Litnet

"This is a powerful book that has you spellbound, especially as the secrets are revealed towards the end. It reminds you, once again, that knowing your ancestry is all-important for healthy self-actualisation."

"The mutated world within the Shimmer is the stuff that dreams and nightmares are made of, gorgeous and creepy all at once. Annihilation will certainly leave (adventurous) moviegoers with much to talk about, and an ending to fight over for years."

The winners of the 53^rd annual Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards were announced on Sunday, 18 March 2018 at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town. Here is the complete list of winners.

"Fleur du Cap nominee for Best New Director, playwright Nwabisa Plaatjie, brings a deeply human story set against the backdrop of the 2015 #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall movements."

"The science that underpins what we usually say without having any proof: people have more in common than they have differences. Now, to be told the fact that skin colour is less than 1% of what comprises the human body – 0,001% – is staggering."

Here is the full programme of The Alan Paton Book Festival 2018, as received from festival organiser Darryl David.

"We do have the agricultural plans jointly developed by role players in the agricultural sector, which are based on chapter six of the NDP! The government forked out millions to get all role players around the table to devise workable and implementable plans."

"I, Tonya is billed as a film about skating, about the rivalry between Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. In truth, it is so much more than that. It is a searing depiction of domestic violence, it takes on society’s expectation of how a woman should act, and it finally delivers an endearing portrait of a rather difficult woman who refused to be a victim."

"It’s a fierce film that does, refreshingly, not offer real redemption to any of the characters, but that does portray them as terribly flawed and utterly human."

"One lesson is that no amount of investment in water infrastructure, by itself, can root out water shortage. The dramatic growth in Las Vegas’s population and tourism industry over recent decades has stretched the city’s allocation from the Colorado River – which it shares with several states and other cities – as well as its available groundwater reserves. It remains vulnerable, but drastic changes in its approach to water management have helped the city avoid running out of water."

Monday 5 March, 20:30, Drostdy Theatre, Stellenbosch: "Come join InZync for our first event of 2018 as we publish the long-awaited ConVerse, a collection that showcases some of the best new voices in South African poetry in translation, including Koleka Putuma, Jolyn Phillips, Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese, Nathan Trantraal and Mbongeni Nomkonwana."

"The President’s Keepers brought to light abuse of and corruption at these agencies, and this raid is evidence of how the priorities are perverted."

"A casualty of power is a brief novel, but it packs a strong punch, vividly and effectively raising matters of importance and urgent relevance to millions of Africans – and others, for African situations are never unique – and their intelligent depiction can enlighten readers all over the world."

"My opinion about the general development of indigenous languages in South Africa is that each and every one of us – and every organisation – must promote, and create conditions for, the development and use of all official languages: the Khoi, Nama and San languages; sign language; and all other languages commonly used by communities (see section/article 6(5)(a) and (b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa)."

"My latest book is called Jouw toekomst is mijn toekomst (2017) and contains the stories of four students with a refugee background. These are courageous stories that offer a different perspective on people who have made the crossing to Europe."

"It’s apparent that the appeal board has missed out on the other important aspects of the film, which include same-sex relationships, safe sex, love, the challenges of patriarchal societies, finding the balance between modernity and tradition, negotiating the rural and urban landscapes, as well as the beauty that is embedded within the isiXhosa culture and the traditional rite of passage into manhood."

"What if we tried to get a whole city on a stage! These were the starting questions of the 100% project! What would we face if Stellenbosch was represented by a cross section of 100 people?"

"Althea’s rapist moved back in with his wife of six years in early November."

"In fact, Nama is, for all practical purposes, the only extant Khoekhoe variety (and, indeed, the only Khoisan language of any kind) still spoken in South Africa today. Most of the remaining Nama speakers in South Africa (perhaps around 2 000 of them) are aged at least 50 or upwards, however, although attempts are now being made to reintroduce the language as an additional subject at schools in the Northern Cape." 

"In the end, like in the book, it boils down to helping one another. There is great blessing in giving a glass of water to a poor and thirsty person. It is a form of healing."