South African Literature

The pitfalls of artistic canons

Article Nthikeng Mohlele 2 - 15 Apr 2019

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?

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

Article Staff Reporter - 13 Jan 2017

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

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

Article bogdan TagDiv - 7 Oct 2016

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

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

Article Darryl Accone - 9 Sep 2016

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

Talking about language, quotas and processes with Lidudumalingani Mqombothi

Article Kwanele Sosibo - 19 Aug 2016

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

Writer confronts trauma but sidesteps Cape Town

Article Kwanele Sosibo - 17 Jun 2016

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

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

Article Jane Rosenthal - 19 Mar 2014

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

Beyond the silos of South African literature

Article bogdan TagDiv - 10 Feb 2012

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

Our literary disgrace

Article bogdan TagDiv - 21 Oct 2011

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

A literary soldier

Article Staff Reporter - 30 Sep 2011

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

So much talent, so few readers

Article bogdan TagDiv - 26 Aug 2011

Craig MacKenzie ponders the central contradiction in local literature.

Textured history for contemporary times

Article Shaun De Waal - 28 Jun 2011

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

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National

Bishop Emeritus Rubin Phillip: The guerilla priest

Carlos Amato - 23 Feb 2020

From his adventures with Steve Biko to his support for shack dwellers in KwaZulu-Natal, Bishop Emeritus Rubin Phillip has always walked the talk of radical Christianity

National

Tshwane water woes in court again

Sarah Smit - 21 Feb 2020

The municipality has been accused of deliberately derailing the contract to sort out toxic water crisis in Hammanskraal

National

Life in lockdown: Behind closed doors keeping out the coronavirus

Sarah Smit - 21 Feb 2020

South African students in China are staying behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak

Press Releases

Response to the report of the independent assessors

IT Web - 17 Feb 2020

VUT welcomes the publishing of the report of the independent assessors to investigate concerns of poor governance, leadership, management, corruption and fraud at the university.

Press Releases