Mon Nov 25 06:52:10 UTC 2024: ## Renowned South African Anti-Apartheid Writer Breyten Breytenbach Dies at 85
**Johannesburg, November 25, 2024** – Breyten Breytenbach, a celebrated South African writer, poet, and anti-apartheid activist, passed away in Paris at the age of 85, his family announced Sunday. Breytenbach was a prominent figure in Afrikaans literature and a fierce critic of the apartheid regime.
His most famous work, “Confessions of an Albino Terrorist,” recounts his imprisonment for his involvement with the African National Congress (ANC). Arrested in 1975 during a clandestine trip to South Africa, he was convicted of treason and served seven years in prison. Even after moving to Paris, he remained a vocal opponent of apartheid and continued his activism.
His literary contributions extended beyond this seminal autobiographical work. Breytenbach’s poetry collections and other writings, including “A Season in Paradise,” explored themes of exile, identity, and justice. His work garnered international acclaim and influenced literature and the arts both in South Africa and globally.
Born in the Western Cape in 1939, Breytenbach spent much of his adult life abroad. He was a member of Okhela, an ANC wing, while in exile but maintained strong ties to his South African roots. He is survived by his wife, Yolande, daughter Daphnée, and two grandsons. His death marks the passing of a significant voice in South African and world literature, a powerful symbol of resistance against oppression.
First Piper 