Sheila Cussons
Sheila Cussons (9 August 1922 – 25 November 2004) was an Afrikaans poet. She was born on the Moravia missionary station near Piketberg, South Africa, and, after matriculating from Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool, studied fine arts at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg. She was one of the most important poets in Afrikaans, besides an accomplished painter and artist.
Sheila Cussons
- Born
- 1922. · Western Cape.
- Died
- 2004. · Cape Town.
- Nationality
- South Africa.
- Occupation
- poet, translator, writer and painter.
- Education
- University of Natal and Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool.
- Languages
- English and Afrikaans.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2568495 · wikipedia · Sheila Cussons
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Volumes of poetry
Volumes of poetry
The poet D.J. Opperman was influential in her decision to write in Afrikaans, while N. P. van Wyk Louw maintained prolonged correspondence with her, which they both considered as beneficial to their work. Nevertheless, she always deemed herself to be a visual artist in the first instance, and a poet second. Publishing 11 volumes of poetry during her lifetime, she received the Ingrid Jonker Prize (1970), the Eugène Marais Prize (1971), the WA Hofmeyr Prize three times (1972, 1982 and 1991), the CNA Prize (1981), the Louis Luyt Prize (1982), and the prestigious Hertzog Prize in 1983. She died in 2004 at the age of 82, at Nazareth House, a Catholic institution in Vredehoek.
Documentary record
Sheila Cussons, a poet and painter, was born on 9 August 1922 and died on 25 November 2004. Both events are recorded by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Plektrum (1970) ("Plectrum") Die swart kombuis (1978) ("The black kitchen") Verf en vlam (1978) ("Canvas and flame") Donderdag of Woensdag (1978) ("Thursday or Wednesday") Die skitterende wond (1979) ("The brilliant wound") Die sagte sprong (1979) ("The soft pounce") Die somerjood (1980) ("The summer jew") Die woedende brood (1981) ("The angry loaf") Omtoorvuur (1982) ("Transforming fire") Verwikkelde lyn (1983) ("Complicated line") Membraan (1984) ("Membrane") Poems: a selection (1985) (A selection of poems translated by the poet herself) Die heilige modder (1988) ("The sacred mud") Die knetterende woord (1990) ("The sonorescent word") 'n Engel deur my kop (1997) ("An angel through my mind")(A selection of Sheila Cussons' religious poems compiled by Amanda Botha) Die asem wat ekstase is (2000) ("The breath that is ecstasy")(A selection of Sheila Cussons' non-religious poems compiled by Amanda Botha) Versamelde gedigte (2006) ("Complete poems") Teesuiker (1983) (Verwikkelnde lyne)
Fiction
Fiction
Gestaltes 1947 (1982) ("Figures")
As translator
As translator
Die vorm van die swaard en ander verhale (1981) ("The shape of the sword and other stories") (Cussons' translations of short stories by Jorge Luis Borges)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1922
Sheila Cussons born at Western Cape.
2004
Sheila Cussons died at Cape Town.
Places
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Western Cape.
Birth place
Cape Town.
Death place
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Sheila Cussons, revision 1343719791 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
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reference work
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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