Don Maclennan Explained
Donald Alasdair Calum Maclennan (9 December 1929 – 9 February 2009) was a South African poet, critic, playwright and English professor.
He published a number of plays, short stories, collections of poems and scholarly works.
Born on 9 December 1929, in London, England, Maclennan came to South Africa as a child in 1938. He was educated at Witwatersrand University and Edinburgh University.[1]
Maclennan's academic career included lecturing at Wits University and the University of Cape Town.[2] He taught in both South Africa and the United States.[3] He began teaching at Rhodes University in 1966, teaching English there for more than 40 years,[2] although he officially retired in 1994. In later years, he continued to teach at the university, giving weekly seminars for another decade.[4]
In his final years, he self-published a number of works of poetry.[4] In his last decade, Maclennan had motor-neuron disease. He suffered a stroke in January 2009, although his mind was not affected by it. He died on 9 February 2009, in Port Elizabeth.[2]
Bibliography
Years link to corresponding "[year] in poetry" article for poetry; for literature, to corresponding "[year] in literature" article:
Poetry
- 1971: In Memoriam Oskar Wolberheim, A.A. Balkema, combining Maclennan's poetry and the music of Norbert Nowotny[1]
- 1977: Life Songs, Bateleur Press[1]
- Bateleur Poets, [5]
- 1983: Reckonings, New Africa Books, [6]
- 1988: Collecting Darkness, Justified Press, [1]
- 1992: Letters: New Poems, Carrefour Press, [7]
- 1995: The Poetry Lesson: New Poems[1] Snailpress, [8]
- 1997: Solstice: Poems,,[9] winner of South Africa's Sanlam Literary Award for 1997[1]
- 1998: Of Women and Some Men[1] with George Coutouvidis, Firfield Poetry Press, [10]
- 2001:
- Notes from a Rhenish Mission,[1] Firfield Press, [11]
- A Brief History of Madness in the Eastern Cape, with drawings by Siddis Firfield,[1] Firfield Press, [1]
- 2002: Rock paintings at Salem, self-published, Rhodes University GSU
- 2002: The Road to Kromdraai,[1] Publisher Snailpress, [12]
- 2003: The Dinner Party, self-published, Rhodes University GSU
- 2003: A Letter to William Blake, self-published, Rhodes University GSU
- 2003: Under Compassberg, self-published, Rhodes University GSU
- 2004: Excavations,[1] self-published, Rhodes University GSU
- 2005: Reading the Signs, Carapace
- 2006: The necessary salt, self-published, Rhodes University GSU
- 2006: Selected Poems, Quartz Press
- 2007: The owl of Minerva, self-published, Rhodes University GSU
- 2008: Through a Glass Darkly, self-published, Rhodes University GSU
- 2010: Dress Rehearsal, self-published, Rhodes University GSU
- 2012: Collected Poems, Print Matters Heritage Press (ed. Dan Wylie) ISBN 978-0-987009562
Other works
- An Enquiry into the Voyage of the Santiago, a play[4]
- Job Mava, a play, written and performed in 1972/3 by The Ikhwezi Players, published 1981/2[4]
- My Childhood, adaptation of Maxim Gorky's play, performed in 1975 by The Ikhwezi Players[4]
- 2004: Editor, with Malcolm Hacksley, A Ruthless Fidelity: Collected Poems of Douglas Livingstone,[1] publisher: Ad Donker, [13]
- Olive Schreiner and After: Essays on Southern African Literature in Honour of Guy Butler[1] Publisher: D. Philip, [14]
- Sarah Christie, Don Maclennan, Geoffrey Hutchings, Perspectives on South African Fiction, Publisher Ad. Donker, [15]
Notes and References
- https://books.google.com/books?id=hhGcVjjHTdkC&pg=PA125 "Maclennan, Donald (Alasdair Calum)"
- Loewe, Mike, "Poet and playwright Maclennan dies at 79", article, 12 February 2009, Independent Online website of the Independent newspaper, article "was originally published on page 9 of Cape Argus on February 12, 2009", according to the Web page, retrieved 13 February 2009
- http://www.ru.ac.za/1984 "Prof Don A C MacLennan"
- http://news.book.co.za/blog/2009/02/10/rip-don-maclennan-1929-2009/ "RIP Don Maclennan: 1929 – 2009. February 10th, 2009 by Ben – Editor", article at Book SA News website, retrieved 13 February 2009
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Bateleur_Poets/0620022817/ "Bateleur Poets"
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Reckonings/0908396953/ "Reckonings"
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Letters-New_Poems/0958317879/ "Letters: New Poems"
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/The_Poetry_Lesson-New_Poems/1874923256/ "The Poetry Lesson: New Poems"
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Solstice-Poems/187492340X/ "Solstice: Poems"
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Of_Women_and_Some_Men-Poems/1875058168/ "Of Women and Some Men"
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/A_Brief_History_of_Madness_in_the_Eastern_Cape/1875058176/ "Notes from a Rhenish Mission"
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/The_Road_to_Kromdraai/1874923639/ "The Road to Kromdraai"
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/A_Ruthless_Fidelity-Collected_Poems_of_Douglas_Livingstone/0868522325/ "A Ruthless Fidelity: Collected Poems of Douglas Livingstone"
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Olive_Schreiner_and_After-Essays_on_Southern_African_Literature_in_Honour_of/0908396929/ "Olive Schreiner and After: Essays on Southern African Literature in Honour of Guy Butler"
- http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Perspectives_on_South_African_Fiction/0949937746/ "Perspectives on South African Fiction"
