Thabo modisane biography of william

William 'Bloke' Modisane was born on 28 August 1923. He grew up in Sophiatown, a multiracial suburb in Johannesburg. His father was murdered and sister died from malnutrition at a very young age.

His mother resorted to running a shebeen in order to provide the family with livelihood means. Modisane wrote that:

My mother accepted her life, and I suppose, so did the other shebeen queens; they chose this life and accommodated the hazards.

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My mother wanted a better life for her children, a kind of insurance against poverty by trying to give me a prestige profession, and if necessary would go to jail whilst doing it. "(Modisane, Blame Me on History )

Modisane started working at Vanguard bookshop, which was owned by a former trade unionist.

He later joined the Drum magazine at the time when the magazine was known for its investigative journalism that exposed the prison and farm conditions in the 1950s. He was part of a team of writers that included Henry N