Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Tenda Madima

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was Nomination withdrawn as promised, per Phil Bridger's comment. -- Blanchardb -^{Me•MyEars•MyMouth}- timed 15:17, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Tenda Madima

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South African translator of material in Venda, much of which was written by his father. After this prod was contested, it took me two weeks to decide whether this article should be brought here. The notability assertions are clearly sufficient for a keep if they can be referenced, however I am unable to find references that attest to the very existence of the awards the article claims he won. The creator pointed, rightly, that our insistence on reliable sources creates a systemic bias against Africa-related material, however major awards should get reliable coverage even in Africa. Delete, but I'll withdraw if reliable sources can be found. Blanchardb -^{Me•MyEars•MyMouth}- timed 17:40, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not quite sure of the basis of the request for deletion. Is it that the awards are not notable? That may be the case, but the article is about the author, and his claim to notability is that he has translated the first ever Venda novel into English. Regarding the awards, I'm following up with a contact who is friends with the author and hope to find out more about the awards. As pointed out above there are few online references to local African content such as this. There is a link here (cached page, in Afrikaans) to a prize he received for the translation. This seems to be a different award to the one mentioned on the book cover, but I'll follow up more once the site is up. Regardless, he is a notable figure in South African and Venda literature. Keep Greenman (talk) 21:42, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

There is an English version of part of the above reference here. This lists its nomination for the SATI Award for Outstanding Translation. Note that the Afrikaans article mentions that it was both shortlisted in the final three, and won a special prize (not the actual award). I have also found a reference mentioning that Madima won the the "African Literary Award" here. Greenman (talk) 21:53, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This debate has been included in the list of Authors-related deletion discussions. -- • Gene93k (talk) 16:40, 15 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Comment. Madima's translation of his father's book is studied as part of the high school English curriculum in the Western Cape.[1] He was selected for a radio drama residency sponsored by the British Council, the BBC and the Performing Arts Network of South Africa (deliberately redlinked because we should have an article).[2][3] This magazine has what is probably a review of his translation, but Google Books only displays the bare minimum to allow us to make an educated guess about what it is. I've exhausted my currently available brain power by digging out those sources, so I won't yet try to decide whether we have enough to demonstrate notability. Greenman, you seem to be familiar with the subject and to be in the right part of the world to look for the offline sources that doubtless exist. How about a trip to the library to see if you can find any press articles about Madima? Phil Bridger (talk) 18:07, 18 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.