QOOPANE CLOCKS 60

Writer F. Qoopane's 60th birthday was met with stony silence and indifference by both the literary community and the media in South Africa. Qoopane is widely regarded as a controversial and divisive figure in the world of letters. As highly respected author, Mzwandile Soqaga explained: "Initially the literary community planned and tried to honour Mr Qoopane on the occasion of his 60th birthday, but he threw it in their faces, undermining them, insulting them. An eminent book celebrating Qoopane and his work was in its final stages when the man himself began to insult and demean the respected female editor of the work...so it's no surprise that the literary community itself was at last forced to turn its back on Qoopane, and ignore the milestone of his 60th birthday." But at least this year three major essays on Qoopane's work were written and published; the three of them written separately by Pule Lechesa, Mzwandile Soqaga, and O Bolaji.