Nadine Gordimer died on July 13, 2014 at the age of 90. A novelist and activist, Gordimer wrote powerfully about South Africa during Apartheid and after, about what had changed, and what still had yet to change. In books such as Burger's Daughter, July's People, and The Conservationist, she painted portraits of characters who transcended the simple characterization of good or evil. Hers were visions of complex human beings caught up in the mechanism of society. For her achievements she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991.
Two Vocabulary Lists honor her life and work and call particular attention to words like heretical and indifferent and her fine-turned descriptions of fear.
Vocabulary from the Wisdom and Work of Nadine Gordimer (1923-2014)
Vocabulary from Nadine Gordimer's short story "Once Upon a Time"
Gordimer was a voice like no other, slaughtering sacred cows and capable of crafting a written sentence or an interview sound bite that makes you rethink your entire perspective on an issue.
