Jochem van Bruggen

Jochem van Bruggen (1881–1957) was an Afrikaans author and the first winner of the Hertzog Prize for prose for his work Teleurgestel ("Disappointed") in 1917. He was part of the Second Afrikaans Language Movement and is best known for Ampie, a series about poor and destitute Afrikaners in South Africa during the Depression of 1920–1921.

Jochem van Bruggen
Jochem van Bruggen
Jochem van Bruggen
BornJochem van Bruggen
September 29, 1881
Groede, Netherlands
DiedFebruary 22, 1957(1957-02-22) (aged 75)
Magaliesburg, South Africa
Occupation
Notable worksTeleurgestel (1916)
Ampie: Die Natuurkind (1925)
Ampie: Die Meisiekind (1927)
Die Sprinkaanbeampte van Sluis (1933)
Notable awardsHertzog Prize for Afrikaans prose (1917, 1925, 1927, 1933)
Spouse
Maria Petronella Oosthuizen
(m. 1906)
Children
  • Lena
  • Jan
  • Nellie
  • Gert
  • Maria
  • Joggie

Life and work

Early life

Jochem van Bruggen was born to Jan van Bruggen and Pieternella Drewes on 29 September 1881 in the town of Groede in the province of Zeeland, the Netherlands.[1] He was the oldest of seven children, with four sisters and two brothers (one of whom would also become a well-known writer, known as "Kleinjan").[2] As a child, he developed a speech impediment while he was recovering from pneumonia, which made him withdrawn and slightly aloof as an adult.[3]

His father came to South Africa from the Netherlands two years before the rest of the family, in an attempt to earn an income and prepare the way for the rest of the family to follow.[4] He rented the old Dutch church building in Johannesburg as a residence and used the remaining space for teaching. By giving private lessons he earned reasonably well, even working as a Dutch teacher in an English school for a few months. Having settled in, he arranged for his family to join him in South Africa. Jochem and his mother, brothers and sisters arrived in Cape Town on New Year's Day 1893 and the family settled in Johannesburg. He initially attended his father's school, followed by the Nederlandstalige Staatsgymnasium in Pretoria, where Nico Hofmeyr, an author and lecturer in History and Dutch, had a great influence on him. Some of his earliest writing was published in the journal of the debating association of this school.[5]

Second Boer War

At the outbreak of the Second Boer War, he joined the Boers as a volunteer and took part in the struggle until the capture of Johannesburg. His father was also on commando, but his mother and siblings were sent back to the Netherlands for their own safety. After the capture of Johannesburg, he first worked for a meager income at an agent's office and shortly after the peace agreement for a slightly better salary at a laundry. At this time he joined a debating society, with the chairman, a Dutch teacher, also being a skilled church choir conductor. The young Jochem took singing lessons from him and learnt much about the art of conducting. After the peace agreement, he went to live on the farm Steenkoppies near Magaliesburg, which belonged to Gert Oosthuizen,[6] the father of an old schoolmate from the Staatsgymnasium, also called Gert.[7] In 1905 he married Gert's sister, Maria,[8][9] with whom he had six children.[10]

Farming career

Together with his friend (and now brother-in-law), Gert, he started a tobacco farming business, but the business failed and by 1909 he was deep in debt and almost bankrupt.[11] In his short story Ouboet, he refers to this difficult period in his life. Still, he remained on the farm as a farmer and during the following forty years he wrote almost all his works there. During the Depression, he took his plays on tour throughout the country to try to supplement his income, but the problems exceeded the opportunities and instead of the expected profits, he incurred further losses. He later wrote about this in detail in Met Ampie Deur die Depressie.[12]

Community involvement

He renamed his portion of the farm Terrasse ("terraces"). Here he became very involved in the cultural life in his area and was the leader of various choirs over the years, as well as the director of a theatre society and chairman of a debating society. Several of the plays he wrote himself (among others Oom Kasper in Johannesburg) were performed by the theatre society. The societies petered out frequently, but were then reestablished by Van Bruggen, until they merged into the Magaliesburg Cultural Association in the 1940s, under independent management.[13]

Death

Jochem van Bruggen died from hypostatic pneumonia and arteriosclerosis on 22 May 1957 on his farm Steenkoppies in the Magaliesburg area.[14]

Literature

Poetry

Van Bruggen already started attracting attention at school with his Dutch poetry. He published ten poems in total, alongside a number of Dutch prose pieces, including his mocking description of the heroic actions of the Johannesburgers during the Jameson Raid. His poems from this time overflowed with nationalistic pride and patriotism, but he also wrote a number of poems about nature. During this time he was also writing short plays, which were solemnly performed by his friends. He continued to write Dutch poems in the style of the Dutch preachers of the nineteenth century, but in 1912 he attempted in vain to find a publisher for the collection. From this point onwards he devoted himself almost exclusively to prose, although he did also write dramas on occasion.[15]

Prose

Van Bruggen started seriously writing in 1914, with his first sketch, Die Praatmesien, being published in Die Brandwag on 10 December 1914. His first novel, Teleurgestel, followed in 1916, for which he won his first of four Hertzog Prizes.[16] In 1919 he published a novella, Bywoners, followed by an anthology of short stories, Op Veld en Rante (1920) and another novella, Die Burgemeester van Slaplaagte (1922). Then, in 1924, came Ampie, the character with which Jochem van Bruggen truly entered the Afrikaans literature. The first part of the Ampie trilogy, Ampie: Die Natuurkind, depicts the childhood of this "dweller", how his love for Annekie begins to develop and his intense affection for the donkey, old Jakob.[5]

Honours

  • Van Bruggen was awarded the first Hertzog Prize for prose, eventually winning it an unprecedented four times, the most by any author.[16]
  • With the publication of the seventh yearbook of the Afrikaanse Skrywerskring (writers' circle) in 1942,[17] Jochem van Bruggen was the guest of honour at the celebratory dinner.
  • The magazine Helikon also held a dinner in his honour in December 1953 and dedicated the Christmas issue of the magazine to him.[18]
  • The South African Academy of Science and Art honoured him with honorary membership in 1951.[5]
  • In 1953, the University of Pretoria awarded him an honorary doctorate in literature.
  • In 1959, the Afrikaanse Skrywerskring placed a memorial plaque on his grave.[19]

Bibliography

Title Year Category
Die Praatmesien 1914 Short story
Teleurgestel 1916 Novel
Bywoners 1919 Novella
Op Veld en Rante 1920 Short story anthology
Die Burgemeester van Slaplaagte 1922 Novella
Ampie: Die Natuurkind 1924 Novel
Ampie: Die Meisiekind 1928 Novel
Ampie: Toneelspel in Drie Bedrywe 1930 Theatre
In Die Gramadoelas 1931 Short story anthology
Booia 1931 Novel
Die Sprinkaanbeampte Van Sluis 1933 Novel
Haar Beproewing 1934 Novel
In Die Maalstroom: 'n Drama In Ses Bedrywe Uit Die Burgemeester Van Slaplaagte 1934 Theatre
Wraak 1938 Novel
Met Ampie Deur Die Depressie 1939 Novel
Die Noodlot 1939 Novel
Ampie: Die Kind 1942 Novel
Kranskop Deel 1: Oupa 1943 Novel
Die Damwal 1945 Novel
Stryd 1949 Novel
Haar Beproewing 1950 Novel
Karakters Op Ons Vlaktes: Keurverhale 1952 Short story anthology
Die Weduwee 1956 Novel
Karakters Op Ons Vlaktes 1957 Novel
Ampie: Die Trilogie 1965 Novel
Drie Prosastukke Van Jochem Van Bruggen 1965 Short story anthology

References

  1. "Nederland, Indexen van de Archieven, Primaire Archiefstukken (BS en DTB), 1600-2000". FamilySearch. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  2. "Jan van Bruggen". FamilySearch. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  3. Nienaber, P.J. (1949). Hier Is Ons Skrywers: Biografiese Sketse Van Afrikaanse Skrywers, Deel I. Johannesburg: Afrikaanse Pers Boekhandel.
  4. Van den Heever, C.M. (1953). My Jeugland: Jeugherinneringe van Afrikaanse Skrywers. Afrikaanse Pers-Boekhandel.
  5. Terblanche, Erika. "Jochem van Bruggen (1881–1957)". LitNet. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  6. "Gerhardus Jacobus Oosthuizen". FamilySearch. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  7. "Gerhardus Jacobus Oosthuizen (Jnr)". FamilySearch. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  8. "South Africa, Transvaal, Civil Marriages, 1870-1930". FamilySearch. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  9. "Maria Petronella Oosthuizen". FamilySearch. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  10. "Jochem van Bruggen". FamilySearch. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  11. Van Bruggen, Kleinjan (1 December 1933). "Jochem van Bruggen". Die Huisgenoot. 18 (610): 43, 89.
  12. Van Rensburg, Chrisna (2004). "Wat het geword van Jochem van Bruggen?". Kakkerlak. 1 (1): 34–39.
  13. Grové, A.P. (1988). Letterkundige sakwoordeboek vir Afrikaans (Fifth ed.). Nasou Beperk.
  14. "South Africa, Civil Death Registration, 1955-1966". FamilySearch. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  15. Kannemeyer, J.C. (1984). Geskiedenis Van Die Afrikaanse Literatuur 1 (Second ed.). Pretoria: Academica.
  16. "Akademiepryse sedert 1909". www.akademie.co.za. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  17. "Jaarboek van die Afrikaanse Skrywerskring". Jaarboek van die Afrikaanse Skrywerskring. 7. 1942.
  18. "Die Transvaler". 8 December 1953.
  19. "eGGSA Facebook Page". Facebook.
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