J. M. Coetzee

John Maxwell Coetzee (pronounced "kut-SEE-uh") (born 9 February 1940) is a South African author. On 2 October 2003, it was announced that he was to be the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, the fourth African writer to be so honoured, and the second South African (after Nadine Gordimer). The prize was awarded in Stockholm on 10 December 2003.

Related Topics:
9 February - 1940 - South Africa - 2 October - 2003 - Nobel Prize in Literature - Africa - Nadine Gordimer - Stockholm - 10 December

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Coetzee was born in Cape Town, and his formative years were spent between that city and the Western Cape town of Worcester, as recounted in his fictionalised memoir, Boyhood (1992). He studied at the University of Cape Town, where he took degrees in mathematics and English.

Related Topics:
Cape Town - Western Cape - Worcester - 1992 - University of Cape Town - Mathematics - English

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In the early 1960s he relocated to London, England, where he worked for a time at IBM as a computer programmer; his experiences there were later recounted in Youth (2002), his second volume of fictionalised memoirs. He then moved on to postgraduate studies in literature in the USA at the University of Texas, completing a doctoral dissertation that applied computerised stylistic analysis to the works of Samuel Beckett. After leaving Texas he taught English and literature at the University at Buffalo (SUNY) until 1971.

Related Topics:
1960s - London - England - Computer - Programmer - 2002 - USA - University of Texas - Stylistic - Samuel Beckett - University at Buffalo - SUNY - 1971

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In 1971 he sought permanent residence in the United States, but it was denied. He then returned to South Africa to a professorship in English Literature at the University of Cape Town. Upon retirement in 2002, he relocated to Adelaide, Australia, where he was made an honorary research fellow at the English department of the University of Adelaide. He also serves as professor on the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago.

Related Topics:
1971 - Professor - English Literature - Adelaide - Australia - University of Adelaide - Committee on Social Thought - University of Chicago

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He was the first author to be awarded the Booker Prize twice: for Life & Times of Michael K in 1983, and for Disgrace in 1999. In addition to his novels, he has also published critical works and translations from Dutch and Afrikaans.

Related Topics:
Booker Prize - Life & Times of Michael K - 1983 - Disgrace - 1999 - Translation

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He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003, praised for "in innumerable guises the involvement of the outsider." The press release for the award cited his "well-crafted composition, pregnant dialogue, and analytical brilliance," while focusing on the moral nature of his work.

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His partner is fellow academic Dorothy Driver.

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