Litnet

"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."

"In South Africa, it’s inspiring to see young people, especially, taking a passionate interest in this industry. Whether one starts in school plays or reciting poems at an eisteddfod, the arts are alive with energy and possibility! And I guess that’s also why I love theatre myself! Anything can happen!"

"The more fantasy, visual effects and large world set-ups in a story, the more it lends itself to animation. Animation makes anything possible."

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."

There are still so many misconceptions about disability in society at large. Disability does not mean inability. Society in general, individuals, the business sector and employers must learn that people with disabilities are also able and should not be written off.

"Brics must be more of a foundation for economic growth with equal partners, and not be another cause for global political insecurity. The colonial mentality we resent from the West we shall not tolerate from the East either."

"It is a common thing in the South African political scene, approaching elections, that every political party takes its campaign line mark from the Economic Freedom Front (EFF) to jumpstart the race - by a rowdy form of political assertion. This usually takes a form of its cultish leader, Julius Malema, igniting the tinder by doing something deliberately controversial, like singing the 'Kill the Boer' song."

"I wish you the open heart that brings the truth and love to all mankind,
beyond any political blocks and false leagues.
Only the free flow of borderless wisdom!"

"The downing of Malaysian Air flight MH17 on 17 July 2014, which took the lives of 283 passengers and 15 crew members, started a trail of discoveries through eastern European poetry."

"I listen to Johannesburg move around me, and I wonder how she is still able to act like nothing is wrong. When that is all I can see. Why she is not angry. I’m tired of being angry."

"There is rich nuance in Tanya Zack’s flowing, sensitive narrative and Mark Lewis’s striking photography. The stories they tell are deeply human and individualised, yet cleverly interwoven within Johannesburg’s broader racial, social and economic anomalies."

"Storytelling has always been a way of making meaning of our lives, and of processing what has happened to us, individually and collectively. Many of the traditional stories that have been passed down orally, that are still passed down in some communities, emerged through processing traumatic events that the family or community had experienced."

"These characters are fictional, but they are also a quilt of real memories. With this story, I tried my best not to create archetypal characters or fall into the stereotypes that burden coloured characters in the media. I wanted to show these boys with all of their complexities, faults and facets. I believe that these are the things that make us human."

"When I saw the Short.Sharp.Stories call for submissions, I thought it would be a great idea to take a break from writing my memoir and stretch my imagination a bit, a welcome distraction from my reality."

Santaco has now approached the court to challenge the legality of taxis being impounded, something which the mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, seems to welcome. Freek Robinson asked Hill-Lewis: Why now? And what next?

"[W]hen it comes to foodie movies, I have a few favourites. Julie and Julia is one of them; Julia Child is someone who played an important role in culinary history, and Meryl Streep portrays her character, so you know it’s phenomenal."

"The reader of this book will soon find that Head writes as if he is birdwatching while writing. This strategy is an important feature in the book; there is an arrangement of the words, searching meaning, like turning out to watch birds – birds jumping around on the pages, flitting about in all directions."

"Today, we are all metaphorically still afraid of being buried alive, only this time under an invisible cloud of carbon dioxide strangling our planet. The equivalent to our coffin bells are planetary temperature readings that go back to 1940."