Over the last few weeks I have been working on an exhibition about the South African author Richard Rive, who got his PhD from Magdalen College in the 1970s.
I've added a short introduction to some parts of his life underneath.
Richard Rive (1931-1989)
Richard Rive was born on 1 March 1931 in Cape Town, and grew up in District Six, which was mixed race, area under apartheid.
With an awarded scholarship, Rive attended high school in Cape Town and studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he graduated in 1949.
Rive then trained as a teacher, and taught at Hewat Training College and also at a high school in Cape Town.
In 1962, he was able to travel throughout Africa and Europe, while teaching and lecturing.
In 1973 he got his PhD from Magdalen College for his work on Olive Schreiner (also a South African author).
He enjoyed his time at Magdalen. In his will he left the College library his own personal library.
“In spite of my achievements and qualifications I was still an unenfranchised Black suffering under a policy of discrimination, born and nurtured in a notorious slum in a beautiful city in a bigoted country.”
This quote perfectly summarizes what Rive called his “love-hate” relationship with South Africa. He had utmost hate for the apartheid system but deep love for the people and their manners.