The speech recalls Coetzee's 1986 novel, Foe, which reimagined Robinson Crusoe from the point of view of an Englishwoman who ended up on the island at the same time as Crusoe.

But far more than that, Coetzee's speech reflects the bold and original thought that defines his writing. The Nobel laureate will discuss his works on April 22 at San José State University, as part of the Martha Heasley Cox lecture series.

Coetzee was born in 1940, in Cape Town, South Africa, to parents of English and Boer descent. He grew up in South Africa, attending English schools, and received undergraduate degrees in English and mathematics at the University of Cape Town, where he also received a master's degree in English.

After some time spent in England in his early 20s, working as a computer programmer, he moved to the United States, where he earned a Ph.D. in English at the University of Texas at Austin. His dissertation was on Samuel Beckett, whom Coetzee has credited as influential in his own writing.

He taught English at the State University of New York at Buffalo until 1983 and the following year went on to teach at the University of Cape Town as a professor of English.

The author's breakout novel, Waiting for the Barbarians, was published in the early '80s. The book tells the story of a country magistrate who complacently enforces the iron-handed laws of a colonial power over the native inhabitants of the land until he finds himself sympathizing with these so-called "barbarians." Waiting for the Barbarians never specifies a time or setting, offering a sense that events could take place just about anywhere at any time. The novel touches upon themes of the personal and political, human frailty and morality that are common threads in a number of Coetzee's works, many of which are set in pre- or post-apartheid South Africa.

Coetzee has received two Booker prizes and was the first author ever to do so. In 1983 he was given the honor for The Life and Times of Michael K, a novel about a young man struggling to escape a brutal war in his country and live a quiet, peaceful life. The second Booker prize was awarded in 1999 for Disgrace, a tale of a disaffected, middle-aged professor who learns some hard lessons about life and himself in a South Africa that's post-apartheid but still in upheaval.

The writer's latest work is the recently published Elizabeth Costello, a cerebral and introspective work that follows an aging celebrated writer on the academic lecture circuit. In her speeches, she explores issues of art and morality, fiction and real life.

Coetzee has written more than a half-dozen novels and almost 20 books in all, including two autobiographical works. He currently lives in Australia and is a research fellow with the University of Adelaide. He is also a Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. This spring, he is a visiting professor in creative writing at Stanford University.

J.M. Coetzee appears April 22 at 7:30 p.m, at Morris Dailey Hall, San José State University, San Jose. Admission is free. For more information, call 408.924.4600 or see www.litart.org.