One of South Africa's most renowned writers, J.M. Coetzee (pronounced kuut-SEE) focuses his writing primarily on life in South African both before and after apartheid. His postcolonial orientation draws upon myth and allegory as freely as it does realism. Coetzee is further distinguished by his acute awareness of marginalization, his affinity for rural settings, and his unique take on ethno-linguistic identity.
John Coetzee was born to Zacharias and Vera Wehmeyer Coetzee on February 9, 1940, as the first of two sons. Although John's father grew up on a farm in Worchester, a rural Afrikaans community in Cape Town, he took advantage of the educational resources available to him and became...
