Ronelda Kamfer (born 16 June 1981 in Blackheath, Cape Town, South Africa) is a Kaaps-language South African poet and novelist.[1][2][3]
Ronelda Kamfer
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| Born | Ronelda Sonnet Kamfer (1981-06-16) 16 June 1981 (age 43)[1] Cape Town, South Africa |
| Occupation | Poet and novelist |
| Language | Afrikaans, English |
| Alma mater | University of the Western Cape and Rhodes University |
| Genre | Poetry, prose |
| Notable works | Noudat slapende honde (2011) and grond/Santekraam (2011) |
| Notable awards | Eugène Marais Prize |
| Spouse | Nathan Trantraal |
| Children | 1 |
Kamfer grew up staying since the age of three with her grandparents, farm workers in Grabouw, Western Cape, South Africa, in a region known for its orchards and vineyards, located 65 kilometers south-east of Cape Town. She then returned to her parents, who, when she was nine years old, settled in Eerste River, Western Cape, a township of Cape Town that had many social problems such as a gang culture. This experience profoundly marked her life and her writing.[2][4][5] She went to school at Eersterivier Sekondêr and obtained an Honours degree in Afrikaans and Dutch languages at the University of the Western Cape in 2011 (with Antjie Krog as one of her professors) and a Master's degree in Creative writing at Rhodes University in 2019.[3] Kamfer held various jobs, including as waitress, office worker, nurse, while writing.[6]
Kamfer published her first poems in anthologies and magazines in South Africa and the Netherlands. Among the authors who influenced her, she mentions Derek Walcott, Charles Bukowski and Antjie Krog.
Kamfer is married to poet, illustrator and comic-strip creator Nathan Trantraal; they have one child and live in Makhanda.[3]
In 2009, Kamfer won – with Loftus Marais – the Eugène Marais Prize (Eugene Maraisprys) awarded by the South African Academy.[7] In 2016, she was awarded the Jan Rabie en Marjorie Wallace writer's grant prize.[8]
Kamfer's work include:
Burger's critique places Kamfer's use of the ocean as a literary device within the context of other South African poets, such as Koleka Putuma.[9]
The ocean is depicted in the work of both Kamfer and Putuma as a metaphor for repressed historical trauma.