Herman Charles Bosman (1905-1951) was South Africa’s greatest short story writer, but his career almost ended before it began. He was condemned to death for shooting his stepbrother. The sentence was commuted to four years, after which he became a jobbing writer, and drew extensively on his time as a young school teacher in remotest Transvaal prior to his legal troubles.
He wrote two major short story sequences, published in local literary magazines and newspapers. The first centres on a campfire raconteur, Oom Schalk Lourens. The second, the Voorkamer stories, eavesdrops on a bunch of Afrikaner farmers putting the world to rights as they await the arrival of the weekly mail lorry at a rural post office. Written in English with an Afrikaans cadence, his stories were both of their time (beware of racial epithets) and before their time (some criticize apartheid). They are all worth reading, but start with Starlight on the Veld, which showcases the lyricism and humour that runs through his work.
First published in The South African Opinion in January 1936, and subsequently featured in numerous collections and anthologies. It can be read online at Narrative
A Personal Anthology 