171:. She may have been a washerwoman. Buti does not appear to have been educated beyond primary school, and the defining event of his childhood was the amputation of his leg after he fell from a tree and the wound became infected. It appears Buti travelled widely in his youth and into his early twenties. It was during these years that his musical talents developed, becoming competent on the
363:
318:
Duggie is an orphan who lives on the street in
Sophiatown. Having fled home after killing his mother in an act of reprisal, he lives in a storm drain, before finding himself in a Cape Town children’s reformatory. Duggie goes on to serve in World War II before coming home, being jailed, becoming
386:
to publication has been repeatedly debated. Simon continued to revise the text long after Buti's death, and the book's production has been called a process of "collaboration", "co-production", or "cultural appropriation". Some critics contend that the whole book was written by Buti, while others see
397:
In the introduction to the 2020 edition, the editors do not categorically state whether it was solely authored by one or the other, but they believe the text is "largely authored by Buti under the adopted literary identity of Boetie and lightly edited in style and form for publication by Simon."
319:
a musician, and then getting married and divorced. The story culminates during the forced demolitions and evictions experienced by many Black South
Africans in the 1950s and 1960s. Throughout, Duggie's craft and cunning allow him to survive the growing hostility in South Africa.
394:, had been replaced and the cover of the first edition suggests co-authorship by crediting the work to "Dugmore Boetie with Barney Simon". Simon's name was only removed from the cover in 2005 when the first South African edition appeared.
132:
Many details of Buti's life are unclear, but what is known has been compiled by
Benjamin N. Lawrance and Vusumuzi R. Kumalo in the introduction to a 2020 edition of Buti's principal work,
310:, tells the story of Duggie, whose life parallels South Africa's transition from informal racial separation in the 1920s to formalised apartheid in the 1950s and 1960s.
268:, in 1964. By this time, he was living in Dube Township, and various claims emerged about criminal activity and imprisonments. Another short story was published, first in
345:
The book was not published in South Africa until 2005, although it does not appear to have ever been included on the apartheid government’s list of banned books.
281:
Buti's health began to decline in 1965, and over the next year he was hospitalised repeatedly with lung cancer. During this period he finished the manuscript of
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202:
in 1948, although Buti appears to have avoided political activities. He did, nonetheless, become acquainted with the anti-apartheid activist and scholar
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835:
800:'A Genius without Direction': The Abortive Exile of Dugmore Boetie and the Fate of Southern African Refugees in a Decolonizing Africa",
529:
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222:, possibly working as a journalist. At this time he was working on a novel that may have been an unpublished work called
390:
Following Buti's death, his mother assigned agency rights to Simon. By the time of publication, Buti's preferred title,
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journalist, writer, and musician, Douglas
Mahonga Buti (c. 1924 – November 1966). He is best known for
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in London, with an afterword by Barney Simon. A US edition was published the following year by
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253:. The first result of this was a short story, "The Last Leg", which was published in 1963 in
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As Buti's reputation grew, he was able to secure financial support from Simon, First and
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484:(edited and with an introduction by Vusumuzi R. Kumalo and Benjamin N. Lawrance) 2020.
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in
November 1966. He was buried at Doornkop Cemetery in Soweto on 19 November 1966.
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43:
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1994. "Familiarity Is the
Kingdom of the Lost", in D. Hirson and M. Trump (eds),
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Familiarity Is the
Kingdom of the Lost: The Story of a Black Man in South Africa
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it as an example of a white South
African "discovering" a black voice.
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The book has received mixed reviews throughout its publication history.
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In the early 1960s, Buti became involved in writing workshops run by
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Township, a racially integrated community of White, Black, Asian and
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in
October 1966. This was to become the first chapter for his book.
706:
Mphahlele, Ezekiel (1971). Boetie, Dugmore; Brutus, Dennis (eds.).
361:
176:
124:, a fictionalised autobiographical book first published in 1969.
16:
South
African journalist, writer, and musician (c. 1924–1966)
784:
Edgecombe, R. S. 1989. "Dugmore Boetie's picaresque novel",
257:, a quarterly magazine founded by Nakasa earlier that year.
264:. This allowed Buti to begin work on a new novel, possibly
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lay preacher. His mother, Regina, who was classified under
753:. Imagined South Africa. Vol. 5. Brill. p. 67.
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and writing poetry. Buti fled South Africa following the
285:. He died at the Charles Johnson Memorial Hospital in
796:
Lawrance, Benjamin N., and Vusumuzi R. Kumalo. 2021.
459:(edited and with an afterword by Barney Simon) 1993.
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28:
21:
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666:"Review of Familiarity Is the Kingdom of the Lost"
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629:
586:
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743:"Solo 1 Dugmore Boetie and Vagrant Improvisation"
472:The Heinemann Book of South African Short Stories
238:in late 1960. He later returned to South Africa.
628:LaSalle, Peter (1978). Boetie, Dugmore (ed.).
352:in 2020, restores the book's original title,
8:
18:
151:residents. His father, Alcott Buti, was
497:
338:. The US edition included a preface by
143:Buti was born between 1922 and 1926 in
722:(2). Indiana University Press: 67–71.
679:(2). University of Oklahoma: 361–362.
644:(1). Indiana University Press: 84–85.
601:(2). Indiana University Press: 39–40.
522:Familiarity Is the Kingdom of the Lost
486:Familiarity Is the Kingdom of the Lost
479:Familiarity Is the Kingdom of the Lost
461:Familiarity is the Kingdom of the Lost
454:Familiarity Is the Kingdom of the Lost
423:Familiarity is the Kingdom of the Lost
384:Familiarity is the Kingdom of the Lost
367:Familiarity is the Kingdom of the Lost
348:The most recent edition, published by
328:Familiarity is the Kingdom of the Lost
304:Familiarity is the Kingdom of the Lost
294:Familiarity is the Kingdom of the Lost
118:Familiarity is the Kingdom of the Lost
97:Familiarity is the Kingdom of the Lost
551:"My Years with "The Classic": A Note"
134:Familiarity is the Kingdom of the Los
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588:"Decolonizing African Autobiography"
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786:World Literature Written in English
436:1970. New York: Dutton. Preface by
631:"A South African Saga Re-Examined"
14:
821:20th-century pseudonymous writers
488:. Athens: Ohio University Press.
382:Barney Simon’s role in bringing
208:forcibly removed from Sophiatown
86:Journalist, writer, and musician
709:"Debris, Driftwood and Purpose"
594:Research in African Literatures
474:. Oxford: Heinemann, pp. 28–36.
330:was first published in 1969 by
802:The American Historical Review
198:South Africa formally adopted
1:
210:in 1955, relocating first to
183:. He performed with bands in
452:(edited Barney Simon) 1984.
445:(edited Barney Simon) 1970.
741:Titlestad, Michael (2004).
421:(with Barney Simon). 1969.
218:. By 1958 he was living in
857:
836:South African male writers
790:10.1080/17449858908589107
759:10.1163/9789004491588_007
585:Berger, Roger A. (2010).
524:. Ohio University Press.
191:, possibly performing in
663:Anderson, Susan (1970).
607:10.2979/ral.2010.41.2.32
520:Boetie, Dugmore (2020).
272:in 1965 and then in the
841:South African novelists
548:Simon, Barney (1980).
414:1966. "Contributors",
407:1963. "The Last Leg",
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788:29(2): 129–139, DOI:
449:. Greenwich: Fawcett.
427:Barrie & Rockliff
365:
350:Ohio University Press
230:, finding his way to
206:. Buti's family were
161:apartheid legislation
262:Laurens van der Post
228:Sharpeville massacre
33:Douglas Mahonga Buti
481:. Penguin Classics.
249:, Nimrod Mkele and
749:Making the Changes
730:– via JSTOR.
695:– via JSTOR.
652:– via JSTOR.
617:– via JSTOR.
574:– via JSTOR.
418:(October), p. 116.
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804:126(2): 585–622,
768:978-90-04-49158-8
564:Rhodes University
556:English in Africa
431:The Cresset Press
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57:(1966-11-00)
44:Johannesburg
831:1966 deaths
465:Basic Books
409:The Classic
323:Publication
283:Familiarity
270:The Classic
255:The Classic
212:Meadowlands
75:Nationality
815:Categories
493:References
425:. London:
378:Authorship
247:Can Themba
243:Nat Nakasa
236:Tanganyika
204:Ruth First
169:Queenstown
145:Sophiatown
40:Sophiatown
728:0001-9887
693:0006-7431
650:0001-9887
615:0034-5210
572:0376-8902
220:Cape Town
214:and then
200:apartheid
369:, 1969 (
153:amaHlubi
149:Coloured
110:pen name
155:and an
108:is the
36:c. 1924
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477:2005.
287:Nquthu
216:Soweto
189:Durban
173:guitar
136:t, or
99:(1969)
63:Nquthu
562:(2).
306:, or
296:, or
177:piano
120:, or
763:ISBN
724:ISSN
689:ISSN
646:ISSN
611:ISSN
568:ISSN
526:ISBN
314:Plot
187:and
179:and
128:Life
52:Died
29:Born
755:doi
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