by Peter Abrahams

Born in Vrededorp—a suburban slum of Johannesburg— in 1919, Peter Abrahams was the son of James Henry Abrahams, an immigrant descended from the Ethiopian imperial dynasty, and Angelina DuPlessis, a “Cape Coloured” widow (of mixed descent). They could not afford to send their son to school until he was 11. Abrahams worked his way through school, taking jobs as a porter, a clerk, and a dishwasher. In his adolescence, he studied at two elite secondary schools for blacks, the Diocesan Training College at Grace Dieu and St. Peter’s Rosettenville in Johannesburg. While at Diocesan, he published poetry in Bantu World, a white-owned newspaper catering to black readers; later during his time at St. Peter’s, he became involved in left-wing politics. He left South Africa to become a crew member on a freighter during World War II. After two years at sea, Abrahams...