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Herman Charles Bosman
Herman Charles Bosman (1905-51) completed and published his prison memoir, Cold Stone Jug, in early 1949. Fifty years later it is republished here in a restored text following the ...view moreHerman Charles Bosman (1905-51) completed and published his prison memoir, Cold Stone Jug, in early 1949. Fifty years later it is republished here in a restored text following the original edition corrected by him for his publisher, the APB Bookstore in Johannesburg, where it was a fast seller, greeted as an important addition to the work of the post-war new generation of South African English-language writers.
As the introduction here shows in a wealth of fresh detail, Cold Stone Jug’s climb to classic status as the foundational text of the country’s prison literature has been slow but sure. It still continues to fascinate new readers.
A work that pushed back the boundaries of what was suitable subject matter for literary treatment in South Africa, Cold Stone Jug has remained as shocking – and as grimly humorous – as when it first appeared. This is the closest Bosman came to writing an autobiography, restricted to the years 1926-30 during which he served his term, sentenced for murder.
The original edition of Cold Stone Jug was dedicated “to Helena, my wife” and had the following epigraph:
A chronicle: being the unimpassioned record
of a somewhat lengthy sojourn
in prison.view less