Litnet

Tembeka Ngcukaitobi's historical book The land is ours: South Africa's first black lawyers and the birth of constitutionalism was launched at Protea Bookshop Stellenbosch on 19 April 2018. Ngcukaitobi was interviewed by Hermann Giliomee and Albert Grundlingh. Watch the video of the conversation.

"Like Hamlet was born out of a desire to see what the characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet would do in other spaces, how they would operate divorced from their context, and what would happen if they were given an opportunity to speak for themselves, and speak truthfully to their feelings."

You are invited to the launch of My father died for this on 3 May in Cape Town where the authors, Lukhanyo and Abigail Calata, will be in conversation with Pippa Green.

"I spit out
my mother tongue"

"Yes, she did – she drove the movement of women’s liberation, she broke the ceiling for all black people academically and made it possible for the black child to do more and be more. The country as a whole has lost a great leader – not just black people, but everyone."

You are invited to the launch of The land is ours on 19 April in Stellenbosch, where the author, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, will be in conversation with Hermann Giliomee and Albert Grundlingh.

You are invited to the launch of Coalition country on 25 April in Cape Town where the author, Leon Schreiber, will be in conversation with Riaan de Villiers.

"How Heather got her HAT’ness back is a quick read, but its powerful message will stay with you long after you have put the book down."

"In the midst of what seems like a doubling down of authoritarianism by the South African government – from draconian proposed limits on free speech in the Hate Speech Bill to expropriation without compensation – an antidote arises: a blueprint and vision for a successful and open society. All it takes, simply, is freedom."

"People well known to small communities are not always people who are known everywhere, so, to us, the person we greet every day in Spar could be well known. Our selection is random, going with the intuition of knocking on a door or attending events in town to scout."

"Paging through this book, I am struck by the huge variety of easy recipes that consist largely of everyday basics. The colour photographs by Craig Fraser do justice to the delectable food. I cannot wait to try out a few recipes!"

"It is a strikingly original work of narrative fiction based on the mimetics of life. The texture of the writing is finely laced and covers a wide range of emotional modalities from the tragic to comical."

"In the depiction of the building of a farm and a colony, in the contact between different groups of people, in the relationships within a family with their secrets and pettinesses and preferences and loves, Robertson creates another view of a particular piece of South African history for her readers."

"I don’t desire our time
to be another document"

"don’t cry
honour the pride of my life
by joining in when they dance and sing"

"You don’t need to get all, or any, of the references to enjoy the film. It is still a thrilling, albeit sweet, adventure that will leave you gasping for breath."

"Perhaps, this mettle was her undoing. This fierce and abiding spirit to 'play equal with the boys' was the reason why the one Winnie inside her would suffer at the hands of the other."

"With you I stopped thinking
about Adam and Eve
and their fig leaves."

"I am impressed by the wide and carefully chosen selection of mouth-watering recipes in My Portuguese feast. My favourite recipe by far is the golden koeksisters on page 48. Another firm favourite is the chicken and chickpea soup on page 104."

"While reading the essays in this collection, I found myself repeatedly rethinking my own attitudes. To start with, I wanted to be as sensitive and as aware as I could be while writing my review of the book. Change of attitude often begins with language. I hope that each of the words I have chosen for this review is respectful towards the contributors, their views and their sterling work."