Marlene van Niekerk has emerged over the last two decades as one of the most powerful contemporary South African writers. Van Niekerk was born on the 10th of November 1954, and raised on a farm named Tygerhoek, near Riviersonderend, in the Western Cape. She attended the Hoërskool Bloemhof before graduating from the University of Stellenbosch with an MA in Philosophy and Languages in 1978. In 1979, van Niekerk moved to Germany, working as an apprentice in theatre directing in Stuttgart and Mainz. She studied at the University of Amsterdam between 1980 and 1985, where she completed her doctorate on Claude Lévi-Strauss and Paul Ricoeur. Prior to her current position, she lectured at the University of Zululand, the University of …
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Citation: Brits, Baylee. "Marlene van Niekerk". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 October 2016 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13737, accessed 22 November 2024.]