Prof Adam Small dies at 79
Small reportedly died from a ‘complicated operation’ on Friday.
Highly regarded academic, poet, and writer Adam Small has died at the age of 79 following a ‘complicated operation’ on Friday.
Small was honoured by the City of Cape Town in April 2011, and according to the citation in the city’s civic honours book, Small was treasured for his mostly Afrikaans works that highlighted the lives and oppression of the working class under the apartheid regime.
Adam was exposed to the faith of the Dutch Reformed Church and Islam through paternal and maternal influences. This taught him cultural and religious tolerance. His family moved to Retreat on the Cape Flats where Adam discovered the Kaaps vernacular that characterises his writing.
His activism and involvement with the Black Consciousness Movement forced him to move to Johannesburg for some years, before returning to Cape Town in 1977. In 1983 he rejoined UWC as head of the department of social work, where he retired in 1997.
Adam’s first published collection of poetry was ‘Verse van die Liefde’ (1957). This was followed by ‘Klein Simbool’ (1958). In his poetry collections ‘Kitaar My Kruis’ (1961) and ‘Sê Sjibbolet’ (1963) he criticises apartheid policies and racial discrimination. The theme is echoed in his long essay ‘Die Eerste Steen’, which looks at the influence of apartheid on race relations.
Other work included A Brown Afrikaner Speaks: A Coloured Poet and Philosopher Looks Ahead (1971); Black Bronze Beautiful (1975), a series of lyrical verses that demonstrate pride in black history and culture; Oh Wide and Sad Land: Afrikaans poetry of NP van Wyk Louw (1975), translated into English by Adam; and District Six (1986, with photographer Chris Jansen).
