Tool Late the Phalarope (Author Biography)

Author Biography

Alan Paton is remembered as an exceptional writer, a passionate activist, and a compelling educator. He was born on January 11, 1903, in Pietermaritzburg in Natal, a province of South Africa. Paton's father, like Jakob van Vlaanderen in Too Late the Phalarope, was a domineering, harsh, and religious man. Although he was a tyrant at home, James Pa-ton also passed along his love of literature and writing to his children. Alan Paton married in 1928, had two children with his wife, and was widowed in 1967. He remarried two years later.

After completing his education at Pietermaritzburg College and Natal University, Paton taught for three years in rural Ixopo, which would later serve as the setting for Cry, the Beloved Country. In 1935, he became the principal of Diepkloof, a school for delinquent boys. Paton changed the dynamics in the school from force and conflict to trust and respect. This experience prompted him to travel around the world to study prison systems. He wrote his first novel during these travels. Upon his return to South Africa, Paton went to live on the south coast of Natal, where he wrote articles about issues pertinent to South Africa. In the early 1950s, he became a founder of the liberal Association of South Africa, which would later evolve into a political party. In the 1960s, the South African government attempted to control Paton's actions by revoking his passport, so that if he left the country he would not be allowed to return. This did not, however, slow him down in his fight against racism and apartheid on his native soil.

In 1948, Paton published his first and best-known work, the novel Cry, the Beloved Country. Too Late the Phalarope was published in 1953, and although most critics regard it as his best work, Paton's reputation as a writer rests largely on his first novel. Both novels reflect the author's anti-apartheid sentiment and his hope for a brighter future for South Africa. Paton also wrote poetry and short stories, but felt too strongly about remaining politically active to devote all of his time to writing.

Critics admire Paton's fiction for messages that are clear without being heavyhanded and for his sympathetic portrayal of black characters suffering exploitation. For a short while, members of the South African black community criticized Pa-ton for depicting black characters as either victims of uncontrollable passions or as members of a beaten-down race. This controversy soon subsided, and the continued popularity of his works today suggests that readers around the world are still responsive to his writing.

Paton died of throat cancer on April 12, 1988, at his home in Natal, South Africa.