Scenes from the South: J. M. Coetzee

Description

Scenes from the South: J. M. Coetzee

The Harry Ransom Center will celebrate the life and work of Nobel Prize­–winning author J. M. Coetzee with the Scenes from the South exhibition created in conjunction with the Amazwi South African Museum of Literature, Grahamstown, South Africa, in celebration of the author’s eightieth birthday.

Coetzee is one of the most influential writers South Africa has produced. J. M. (John Maxwell) Coetzee was born in 1940 in Cape Town, South Africa, and worked as a computer programmer in England before graduating with a PhD from The University of Texas at Austin in 1968, focusing his dissertation on the early fiction of Samuel Beckett.

Coetzee’s first novel, Dusklands, was published in 1974. He is known for highly acclaimed novels, as well as short fiction, essays, and autobiographical novels, including Boyhood (1998), Youth (2002), and Summertime(2009). He has twice won the prestigious Booker Prize, in 1983 for Life & Times of Michael K and 1999 for Disgrace. Coetzee was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. The Center holds Coetzee’s papers—including notes, typescripts, background research materials, and correspondence—related to all of his major writings.

Scenes from the South highlights Coetzee’s orientation toward South Africa, Australia, and Argentina—all of which lie on the 34th S parallel—while respecting the full range of literatures and traditions that have made him one of the world’s most distinguished authors. Essential manuscripts from the Center will be supplemented with select items from Amazwi’s own holdings.

Opens: Oct. 3, 2020
Closes: January 3, 2021

To make special arrangements for your course, contact:
Lisa Pulsifer, Head of Education and Public Engagement
lisapulsifer@austin.utexas.edu
512-475-8086