Litnet

"It’s difficult to explain, especially when asked what is and isn’t 'true', and I always end up saying that all the feelings are real, but that I may have made up the incidents and even the characters to put those feelings across."

"The intertexts, coordinates and ontologies offered in the poems create an intricate network of significance in which many voices are deployed, some echoing others, a polyphony that exalts in the musicality of language, the tone and pulse of words, their conjunctions and conjurations."

"Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed must be credited for making me see new beauty in what is vanishing. And for elevating the Durban Casbah to the pantheon of great South African places like District Six and Sophiatown."

African languages for a global audience: publishers, writers, and translators on the art of translation. Join Bhakti Shringarpure, Hannes Barnard, Raphael Thierry and Tina Kover for a roundtable discussion on translated literature.

Political theorist Steven Friedman addresses how and why the current language around anti-Semitism in Israel has been distorted and weaponised to serve the political objectives of the Israeli state. Friedman’s critique examines what this implies for the fight against racism in South Africa and India, and in other parts of the world.

The UCT Summer School takes place from 13 to 27 January 2024. Download the complete brochure here.

"Maybe it’s good that much of it is now consolidated into one volume – but we’ve heard it so often and for so long that it is hardly now exciting."

"[South Africa’s] biggest challenge is self-esteem for our own talents – having to be told who’s world-class by international speculators, rather than realising this through our own people and media. Then, we’re also struggling to get the funding of local films right, performing miracles on shoestring budgets and being expected simply to rinse and repeat these miracles."

Call for flash stories for a new anthology to be published in 2024.

A book of affirmations that highlights each of South Africa’s eleven official languages [and] is a love letter to children (especially Black, Indigenous, and people of colour) in South Africa honouring their magic, worth and power.

Award-winning poet Jacques Coetzee will be reading in Gqeberha on 5 December when the Ecca Poets will launch their new collection, The salt of being.

A transgender Roman emperor? Why were there no bedrooms in Caesar’s palace? How about an emperor who may have worn more shoes than Imelda Marcos? Is democracy better than a benign dictator? These are but a few of the hot topics Mphuthumi Ntabeni teases out of Mary Beard during an interview in Cape Town.

Tony Jackman interviewed Marita van der Vyver on her novel Still breathing and her memoir A long letter to my daughter. What is it like to get older? How does one hold an entire cast of characters in one’s hand? Are her characters based on real people? How does it feel to dream in a language that differs from the one your daughter dreams in?

"Mandivale ngokucoma Umuzi/Praesa ngalo mbono mhle kangaka wokuguqulela le ncwadi kulwimi lweSintu. Nakugqirha Guzula ngomsebenzi omhle encomekayo." | "I think this is a superb translation that not only makes the book accessible in Xhosa, but, because a language lends a new way of seeing the world, will enrich your knowledge and enjoyment of the book even if you have already read it in English."

Vimbai soon learns that every action has a consequence and some of our wishes come to haunt us when we are at our happiest. Her carefully orchestrated life takes a nosedive when her secrets are held against her.

Basson and Hunter map out the likely scenarios for a coalition government after the 2024 election and what it will mean for the country if politicians such as John Steenhuisen, Julius Malema or Herman Mashaba gain access to the Union Buildings.

"When a book festival brings the joy of reading and engaging with writers to places that are not known for such events, it is an additional pleasure to participate."

"For those few hours that you read the book, and hopefully afterwards as well, you feel less mad and less alone."

"We all have to take ownership," says Frans Rautenbach, an advocate and the author of several books, the latest being Help yourself South Africa. In this lecture, delivered at the Etienne van Heerden Veldsoirée 2023, he highlights practical things that ordinary citizens can do to make South Africa work again.

"We started Read to Rise in 2013 to promote youth literacy in under-resourced communities in South Africa. We believe that if children can read, they will excel at school and go on to become good, constructive members of society. It all starts with reading."