Breyten Breytenbach, Global Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing

A native of South Africa, Breyten Breytenbach is a distinguished painter, activist and writer of more than 30 books of poetry. In addition, he has authored numerous novels, short story compilations, essays and dramatic works.

A committed opponent of apartheid, Professor Breytenbach established the resistance group "Okhela" for which he wrote the platform. From 1975- 1982, he was a political prisoner serving two terms of solitary confinement in South African prisons. His most renowned work is the four-volume memoir of this odyssey. A Season in Paradise (1973), The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist (1983), Return to Paradise (1991), and Dog Heart: A Memoir (1999) have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

Known as the finest living poet of the Afrikaans language, Professor Breytenbach's verse volumes include The Iron Cow Must Sweat (1964) and Footscript (1976) and they feature rich visuals, a powerful use of metaphor, and a complex blending of references from Buddhism, Afrikaans idiomatic speech, and recollections of the South African landscape. Professor Breytenbach's most recent poetry collection is Lady One , a selection of love poems. His paintings portray surreal human and animal figures, many of whom are shown in captivity. He has had solo exhibitions of his artwork in numerous cities around the world including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Paris, Brussels and Edinburgh, and a recent exhibit of his prints and paintings were displayed at NYU's La Maison Francaise in Fall 2002.

He has been honored with numerous literary and art awards, including the APB Prize, CAN Award (five times) Allan Paton Award for Literature, Rapport Prize, Hertzog Prize, Reina Prinsen-Geerling Prize, Van der Hoogt Prize, Jan Campert Award and Jacobus van Looy Prize for Literature and Art.

Professor Breytenbach has taught at the University of Natal, Princeton University and the University of Cape Town.