Scottish writer Thomas Pringle (1789--1834) is considered the father of South African poetry. He lived in South Africa for six years, during which time he established a family settlement in the Eastern Cape. Unable to make a living as a writer in South Africa, he moved to London where he worked for the abolition of slavery. Pringle is recognized in South Africa as the first successful poet to publish in English. His poems and narratives describe South Africa's landscape, native people, and social conditions.

Pringle was the third of seven children of Robert and Catherine Haitlie Pringle. He was born January 5, 1789, in Kelso, Linton, Roxburghshire, Scotland. Tragically, his mother died in 1795, when Thomas was six years old, leaving his father to remarry.

When Pringle was three months old, his nanny accidentally dropped him, dislocating his hip. The nanny was afraid to admit her mistake, with the result that...