Breyten Breytenbach

Breyten Breytenbach was born on 16 September 1939 in Bonnievale. After studying fine arts at the University of Cape Town, he left the country in 1960 and settled in Paris, where he painted and wrote. His marriage to Yolande Ngo Thi Hoang Lien closed the way back, as unions between races were forbidden. A co-founder of the clandestine movement Okhela, he returned in 1975 under a false identity and was sentenced to nine years; he served seven, two of them in solitary confinement, and was released in December 1982. Having become French, he lived between Paris and Gorée, in Senegal, where he directed an institute. He died in Paris on 24 November 2024.

In the catalogue 1

• NarrativeThe True Confessions of an Albino TerroristBreyten Breytenbach · 1984Literature