| Marguerite Poland |
| Lifetime Achievement Literary Award |
| Marguerite Poland was educated and brought up in the Eastern Cape. She is a graduate of Rhodes and Stellenbosch Universities and the University of KwaZulu-Natal and has a BA in Xhosa and Social Anthropology, an Honours degree in Comparative African Languages and an MA in Zulu Literature. The subject of her Doctoral thesis is ‘A Descriptive Study of the Sanga-Nguni Cattle of the Zulu People’. She has held research posts in museums and universities and recently taught English for a year at St Andrew’s College.Marguerite Poland is a professional writer and the author of eleven childrens’ books. Among her works are ‘The Mantis and the Moon’ and ‘The Woodash Stars’ for both of which she received the Percy Fitzpatrick Award, the first two books ever to receive this award. ‘The Mantis and the Moon’ also received the Sankei Honorable Award for translation into Japanese. She has written four adult novels. ‘Train to Doringbult’ was shortlisted for the CNA Award and ‘Shades’ for the M-Net Award. ‘Shades’ has been a matric setwork for over a decade throughout South Africa. Her third novel, ‘Iron Love’, draws much of its inspiration from the lives of a group of boys just prior to the Great War of 1914-1918. A stage adaptation written and directed by Ingrid Wylde appeared at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in 2006. Her most recent works ‘Recessional for Grace’ and ‘The Abundant Herds: a Celebration of the Nguni Cattle of the Zulu People’ have been adapted for documentary films. Her work is translated into numerous languages, including French and Japanese.
In 2003 Marguerite Poland was commissioned to write a history of St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown. The resultant publication ‘The Boy in You’ (Fernwood Press) was launched throughout South Africa and in London in 2008. Marguerite Poland was chosen to appear in ‘Twentieth Century Children’s Writers’ (St James Press, Cambridge) and in the International Who’s Who, published by Cambridge University Press. Marguerite Poland is married to attorney, Martin Oosthuizen. They have two daughters and divide their time between Durban and Grahamstown. |
