He wrote a great many poems and two novels, but destroyed the novels because they didn't satisfy him. In 1925, Paton went to teach in a native school in Ixopo and three years later went on to teach at Pietermaritzburg College for another seven years. He graduated in 1922 and was awarded his teaching certificate the following year. While studying science at the University of Natal, he was active in dramatic and religious societies, won the five-mile race in his senior year, was elected president of the student body, and amused himself by writing poetry. Paton was born January 11, 1903, in the South African city of Pietermaritzburg, the eldest child of English settlers, James and Eunice Paton. Alan Paton drew heavily on his own experiences when he wrote Cry, the Beloved Country, for he had taught school in Ixopo and had been principal of a reformatory, too, where he had dealt with many young men like Absalom Kumalo.
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