Ronelda Kamfer

Ronelda Kamfer (born 16 June 1981 in Blackheath, Cape Town, South Africa) is a Kaaps-language South African poet and novelist.

Life
Kamfer grew up staying since the age of three with her grandparents, farm workers in Grabouw, Western Cape, South Africa, in a region known for its orchards and vineyards, located 65 kilometers south-east of Cape Town. She then returned to her parents, who, when she was nine years old, settled in Eerste River, Western Cape, a township of Cape Town that had many social problems such as a gang culture. This experience profoundly marked her life and her writing. She went to school at Eersterivier Sekondêr and obtained an Honours degree in Afrikaans and Dutch languages at the University of the Western Cape in 2011 (with Antjie Krog as one of her professors) and a Master's degree in Creative writing at Rhodes University in 2019. Kamfer held various jobs, including as waitress, office worker, nurse, while writing.

Kamfer published her first poems in anthologies and magazines in South Africa and the Netherlands. Among the authors who influenced her, she mentions Derek Walcott, Charles Bukowski and Antjie Krog.

Kamfer is married to poet, illustrator and comic-strip creator Nathan Trantraal; they have one child and live in Makhanda.

Awards
In 2009, Kamfer won – with Loftus Marais – the Eugène Marais Prize (Eugene Maraisprys) awarded by the South African Academy. In 2016, she was awarded the Jan Rabie en Marjorie Wallace writer's grant prize.

Works
Kamfer's work include:

Collections of poetry

 * (Translated title: "Now that the dogs are sleeping".)

French translations

 * Missives n° 253, Littératures d'Afrique du Sud, June 2009, Paris.
 * Confluences Poétiques n° 4, April 2011, Paris.
 * Special issue of the journal Bacchanales.
 * Po&sie n° 143, June 2013, Paris: Éditions Belin.
 * Zone sensible n°1, June 2014, "Poésie et événement", Biennale internationale des poètes en Val-de-Marne, Ivry.
 * In special issue Afriques 2.
 * Chinatown, édition bilingue afrikaans-français, translated by Pierre-Marie Finkelstein, Éditions des Lisières, Curnier, 2023 (https://www.editionsdeslisieres.com
 * In special issue Afriques 2.
 * Chinatown, édition bilingue afrikaans-français, translated by Pierre-Marie Finkelstein, Éditions des Lisières, Curnier, 2023 (https://www.editionsdeslisieres.com

English translations

 * Extract from two collections of poetry with an introduction by André Brink.

Prose

 * A novel.
 * A novel.

Reception
Burger's critique places Kamfer's use of the ocean as a literary device within the context of other South African poets, such as Koleka Putuma.

Videos

 * . Video duration 6m 43s. Uploader: Nederlands Letterenfonds, 2012. Kamfer explains her collection of poetry grond/Santekraam translated into Dutch als Santenkraam (2012), and a project with her husband for a graphic novel. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
 * . Video duration 1m 21m. In Afrikaans with English translation. Uploader poetryinternational, 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
 * Video duration 1m 24s. Uploader InZync Poetries, 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2024. Kamfer reads her poem Bellville at The InZync Poetry Sessions.