Coetzee is a respected writer born in Cape Town in 1940 who was awarded South Africa's highest civilian honor, the Mapungubwe Gold Medal, by the President.
Renowned author and Nobel Prize winner Professor John Maxwell Coetzee is not dead.
This comes after a tweet from a fake account for an Australian publisher reported the novelist's death.
“A fake Text Publishing account was created under @TextPublishAU to post false news, specifically the death of Text author JM Coetzee,” a short statement from X’s real account reads.
The vile posts from the now-deleted fake account shocked the literary world, along with the declaration of Coetzee's suspected death.
“This is completely untrue as he was well and actually emailed us about his own death,” Text Publishing asserted.
In a separate post, the Melbourne-based independent publisher warned its followers to be wary of malicious accounts claiming to be theirs.
caveat! Fake news!
A fake Text Publishing account was created under @TextPublishAU and was posting false news, specifically the death of Text author JM Coetzee. This is not entirely true as he was fine and actually emailed us about his own death.— Text Publishing (@text_publishing) November 14, 2024
“Please report such accounts or check back here for verified news. Our other social media accounts include text_publishing on Instagram, textpublishing on Facebook, and textpublishing on TikTok.”
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“Big Baobab Tree”
Coetzee is a respected writer born in Cape Town in 1940 who was awarded South Africa's highest civilian honor, the Mapungubwe Gold Medal, by the President.
His debut novel is Dusklands (1974) is a story about a Vietnam War-era American civil servant who dreams of evolving an invincible system of psychological warfare, even as his own life is falling apart.
This was followed in 1977 by heart of the countryside.
Both of these novels aroused critical acclaim, but it was not until 1980 that Coetzee's first major international breakthrough came with his novels. waiting for the barbarian.
The novel is a story set in an outpost of an unnamed country ruled by a cruel regime, and was widely considered a metaphor for South Africa (in 2005, the book was published with music by composer Philip Glass (It was made into a full-length opera). .
His next novel is The life and times of Michael K. ” (1983) won the prestigious Booker Prize.
The book chronicles the struggle of a mentally retarded gardener (living in Cape Town on the brink of racial war) to bring his dying mother back to the farm where she was raised.
Morakabe Lux Seekoa, founder and executive director of the South African Literature Awards (SALA), described Coetzee as a great baobab tree.
“His wit, his dedication to literary excellence, and above all his abiding talent for teaching, especially to young aspiring writers,” Seacore said. The Citizen.
Also read: South African literature celebrated at the 19th Literary Awards
19th Literary Award
A celebration of South African writers, translators and other literary workers across 16 categories was held at the Ditsong Cultural History Museum in Pretoria.
This year's Sala was held concurrently with the 33rd International African Writers' Day and the 12th Century African Century International African Writers Conference, which celebrates the 33rd International Day of African Writers and the 30th anniversary of South African democracy.
In 1991, the Conference of African Ministers of Education and Culture, held in Cotonou, Benin, resolved to designate November 7 as International Day of African Writers, which is now celebrated across the continent.
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