Born in Cape Town, Stephen Watson taught in the English Department and the Centre for Creative Writing at the University of Cape Town. He was the author of six poetry collections, notably In this City (1986), which is centred in Cape Town (as is most of his poetry), and Return of the Moon: Versions from the /Xam (1991), which is based on the Bleek and Lloyd translations of Bushmen folklore. His nonfictional works include the acclaimed collection of finely crafted essays The Music in the Ice (2010).