South Africa the first well known novels written by a black author in an African language was Solomon Thekiso Plaatje's "Mhudi", written in 1930. During the 1950s, "Drum" magazine became a hotbed of political satire, fiction, and essays, giving a voice to urban black culture. Notable white South African authors include Alan Paton, who published the novel "Cry, the Beloved Country" in 1948. Nadine Gordimer became the first South African to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1991. JM Coetzee won the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 2003. When awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy stated that Coetzee "in innumerable
Cry, the Beloved Country (1951 film) to serious exposure of the terrible conditions there. After the making of this film, Canada Lee planned to make a full report about life in South Africa: he was then called to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee to explain his actions, but died of heart failure before he could testify. The film was well received by critics, and currently holds a 100% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Those praising the film included Bosley Crowther in "The New York Times" who stated "It is difficult to do proper justice to the fine qualities of this film or to the