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Article: OBITUARY Author cast light on apartheid UWM professor's first novel was banned in South Africa in 1977
- Article from:
- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)
- Article date:
- August 26, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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By AMY RABIDEAU SILVERS
Sheila Roberts' own life could have been the stuff of a novel,
but instead it shaped her writing and world view.
Roberts grew up poor and white in the apartheid of South Africa.
In 1977, her first novel, "He's My Brother," was banned by
government censors, probably as much for the title as any content,
said son Kelly S. Roberts.
That same year, she completed her doctorate, leaving South Africa
for literary freedom and academic life in the United States. In
1986, she became a professor at the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee, where she taught creative writing and literature until
her retirement in 2007.
Roberts died of natural causes Aug. 11 at home in Oakland, ...