… is
a German-Dutch writer, born
in Berlin in 1955.
He began as
a teacher in Hamburg (Germany), later he joined the Anne Frank
House in Amsterdam (Netherlands). Since 2001 he is at home in
Cape Town (South Africa), where he became a founding member and Co-Director
of HOKISA, a South African NGO (www.hokisa.co.za)
which cares
for children affected and/or infected by HIV/AIDS.
Most of his books
are written in German and translated into many other languages (like
Afrikaans, Bulgarian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Italian,
Japanese, Korean, Swedish, isiXhosa - and English). Lutz van Dijk has
received several literary awards, among them the Nambian Youth Literature
Award (1997) and the German Gustav-Heinemann-Peace-Award (2001).
Next to Germany
and Holland, where he is on reading tours twice a year, he has given readings
in schools, libraries, bookshops and with human rights groups in Austria,
Bulgaria, Denmark, France, England, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and outside
of Europe in countries in Western and Southern Africa, the Middle East,
Latin America and the USA.
Some of
Lutz van Dijk’s books in English:
• Stronger
than the Storm
14 year old
Thinasonke, at home in Gugulethu, a township in the Western Cape,
South Africa, is gang- raped on her way home from school and gets
infected by HIV… How will her life go on? (A novel based on a true
story, Cape Town 2000)
•
Crossing the Line
...tells the
story of Themba, a rural boy who rises to become aplayer in the South
African national soccer team, in spite of AIDS. His story tells of
resistance and courage - and of his love for his younger sister, Nomtha.
(Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town 2006)
• A
History of Africa
African history
as told by African voices through the ages – from the shaping of the
continent to early civilizations, from the times of European colonization
to the “long way to freedom” since 1945 (A book for young people in
Africa and all over the world, Cape Town 2007)
Between Anger
and Hope
A report on
the youth hearings of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
(TRC), written together with Karin Chubb and with a preface by Archbishop
em. Desmond Tutu (Johannesburg 2001)
• Damned
Strong Love
Stefan lives
in Poland during World War II. He is 14, when his country is accupied by
German troops. His older brother joins the resistance. Stefans fells in
love when he is 16 – with a young Austrian-German soldier.
(The true
story of Stefan K., New York 1995)
• Challenging Homophobia - Teaching Sexual Diversity (edited together with Barry van Driel)
This international collection presents reflections on the psychological and social processes underlying homophobia. And it offers guidance for challenging homophobia, in the form of case studies, tested lesson plans and educational advice. Contributors are from nine countries and different continents (UK and USA 2007)
For readings
please contact the author:
• Via email:
lutzvandijk@iafrica.com
• Via postal
adress: 39 Clovelly Road,
RSA – Clovelly
7975 (Cape Town), South Africa
