JM+Coetzee

JM Coetzee was born February 9, 1940 in Cape Town, South Africa. He was born to Zacharias Coetzee and Vera Wehmeyer Coetzee. His father was an occasional lawyer and government employee. His mother was a schoolteacher. The Coetzee family spent most of their early life in Cape Town and Worcester. The family then relocated to Worcester when he was eight, due to his father losing his government job. His parents made sure that their child would have a great education later in life.

During JM’s young adult years, he studied mathematics and english at the University of Cape Town. He had received his Bachelor of Arts with Honors in English in 1960 and his Bachelor of Arts with Mathematics in 1961. After receiving these two great degrees, he then relocated to the United Kingdom in 1962. There JM worked as a computer programmer in London. While still in the UK, he was awarded a Masters of Art degree from the University of Cape Town. After receiving that degree, he went to the University of Texas at Austin in the United States, on the Fulbright Program. Education took up a large portion of JM’s life!

JM Coetzee is a South African novelist, essayist, linguist, translator, and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. He has written fifteen well known and entertaining books. On October 2, 2003, the leader of the Swedish Academy announced Coetzee had been chosen as that year's recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the 5th African writer to be honored. Coetzee is known as reclusive and avoids to such an extent that he did not collect either of his two Booker Prizes in person. JM has showed many South Africans that if you set your mind to something then you should just go for it! “He is a man of almost monkish self-discipline and dedication.” -Rian Malan