By surname

John Kannemeyer (1939-2011) studied at Stellenbosch University where he obtained a DLitt under the supervision of Prof. DJ Opperman. In 1962 he joined the University of Cape Town as lecturer in Afrikaans and Dutch, later lecturing at the Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit (RAU) and Stellenbosch University. During 1982-1987 he was professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He was editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Standpunte from 1976 to 1983 and later worked as senior researcher at the HSRC in Pretoria.

In September 1992 Prof Kannemeyer returned to Stellenbosch, several times acting as a visiting researcher and professor at the universities of Nijmegen, Amsterdam and Leuven. In 2009 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Stellenbosch. His previous biographies include: DJ Opperman, Peter Blum, CJ Langenhoven, Uys Kruger, Jan Rabie and Etienne Leroux.