Litnet

"The exhibition will be open to the public for a number of months."

"In essence, the journey began when he chose to study Afrikaans, which, it must be admitted, was a little strange for an Indian boy in the ’80s."

Kola K is marooned. He is not sure whether he is marooned on an island, a planet or in another dimension outside time and space. To make matters worse, he is suffering from amnesia.

Karen Jennings: "It is through prizes like these that authors across the continent can gain the confidence to tell stories as they wish. The hope is that, with time, such stories will become appreciated across the globe, without first being labelled as an exception or a surprise."

Sihle Khumalo says conversation is important. We need to talk about the difficult things, the hard things, the things that make us uncomfortable. Freek Robinson starts the conversation.

Two highlights of the programme are the launch of Amazwi’s new exhibition on the life and work of literary legend Sindiwe Magona and the launch of the Masifunde Sonke Reading Programme by the Puku Children’s Literature Foundation and Rhodes University.

André Brink tells the story in letters to Anthony Akerman: "But still, I’m going to try my damnedest. For the amended Act, due to come out next year, may be the last nail in our little literary coffin."

"To read Jeffery’s compelling exposé is to realise that, for the past 30 years, the average South African has been a victim of the greatest imaginable confidence trick."

"For me, Open Book was special in a different way. I have been attending literary festivals around the world as a reader for a quarter of a century, as a writer for almost two decades and as a publisher for the past four years, but never before have I felt that I truly embodied all three of these roles simultaneously and so fully at an event."

"The literary controversy by author Elizabeth Gilbert, of the popular book Eat pray love, seems to have passed unnoticed on South Africa’s literary scene ... She delayed its publication indefinitely after receiving flak from Ukraine supporters and citizens."

Threaded throughout is the beautiful complexity and vulnerability of the planet, and the joy and difficulty of making art, as each poem becomes its own vivid testament to the natural world. 

"I couldn’t put this book down. It now resides at my elbow at breakfast, where I can turn to today’s date and read the relevant quote to my wife. It provides space, as the authors say, to step back briefly from taking part in life, and instead to reflect simply for a while on how we all live. The Shakespearean quotes all strike a chord."

"The many intrigues in these pages are told not only by a great writer, but by the country’s foremost historian; Van Onselen’s work opens new ways to think about a range of issues like the responsibilities of scholarship, the idea of southern Africa, and the roots of South Africa’s foreign policy, among other things."

You are invited to attend the book launch of Statues and Storms: Leading through change by Max Price on 21 September at Exclusive Books, V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. The book offers a gripping insider's account of Max Price’s tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town during a transformative period in South African higher education. 

Coloured is a reflection on, and celebration of Coloured identities as lived experiences. It is a call to Coloured communities to reclaim their identity and an invitation to understand the history and place of Coloured people in the making of South Africa’s future.

Isobel Dixon will be on tour in South Africa for the first time since Covid. Herewith more information on the respective events.

"The pleasing thing about this graphic novel – or comic book, in the parlance of this old-timer – is how it teaches not only old African beliefs, but also that ancient wisdom can be adopted to support the protection of our ecosystem."

Why do some states thrive, grow their economies and uplift their people while others, facing similar challenges, slide into low growth, social dysfunction and failure?

"I was moved to tears at the sense of torches being passed, comfort given, and of the long and transcendent reach of love."

"I have my doubts that it’s genetic. I think that the anxiety is genetic and the alcohol is a form of self-medication. We also learn from the example set by our parents/caregivers. The whole 'needing a drink to relax' after a stressful day and the adults in our lives having what seems to be a whale of a time when they’re drunk – we learn that that’s how we should behave."