He taught at schools in Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg, and later on became editor of Die Huisgenoot.
During this period he completed one of his most important publications – Digters van Dertig (Poets of the thirties) – in 1953.
He won the prestigious Hertzog prize for poetry in 1947 for his collection Heilige beeste ("Holy cattle").
From 1960 to 1975 he was a professor of Afrikaans at Stellenbosch University, where he also served on the editorial board of the publication Standpunte ("Points of View").
[2] The South African composers Cromwell Everson and Prof Piet de Villiers wrote music for some of Opperman's poems, such as Kontraste and Nagstorm oor die see.