- William Modisane
William Modisane (
August 28 ,1923 —March 1 ,1986 ) better known as Bloke Modisane was aSouth Africa nwriter ,actor andjournalist .He lived in
Sophiatown . His father was murdered and his sister died ofmalnutrition . To make ends meet, his mother ran ashebeen .He joined " Drum" magazine as a journalist and became one of the "Drum Boys" during Drum's halcyon days in the 1950s.
He was also the
jazz critic at the "Golden City Post".His nickname of "Bloke" was inspired by "The Saint", a character in the
Leslie Charteris novels. Cite web|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/people/bios/modisane-wb.htm|title=William 'Bloke' Modisane|accessdate=2007-12-03|publisher=S A History]He tried to facilitate non-racial progress in the arts by making concerts and theatre available to Black audiences and tried to further the efforts of the "Arts Federation" and the "Union of South African Artists" both of which were non-racial.
He wrote a number of short stories which were published in Drum. One such story "The Situation" derived from the
Tsotsitaal (slang) for educated Blacks who rose above their station (i.e. situated above their station) but don't really fit into their new milieu. (Don Mattera mentioned this when describing the journalists. "There was a definite class division. We were in the streets, and they were in the desks. And we used to call such people "situations".") Cite web|url=http://blog.leapingrabbit.ca/2006/03/|title=Tsotsi|accessdate=2007-02-23|publisher=Leaping Rabbit]Modisane found an outlet in acting. He joined the "African Theatre Workshop" and played in the first production of
Athol Fugard 's "No good Friday". Cite web|url=http://people.africadatabase.org/en/profile/15920.html|title=William (Bloke) Modisane |accessdate=2007-02-23|publisher=Companion to African Literature |author=Douglas Killam and Ruth Rowe - Editors ]He shared the writing credits on "
Come Back, Africa ", a film filmed mainly inSophiatown .Becoming frustrated by the political situation and oppression under the
apartheid regime, he moved toEngland in 1959.In 1963, his
autobiography "Blame me on history" was published. This detailed his despair at the bulldozing ofSophiatown (mirroringCan Themba 's short story "Requiem for Sophiatown") and his frustration and anger with apartheid. As a result, the book wasbanned in 1966.Modisane continued acting and had a leading role in
Jean Genet 's "The Blacks". . He appeared in an uncredited role in the 1964 movie "Guns at Batasi ", which starredRichard Attenborough ,John Leyton , andMia Farrow . In the 1968 action classic "Dark Of The Sun ", Modisane had a small but memorable supporting role as Corporal Kataki, a sensitive soldier caught up in the rage and horror of the 1960s Congo civil wars. This particular film starredRod Taylor ,Kenneth More , andYvette Mimieux . It was a major box-office success when first released.He died in
West Germany .Books
* "Blame me on history", Ad. Donker, 1986, ISBN 0-86-852098-5
* "De Wet is blank", Van Loghum Slaterus, 1965, (Dutch translation from the English of: "Blame me on history")ee also
*
List of South African writers * "Good-looking Corpse: World of Drum - Jazz and Gangsters, Hope and Defiance in the Townships of South Africa", Mike Nicol, Secker & Warburg, 1991, ISBN 0-43-630986-6
* "Writing from South Africa", edited by Anthony Adams & Ken Durham, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-52-143572-2 contains "The Dignity of Begging: William Bloke Modisane"
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870457,00.html 1963 Time magazine article - "Where God is Black" has a sample of his work]References
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