Dennis Brutus: The South African Years

Dennis Brutus (1924-2009) is perhaps best known for his powerful poems chronicling the suffering of apartheid in South Africa. But he was also a political activist whose voice helped to mobilize and intensify opposition to injustice and oppression worldwide. Tyrone August traces the many facets of Brutus's life from his childhood until his exile from South Africa in 1966. Placing the poet-activist's own voice at the center of the story, August draws on newly released archival material, as well as on newspaper articles, interviews, speeches, court records, and correspondence, to illuminate Brutus's rich legacy in literature, in community affairs, and not least, in politics.