Richard Rive grew up in District Six, Cape Town. He was awarded a scholarship to high school, and later to the University of Cape Town. He became a teacher of English, and soon his literary efforts had won recognition. He used his literary talent to highlight the plight of Black people in South Africa, and fell foul of the censors, having some of his writings banned.
He obtained an MA in teaching at Columbia University, USA, and a PhD at Oxford on the life and works of Olive Schreiner. He travelled extensively on teaching and lecture tours.
At the time of his death he was a lecturer at Hewat Training College.