Litnet

The Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival boasts the largest collective of world-renowned classical musicians at any festival on the African continent. The festival will take place from 4 to 13 July at the US Konservatorium in Stellenbosch this year.

"Incorporating gender-responsive pedagogy into early childhood education is not about imposing ideologies or confusing children; it is about ensuring that all children are seen, valued and supported as they learn and grow."

South Africa faces severe femicide, and most murderers evade justice. Prisons fail by perpetuating crime; harsher sentences do not help. Edwin Cameron, after visiting prisons, advocates for reform. Along with colleagues, he suggests abolishing minimum sentences, cash bail, and decriminalising drug use to improve safety and justice.

"If there is hope, it lies not in technological salvation or ideological purity. It lies in ethical reawakening and in the recovery of moral clarity, spiritual humility and attentive presence. It lies in the courage to stay human."

Mannequin Pictures has optioned the screen rights to the political thriller Good Hope, the debut novel of South African author, political advisor and communications specialist, Nick Clelland, for adaptation into a series.  

Soutie Press is excited to launch The interpreters: South Africa’s new non-fiction edited by Sean Christie and Hedley Twidle. Hosted by Lou-Marié Kruger at the Welgevallen Community Clinic in Stellenbosch on 29 May 2025, Sean and Hedley will be in conversation with Jonathan Amid about rare and beloved forms of nonfiction writing emerging from the country over the last 30-plus years.

The theatre is giving away two tickets to one lucky LitNet reader. You and a companion will then be able to attend this event for free.

U word hartlik uitgenooi na die boekbekendstelling van Ill at ease deur Francois Verster op Saterdagoggend van 11:00 tot 13:00 op 14 Junie in Welgemoed. Francois Bloemhof sal in gesprek met die skrywer wees.

"I don’t want to hear about this. He says it again and again. 1 775 people murdered on South African farms from 1991 to 2006. I want to go away and never come back."

"The core issue in global social relationships is white wealth and black poverty. Without understanding this, not gimmickry, not golf can hide the gore of grinding poverty on which social violence feeds."

You are invited to the book launch of The lucky ones by Alistair Mackay at Love Books in Melville, Johannesburg, on 26 May 2025 from 17:30 for 18:00. Jarred Thompson will be in conversation with Alistair Mackay.

"Though our focus is on black history – because it has been neglected and deliberately suppressed – we tell the entire history, including the over-represented colonial and Afrikaner history. From the booklet, you learn not only about Governor Somerset and Bruintjieshoogte, but also about what was there before the European arrival. You learn who Nojoli was, and how all these histories interlock and are joined at the hip, despite our pretensions."

"For Henry each day is an initiation,
a new door to a mystery,
the grandeur of the Silbersteins
and Welgevonden’s history."

"The notion of home is intimately tied to an individual’s sense of self. ... This dual meaning of home is certainly a useful way of looking at the new collection of autobiographical poems by Frank Meintjies, A place to night in."

"But here in SA a phalanx of self-important and morally challenged commentators, politicians, journalists and leaders still want to convince you your government is siding with the wrong people."

"Two new books add to the published oeuvre of South Africa’s pioneering psychoanalyst, Wulf Sachs [who] was out to demonstrate two things. First, that black urban migrants were in a terrible plight, not of their making, and one with which they were lamentably ill-equipped to cope. And, secondly, that the exciting new thought package of Freudianism successfully straddled the apparent crevasse between Western modernity and African traditionalism."

"Instead of one person speaking, many did. Instead of long speeches, we heard numerous poets reading for ten minutes each."

The 2025 Island Prize, the fourth year it has been running, has once more attracted nearly 200 entries from across the continent, and the range of subjects, styles, and genres has been greater than ever before. Now, rather than one winner, we have had to name two: Night dancer by Zabu Wamara of Uganda, and In the valley of bones by Kristien Potgieter of South Africa.

As jy ook vuisvoos is van ons land se politiek durf jy nie Marianne Thamm se komiese eenvrou-vertoning Round of applause reloaded by die Hermanus FynArts Festival misloop nie. Kom lag Junie maand lekker saam met ons vir ons land se absurditeite, en gaan huis toe met nuwe insig en hoop. Want, soos Thamm sê, sy het meer hoop vir Suid-Afrika as vir enige ander land.

The Hermanus FynArts Festival is a fusion of arts festival and winter school. "Heritage" is this year’s theme, weaving together a full programme of music, theatre, ballet, workshops, culinary demonstrations, food, wine, exhibitions and discussions. From jazz and Ghoema rhythms to stand-up comedy and storytelling, celebrate the richness and complexity of South African history, art, cultural identity and transformation.