Etienne Leroux

Who was Etienne Leroux?

Etienne Leroux was an influential Afrikaans author and a key member of the South African Sestigers literary movement. He was born on 13 June 1922 as Stephanus Petrus Daniël le Roux, son of S.P. Le Roux, a South African Minister of Agriculture.

His works gained critical acclaim and were translated into many languages. His 1968 book, translated into English as One for the devil is titled Een vir Azazel in Afrikaans, and makes use of the Azazel myth. He studied Law at Stellenbosch University and worked for a short time at a solicitor's office in Bloemfontein. From 1946 he farmed and lived as a writer on his farm, Ja-Nee, in the Koffiefontein district.

Etienne Leroux is known as one of the most important writers of the avant garde group of the sixties. He died on 30 December 1989, and was buried at the family church yard of Wamakersdrift, of which his farm formed part.

His audience will be the audience that only a good writer can merit, an audience which assembles slowly in ones and twos ... the rumour spreads that here an addition will be found to the literature of our time. -- Graham Greene

Awards:

Hertzog Prize for prose for Sewe dae by die Silbersteins, 1964