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Stephen Gray (30 November 1941 – 22 October 2020) was a South African writer and critic.

Gray was born in Cape Town on 30 November 1941. He studied at St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown,^[1] and later at the University of Cape Town, Cambridge University, England (where he received a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Arts, both in English), and the University of Iowa, US (where he studied a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing).^[2] He was also awarded a D. Litt and d. Phil. by Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg. Until 1992, he was Professor of English at the Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg.^[2]

Gray was a prolific poet and published eight novels. Recurrent themes include attitudes to homosexuality and the many rewritings of history in South Africa, including examining attitudes to class and race.^[3] His literary journalism appeared in the South African weekly newspaper, the Mail & Guardian, from the 1990s to the 2010s.^[4] He also wrote for the theatre and edited collections of work by Athol Fugard and Herman Charles Bosman.

Gray died on 22 October 2020 in Johannesburg at the age of 78.^[5]

[Note: Gray has been published in many countries by various publishers in other editions. Consult ISBN in WorldCat and other sources for multiple editions.]

• Local Colour. Ravan Press, 1975. ISBN 0-86975-046-1
• Visible People. R. Collings, 1977. ISBN 0-86036-046-6.
• Caltrop's Desire. Africa Book Centre, 1980. ISBN 0-86036-108-X.
• Time of Our Darkness. Arrow, 1988. ISBN 0-09-965670-1.
• Born of Man. Gay Men's Press, 1989. ISBN 0-85449-107-4.
• War Child. Serif, 1994. ISBN 1-897959-01-X.
• My Serial Killer and other Short Stories. Jacana Media, 2005. ISBN 1-77009-030-4

• Schreiner: A One-Woman Play. David Philip, 1983. ISBN 0-908396-97-X.

• It's About Time. David Philip, 1974. ISBN 0-949968-21-8.
• Hottentot Venus and other Poems. David Philip, 1979.
• Love Poems: Hate Poems. Bellew Publishing, 1982. ISBN 0-86036-196-9.
• Apollo Café and Other Poems, 1982-89. David Philip, 1989. ISBN 0-86486-129-X.
• Season of Violence, Justified Press, 1992. ISBN 1-871049-87-3
• Selected Poems 1960-92, David Philip, 1994. ISBN 0-86486-238-5
• Gabriel's Exhibition, Mayibuye Books, 1998. ISBN 1-86808-378-0

• C. Louis Leipoldt. Stormwrack. David Philip, 1980. ISBN 0908396104.
• Modern South African Poetry. A. D. Donker, 1984. ISBN 0-86852-056-X.
• The Penguin Book of Southern African Stories. Penguin, 1985. ISBN 0-14-007239-X.
• The Penguin Book of Southern African Verse. Penguin, 1988. ISBN 0-14-058510-9.
• South Africa Plays: New South African Drama. Nick Hern, 1994. ISBN 1-85459-148-7.
• Charles Rawden Maclean alias John Ross. The Natal Papers of "John Ross". U of Natal P, 1996. ISBN 0-86980-851-6.

• Southern African Literature: An Introduction. Barnes & Noble Imports, 1979. ISBN 0-06-492530-7.
• John Ross: The True Story. 1987.
• Human Interest and Other Pieces. Justified Press, 1993. ISBN 0-947451-23-4.
• Accident of Birth: An Autobiography. COSAW Publishing, 1993. ISBN 1-874879-23-0.
• Free-lancers and Literary Biography in South Africa. Editions Rodopi BV, 1999. ISBN 90-420-0656-0.
• Life Sentence: A Biography of Herman Charles Bosman. Human & Rousseau, 2005. ISBN 0-7981-4484-X.

• Stephen Gray Collection at the Harry Ransom Center