Alan Paton

Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African author.

He was born in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, the son of a minor civil servant. After attending Maritzburg College, he studied a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Natal in his hometown, followed by a diploma in education.

After graduating, he taught at a high school in Ixopo, where he met his first wife, Dorrie, and then at another school back in Pietermaritzburg.

He served as the principal of the Diepkloof Reformatory for young offenders from 1935 to 1948, where he introduced controversial reforms of a progressive slant. Most notable among these were the open dormitory policy, the work permit policy, and the home visitation policy. Boys were initially housed in closed dorms. Once they had proven themselves trustworthy, they would be transferred to open dorms within the compound. Boys who showed high levels of trustworthiness would be permitted to work outside the compound. In some cases, boys were even permitted to reside outside the compound under the supervision of a care family. Interesting to note is that of ten thousand boys given home leave during Paton's years at Diepkloof, less than 1% ever failed to return.

Paton volunteered for service during World War II, but was refused. During this time, he took a trip, at his own expense, to tour correctional facilities across the world. He toured Scandinavia, England, continental Europe, and the United States of America. During his time in Norway, he began work on his first and most famous novel, Cry, The Beloved Country, which he would complete over the course of his journey, finishing it on Christmas Eve in San Francisco in 1946. There, he met Aubrey and Marigold Burns, who read his manuscript and found a publisher to publish it.

In 1953 he founded the South African Liberal Party, which fought against the apartheid legislation introduced by the National Party. He remained the president of the SALP until its forced dissolution by the Apartheid regime, due to the fact that both blacks and whites comprised its membership. He was noted for his peaceful opposition to the Apartheid system, as were many others in the party, though some did take a more direct, violent route. Consequently, the party did have some stigma attached to it as a result of these actions. He retired to Botha's Hill where he lived until his death.

Selected Works:

• CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY, 1948 - Itke, rakastettu maa - film 1951, dir. by Zoltan Korda

• LOST IN THE STARS, 1950 (with Maxwell Anderson)

• TOO LATE THE PHALAROPE, 1953 - Liian myöhään vesipääsky

• THE LAND AND PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA, 1955

• SOUTH AFRICA IN TRANSITION, 1956

• DEBBIE GO HOME, 1960

• TALES FROM A TROUBLED LAND, 1961

• HOFMEYER, 1964

• SPONO, 1965 (with Krishna Shah)

• THE LONG VIEW, 1967

• INSTRUMENT OF THY PEACE, 1968

• KONTAKION FOR YOU DEPARTED, 1969 (also: For You Departed)

• CASE HISTORY OF A PINKY, 1972

• APARTHEID AND THE ARCHBISHOP: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEOFFREY CLAYTON, ARCHBISHOP OF CAPE TOWN, 1973

• KNOCKING ON THE DOOR, 1975

• TOWARDS THE MOUNTAIN, 1980

• AH, BUT YOUR LAND IS BEAUTIFUL, 1981 - Oi, miten kaunis maa

• JOURNEY CONTINUED: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 1988

• SAVE THE BELOVED COUNTRY, 1989

Cry, The Beloved Country has been filmed twice (in 1951 and 1995) and was the basis for the Broadway musical Lost in the Stars (adaptation by Maxwell Anderson, music by Kurt Weill).

The Alan Paton Award for non-fiction is conferred annually in his honour.

See also

• Liberalism
• Contributions to liberal theory
• List of African writers
• List of South Africans — In 2004 Paton was voted 59th in the SABC3's Great South Africans

External links

• The Alan Paton Centre & Struggle Archives
• Alan Paton — A short biography and bibliography
• Cry the Beloved Country (1951) at the Internet Movie Database
• Cry the Beloved Country (1995) at the Internet Movie Database

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