Prize — Nadine Gordimer, facts
- South African History Online — Gordimer wins the Nobel Prize
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