Van Straten, Cicely (Nombre personal)

Her The great snake of Kalungu, c1981: t.p. (Cicely van Sraten) pub. bookmark (novelist and short story writer; raised in East Africa, now lives near Pretoria, South Africa)

SANB 89 (Van Straten, Cicely, 1947- see also Luck, Cicely, 1947-)

SANB correspondence with author, Oct. 21, 1988 (full name: Van Straten, Cicely Anne; maiden name: Luck; b. Mar. 6, 1947)

Tafelberg WWW site, Sept. 20, 2012 Authors (Cicely Anne van Straten, née Luck, was born on 6 March 1947 in Fort Hare. Cicely writes in English and many of her books are translated into other South African languages. She enjoys gardening, hiking and music; lives in Somerset West) http://www.tafelberg.com/Authors/798

Stellenbosch Writers web site, April 27, 2022: (Cicely Anne van Straten, né Luck, was born on 6 March 1947 in Fort Hare. She grew up in East and South Africa and the UK. Here formative years were spent mostly in Kenya where her grandparents were settler farmers, and in Uganda where her father was connected with Makerere University. Her family's African roots as well her grandfather's anthropological researches in Kenya in the 1920's have given her a fascination with African folklore and mythology which is mirrored in her writing and her research. Her Master's dissertation, The Fairytale as paradigm of inner transformation: a comparative study of European and African tales (University of Pretoria 1996), is concerned with the rich folkloric culture of South Africa which has been lost to many of its children during a period of rapid cultural change. From a young age Cecily was absorbed by fantasy writing and she acknowledges a debt to the works of the Grimms, Andrew Lang, George Mc Donals, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Roger Lancelyn Green, Padraic Colum and Roemary Sutcliffe and others. She would like to see emerge fantasy literature that is truly African in its setting for the children of Africa. She has contributed to seminars and conferences on topics, such as 'Black children need books'. Cicely writes in English and many of her books are translated into other South African languages, including Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Venda and Zulu. Cicely enjoys gardening, hiking and music. She was married to the Afrikaans author, Ampie van Straten, and has three sons. Cicely lives in Stellenbosch.) http://www.stellenboschwriters.com/vanstratenc.html