Poet, Painter, Art Historian and Writer
Melanie Grobler was born at Warmbaths and grew up in Rustenburg, Transvaal.
She studied at the University of Pretoria (BA in Psychology and Philosophy, BA
Hons in History of Art, cum laude, MA in History of Art, cum laude, PhD
2002) and at Unisa
(B hons in Psychology).
She has been involved with art, writing and process facilitation
since 1980, developing cultural projects at the Institute of Further Learning,
Unisa, as well as the Bureau for Cultural Affairs, University of Pretoria. She
was curator for seven years at the University of Pretoria and the
co-founder of the Hlumelo Theatre. (Hlumelo, a Xhosa word, which means 'shoot of a dead tree', encapsulating
its aim, which is to facilitate the release of old patterns of thought and
behaviour which are disempowering to individuals.)
Her doctoral thesis dealt with the writings,
aesthetics and concepts of Breyten Breytenbach. She documented
Breytenbach's art over a period of the years: approximately one thousand
paintings, drawings and installations were photographed in Paris, Amsterdam,
Haarlem, Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria.
She is married to a lawyer, Pieter Grobler, an alumnus of Stellenbosch
University. They have two daughters and a son. In 1998, after Pieter's
political career ended, they moved from Pretoria to Stellenbosch.
They now live in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, where she devotes her time to
writing.
Melanie Grobler sees art and writing as a discipline of being – an ongoing
process of becoming conscious.
She likes the music of Clearwater Revival, Bach
and Philip Glass, the coffee shops in Stellenbosch and a late night ride
(alone) on the coastal road to Pringle Bay, listening to the music of Delta
Blues.
Unfortunately, it turned out that her Eugène Marais-prize winning poetry volume, Die Waterbreker contains plagiarism: The poem, stad is a free translation of a poem (There is no city that does not dream) by Anne Michaels, without giving credit to the Canadian poet.
Exhibitions:1982 – 2002: twelve solo and group exhibitions.
1992 - Academic Honorary Colours University of Pretoria
1992 - French Insitute Johannesburg: Bursary for documentation of Breyten Breytenbach's art in France and The Netherlands
Rapport Prize for Poetry 1992
1992 - 2000 Published short stories in six and poetry in seven collections, including A Time of Trial (Ontario: Hidden Brook Press). Poems for 11 September 2001
Books:
Tye en Swye in die Lewe van Hester H (poetry), Tafelberg, 1991
Die Waterbreker (poetry), Tafelberg, 2003
Information by Melanie Grobler
www.StellenboschWriters.com © Rosemarie Breuer