Nat Nakasa

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Nathaniel Ndazana Nakasa (b. 1937 d. 1965) better known as Nat Nakasa was a South African short story writer and journalist.

He was born in Durban but moved to Johannesburg to work as a journalist for Drum magazine. He also worked for the Golden City Post and was the first black journalist to work at the Rand Daily Mail where he provided a black perspective for the newspaper’s predominantly white readership.

He soon realised that black writers had very few creative outlets and so founded a literary journal The Classic. Can Themba a fellow Drum journalist was a contributor to this.

During this time he also worked closely with Nadine Gordimer.

He was awarded a Niemann Fellowship in 1964 to study journalism at Harvard College in the USA. ^[1] However, the apartheid government rejected his application for a passport. As a result, he was forced to leave South Africa on an exit permit which meant that he could not return.

Nakasa soon found that racism existed in America as well, albeit more subtle. He became depressed at being exiled and died after a fall from a high rise building in New York.

As it was not possible to bring his body home, he was buried at the Ferncliff cemetery in upstate New York. ^[2]

A headstone placed by the Nieman Foundation 30 years later simply reads:

Nathaniel Nakasa May 12 1937 - July 14 1965. Journalist, Nieman Fellow, South African.

– 1038 (the tombstone number), .^[3]

The Print Media Association, the South African Nieman Alumni, and the South African National Editors' Forum subsequently established an annual award for courageous journalism, which is named after him.

[edit] Books

• The World of Nat Nakasa : selected writings of the late Nat Nakasa / edited by Essop Patel ; with an introduction by Nadine Gordimer, Ravan Press, 1971, ISBN 0-86-975050-X

[edit] See also

• List of South African writers

• Good-looking Corpse: World of Drum - Jazz and Gangsters, Hope and Defiance in the Townships of South Africa, Mike Nicol, Secker & Warburg, 1991, ISBN 0-43-630986-6

[edit] References

1. ^ "Nat Nakasa : profile", Contemporary Africa Database. Retrieved on February 21, 2007.
2. ^ "Background on Nat's Life", The South African National Editors’ Forum. Retrieved on February 21, 2007.
3. ^ "Ndazana Nathaniel Nakasa", S A history. Retrieved on February 21, 2007.