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South African Literature

Do the rite thing: Reflections on the transition to manhood
Friday
/ 9 June 2025

Do the rite thing: Reflections on the transition to manhood

Jeffrey Rakabe ponders transformation, trauma and tradition in a debut that challenges what it means to grow up

By Rodney Ghobril
Through interlaced fingers: Reading Medusa as a Father
Friday
/ 14 May 2025

Through interlaced fingers: Reading Medusa as a Father

When fiction mirrors fear, even the strongest reader flinches. Medusa is powerful, painful and unforgettable

By Rodney Ghobril
Returning to the bones of home
Friday
/ 6 May 2025

Returning to the bones of home

Back in the Free State, a daughter rediscovers the textures of home, family and unspoken inheritances in Antjie Krog’s autobiographical novel

By Antjie Krog
The final curtain: Remembering Athol Fugard’s theatre of conscience
Friday
/ 10 March 2025

The final curtain: Remembering Athol Fugard’s theatre of conscience

South Africa has lost a moral giant as the playwright who challenged injustice through art dies at 92

By Kibo Ngowi
Khaya Dlanga: Writing his way to inner peace
Friday
/ 7 March 2025

Khaya Dlanga: Writing his way to inner peace

Writer confronts family, grief and recovery in his most vulnerable, honest book yet

By Kibo Ngowi
Matt Haig’s new novel is a story too good to spoil
Friday
/ 20 February 2025

Matt Haig’s new novel is a story too good to spoil

A moving, mind-bending journey of grief, hope and unexpected transformation

By Rodney Ghobril
Spirit of debut novel will blow you away
Friday
/ 8 February 2025

Spirit of debut novel will blow you away

Lindani Mbunyuza-Memani weaves a tale of identity, longing and the relentless pull of the past

By Rodney Ghobril
The Comrade’s Wife explores love, power and resilience in modern South Africa
Friday
/ 2 December 2024

The Comrade’s Wife explores love, power and resilience in modern South Africa

Barbara Boswell’s novel tells the gripping love story of a middle-aged black woman in modern-day South Africa

By Rodney Ghobril
Breyten Breytenbach: Cosmopolitan anarchist from the Boland
Friday
/ 28 November 2024

Breyten Breytenbach: Cosmopolitan anarchist from the Boland

The poet and painter was one of the greatest wordsmiths in Afrikaans

By Andries Bezuidenhout
Superfan or groupie? John van de Ruit on passion, humour and the phenomenon of Spud
Friday
/ 22 November 2024

Superfan or groupie? John van de Ruit on passion, humour and the phenomenon of Spud

Author John van de Ruit is back with a new book in the popular series

By Charles Leonard
Alex La Guma and Third Worldism: A legacy of global activism
Friday
/ 16 October 2024

Alex La Guma and Third Worldism: A legacy of global activism

The writer grew and evolved in exile — but he never truly left South Africa

By Christopher J Lee
Lesedi Molefi’s Patient 12A is a whirlpool of consciousness
Friday
/ 30 September 2024

Lesedi Molefi’s Patient 12A is a whirlpool of consciousness

Lesedi Molefi’s memoir Patient 12A explores his battle with mental illness.

By Pheladi Sethusa
Darkly funny tale of two cities
Friday
/ 7 May 2024

Darkly funny tale of two cities

This is an edited extract from SA author Niq Mhlongo’s new novel The City Is Mine

By Niq Mhlongo
Writer Khan didn’t wait 100 years
Friday
/ 23 March 2024

Writer Khan didn’t wait 100 years

The M&G speaks to Shubnum Khan about being a Indian woman author in South Africa

By Aarti Bhana
A poetic, resonant nightmare about LGBT rights and climate change
Friday
/ 22 August 2022

A poetic, resonant nightmare about LGBT rights and climate change

Alistair Mackay’s debut novel It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way is an important contribution to queer, developing-world cli-fi.

By Glen Retief
Achieving the litmus test of social relevance
Article
/ 24 February 2020

Achieving the litmus test of social relevance

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

By Staff Reporter
The pitfalls of artistic canons
Article
/ 15 April 2019

The pitfalls of artistic canons

Is there sufficient rigour to update the existing literary canon and infuse it with new voices that will themselves become canons in decades to come?

By Nthikeng Mohlele
​Pikoli bites big, chews smart in his first attempt at self-publishing
Article
/ 13 January 2017

​Pikoli bites big, chews smart in his first attempt at self-publishing

Phumlani Pikoli used crowdfunding to produce ‘The Fatuous State of Severity’, a collection of short stories. These are three excerpts from the book.

By Staff Reporter
​Finding South Africa’s heart: An edited extract from Luke Alfred’s new book
Article
/ 7 October 2016

​Finding South Africa’s heart: An edited extract from Luke Alfred’s new book

Luke Alfred walked long and far and recorded it in ‘Early One Sunday Morning I Decided to Step Out and Find South Africa’ (Tafelberg).

By Luke Alfred
M&G’s Litfest takes flight, honouring Sol Plaatje on his 140th anniversary
Article
/ 9 September 2016

M&G’s Litfest takes flight, honouring Sol Plaatje on his 140th anniversary

Alongside panels discussing hot topics, shortlisted poets from the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award and Anthology will receive their awards.

By Darryl Accone
Talking about language, quotas and processes with Lidudumalingani Mqombothi
Article
/ 19 August 2016

Talking about language, quotas and processes with Lidudumalingani Mqombothi

He recently won the Caine prize for African writing for his short story Memories We Lost, initially published in the anthology Incredible Journeys.

By Milisuthando Bongela and Kwanele Sosibo
Writer confronts trauma but sidesteps Cape Town
Article
/ 17 June 2016

Writer confronts trauma but sidesteps Cape Town

‘The shout on the front cover of ‘The Yearning’ has Zakes Mda waxing lyrical about Mashigo’s writing talent. All his descriptors are true.’

By Kwanele Sosibo
This broken land has many faces: A review of four books
Article
/ 19 March 2014

This broken land has many faces: A review of four books

Jane Rosenthal assesses four novels that cast the country in very different lights.

By Jane Rosenthal
Good luck sowing shelf restraint
Article
/ 31 October 2013

Good luck sowing shelf restraint

The legacy of one of Durban’s ­legendary characters is preserved and revitalised at the turn of every page.

By Brent Meersman
Beyond the silos of South African literature
Article
/ 10 February 2012

Beyond the silos of South African literature

This substantial offering from UKZN Press is very much about the now.

By Craig MacKenzie
No image available
Article
/ 21 October 2011

Our literary disgrace

The sale of JM Coetzee’s archive to a Texan
university revives the question of where South Africa’s literary heritage should be preserved.

By Craig MacKenzie
No image available
Article
/ 30 September 2011

A literary soldier

Siphiwo Mahala, author of<em> When a Man Cries</em> and a ­collection of short stories, ­<em>African Delights</em>, talks about his writing process.

By Staff Reporter
So much talent, so few readers
Article
/ 26 August 2011

So much talent, so few readers

<b>Craig MacKenzie</b> ponders the central contradiction in
local literature.

By Craig MacKenzie
No image available
Article
/ 28 June 2011

Textured history for contemporary times

Two new books examine the consequences of battles, both physical and ideological.

By Shaun De Waal
What every critic should know
Article
/ 4 March 2011

What every critic should know

A local publisher outlines various challenges and defends local editing and writers.

By Staff Reporter
No image available
Article
/ 4 March 2011

Our literature needs incisive criticism, yes, but on exactly whose values will it be based?

The recent response to criticism by writers and performers from two very different sectors of literature (spoken-word poetry and genre fiction) is not

By Kelwyn Sole
No image available
Article
/ 25 December 2008

Crime fiction not an escapist genre

There’s a move afoot locally to hustle crime fiction into the thriller category. Evangelisers of this new gospel say crime is a reminder of SA reality

By Darryl Accone
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