A list compiled by Sandile Ngidi
In his lifetime, Lewis Nkosi arguably saw little effort in terms of intense engagement with his controversial critical inputs. In a review of a new anthology, Unathi Slasha tries to correct that
The history of clubbing in Jo’burg is less about physical space and fading memories, but about the sheer, frightful necessity of dancing
The focus of a new book on Lewis Nkosi is his plays rather than his tsotsi-like critiques
Apartheid SA’s madness, as diagnosed in the exiled author’s subversive texts, was the result of colonialism’s psychological violence
An exhibition of essays explores the sexual politics that emerged from an oppressive era
Academic Achille Mbembe sat down with retired journalist Jolyon Nuttall, who is also his father-in-law, to talk about his new book of essays
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/ 13 November 2007
The European and American tradition of the political novel is deeply entrenched. From Emile Zola to Gore Vidal, the perceptions and attitudes of citizens in these smug old democracies have long been shaped. South Africa too has a rich history of political fiction, from Alan Paton to Nadine Gordimer, André Brink, Njabulo Ndebele and Lewis Nkosi. But there is, of course, a vast difference between the literary political novel and the "novel of politics", writes Marianne Thamm.