Latest articles on Literature

‘Before Night Falls’: Reinaldo Arenas breaks down (in) Fidel Castro’s Cuba

Friday Percy Zvomuya - 22 Oct 2020

Reinaldo Arenas’s memoir reveals the contradiction of a revolutionary society ruled by an autocrat

Achmat Dangor: On writing and change

Friday Andries Walter Oliphant - 12 Sep 2020

Celebrated author and political activist Achmat Dangor died on Sunday at the age of 71. Here, in a 1990 interview published in Staffrider, he speaks to Andries Walter Oliphant about his work and aspects of South African literature and culture

An extract from ‘The Broken River Tent’: ‘I chose resistance!’

Friday Mphuthumi Ntabeni - 28 Aug 2020

In this extract from The Broken River Tent, by Mphuthumi Ntabeni, the protagonist, Phila, makes a fiery courtroom speech

Saved by literature and love

Opinion Barbara Boswell - 11 Aug 2020

“The library was a refuge I could run to when violence ripped at the very fabric of our existence and threatened to extinguish life itself,” writes Dr Barbara Boswell.

Extract: Gunning for Bessie’s head, from ‘The Terrorist Album’

Friday Jacob Dlamini - 7 Jul 2020

Jacob Dlamini’s new book, The Terrorist Album, tells the stories of people saddled with that catch-all phrase during apartheid and how their presence on that list made them fair game

Meet the founder of Accra’s one-woman library

Friday Theresa Mallinson - 3 Jul 2020

Sylvia Arthur founded the Library for Africa and the African Diaspora to house her collection and share it with other readers

Writers on lockdown

Friday Zaza Hlalethwa - 7 May 2020

Melinda Ferguson has gathered essays and stories from 40-plus contributors for Corona Chronicles

Kintu, a refusal to ‘write back’

Article Theresa Mallinson - 18 Mar 2020

Time of the Writer is cancelled. Instead of hearing Jennifer Makumbi speak, we read her first novel

Review: ‘The Mirror & the Light’ or, the fall of Thomas Cromwell

Article Theresa Mallinson - 4 Mar 2020

Hilary Mantel’s final volume in the ‘Wolf Hall’ trilogy is a triumphant end to her depiction of the blacksmith’s boy who became the king of England’s right-hand man

Achieving the litmus test of social relevance

Article Staff Reporter - 24 Feb 2020

The HSS Awards honours scholarly works based on their social relevance and contribution to the humanities and social sciences

Valeria Luiselli tells stories to shame us

Article Bongani Kona - 14 Feb 2020

Over and over again she writes about the lost children picked up on the United States border

JM Coetzee: A fine mind, a formidable intellect

Article Angelo Fick - 7 Feb 2020

Behind JM Coetzee, the writer lauded for his ‘wonderfully brave, bold mind’ , is John Coetzee, the quiet man

Threading 40 years of Zimbabwean writing

Article Kwanele Sosibo - 24 Jan 2020

Kwanele Sosibo talks to Tinashe Mushakavanhu, the co-editor of Some Writers Can Give you Two Heartbeats, about the impetus behind the book

Dedicated to Heartbeats

Friday Kwanele Sosibo - 24 Jan 2020

https://open.spotify.com/user/uh1aj3hjqw7ydjf5rgnuitt64/playlist/2GLU4V1WZxudiXd9U4aT5j?si=SWr1hv5eR-iJ2hozTXuayw Some Writers Can Give You Two Heartbeats has been in my possession since August 22,...

Great reads to look forward to

Article Theresa Mallinson - 3 Jan 2020

Theresa Mallinson selects 20 you should pick up — and won’t want to put down — to be published over the course of the year

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Coronavirus

Johannesburg cannot police its future

Matthew Wilhelm solomon - 27 Oct 2020

South Africa’s biggest city is ground zero for debates about the long-term effectiveness and constitutionality of militarised urban policing and how we imagine the post-Covid city

Coronavirus

Ithala backs its embattled chairperson

Paddy Harper - 25 Oct 2020

Roshan Morar is being investigated in connection with KwaZulu-Natal education department backpack sanitiser tender worth R4-million and a batch of face masks that vanished

National

Q&A Sessions: ‘My north star is the patient’

Eyaaz Matwadia - 24 Oct 2020

Rhulani Nhlaniki is Pfizer’s cluster lead for sub-Saharan Africa. As Pfizer starts phase III of the clinical trial of their Covid-19 vaccine candidate, he tells Malaikah Bophela that if it is successful, the company will ensure the vaccine will be available to everyone who needs it

Press Releases

Special Reports

Transport Month

[email protected] - 23 Oct 2020

An infrastructure-led recovery will help to stimulate demand in the South African economy, which is vital post the Covid-19 pandemic

Special Reports

Limpopo’s Economic Recovery Plan to fight Covid-19 impact

special reports - 23 Oct 2020

Billions have been set aside to help farmers and industries get back on their feet as part of the Limpopo Socio-Economic Recovery Plan

Special Reports

Disrupt the corrupt

special reports - 22 Oct 2020

Whistle-blowers should be seen as real heroes in the fight against corruption and we need a change in culture for this to happen

Special Reports

Corporates: A force for good for a sustainable future

special reports - 20 Oct 2020

In order to see people and nature thrive what is required is a strong focus on partnerships – we cannot act alone anymore

Special Reports

Combatting wildlife crime in Southern Africa activity annual programme statement (APS) No. 04

special reports - 20 Oct 2020

Concept papers are sought for implementating activities, for a multi-faceted programme that aims to reduce poaching and illegal trade in wildlife

Special Reports

The financial decisions made during your life journey, and their impact on your retirement outcome

special reports - 19 Oct 2020

The longer you save towards retirement the larger your retirement savings are expected to be due to the effect of compounding interest

Special Reports

In conversation with SA Reserve Bank Governer, Lesetja Kganyago

special reports - 16 Oct 2020

'Make interest rates zero and inflation goes up and then people save less – we need savings to fund investment in this country'

Special Reports

Secure your business from cyber threats

special reports - 16 Oct 2020

Many business-grade security systems now have built-in learning systems and AI to help businesses stay up to date with protection