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03 January 2023
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Photo Evert Kleynhans
Dr Dolf van Niekerk.
The University of the Free State (UFS) would like to express its condolences to the family and friends of South African author, Dr Dolf van Niekerk, on his passing.
Dr Van Niekerk, the recipient of an
honorary doctorate from the UFS, passed away on 31 December 2022. The UFS awarded a Doctor of Letters to Dr Dolf van Niekerk during its April 2021 graduation ceremony.
Dr Van Niekerk was a celebrated author who also achieved fame as a dramatist and radio presenter. An alumnus of the UFS, he received a BA degree from the university cum laude in 1949. He also played a role in academia and was an emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria until his retirement in 1994. His work includes 27 books in philosophy, poetry, fiction, drama, and memoirs, for which he has received numerous awards. These include the
Eugene Marais Prize, the MER Prize, and the Scheepers Award for Youth Literature.
“Dr van Niekerk is a Kovsie alumnus with a deep connection to the Free State. He played a significant role in the country’s literary history, and it was an honour for the university to award him with an honorary degree. A wordsmith of note, Dr van Niekerk’s contributions to South African literature, radio, and stage will live on," says
Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor.
Second book by UFS alumnus celebrates his mother
2016-06-06
Twice an author: Ace Moloi,
author of Holding My Breath.
Photo: Eugene Seegers
Ace Moloi, author of Holding My Breath, describes his memoir as a graveside conversation with his late mother. In the book, he lays bare the intimate details of his life from childhood to his journey as a student at the University of the Free State (UFS).
“It is a letter to my mother that I wrote to celebrate her but also to tell my story. So you will find that it speaks about the strength of motherhood and at the same time it talks about the life struggles of a young black South African,” said the second time author.
The UFS alumnus’ first book - a fable entitled In Her Fall Rose a Nation - was published in 2013 while he was still a final-year Communication Science student at the university. Moloi’s second volume was launched on 3 June 2016 at the Bloemfontein Campus.
Growing up in the small village of Sekgutlong in Qwaqwa, Moloi dreamt of being many things - a radio presenter, a soccer player, and a writer. The writer in him soon took precedence over the sportsman and radio anchor. Because his mother did not live to see her son reach his many milestones, Moloi has dedicated Holding My Breath to her memory and as a belated Mother’s Day present.
Moloi’s writing accomplishments include winning the Young Writers SOMAFCO (Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College) Trust National Essay-Writing Competition in 2012, being selected as a runner-up in the Beyers Naudé essay writing competition in the same year, and being nominated for the Top 10 Human Rights Desk Essay Competition in 2014. Now he can add being published by BlackBird Books, an imprint of Jacana Media.
The young author said to have been “humbled” by the reception his book received at its official launch on 1 May 2016 at the Kingsmead Book Fair in Johannesburg.