Litnet

"So, what went wrong? A number of unfortunate coincidences, probably. Most notably, being a man whose reputation as a true libertarian in the John Stuart Mill mould was established, he himself fell foul of too much libertarianism when it entered the sphere of his own life, which, when he became prime minister, made his private behaviour a public spectacle."

"Battiss is a huge subject! Briefly, he was born in Somerset East in 1906 and became South Africa’s best abstract artist. He is still considered to be our best water colour artist."

"That’s why over the past three days, 28 ministers of his government resigned and joined by another 33 deputy ministers and other high-level officials."

Tony Award-winning musical, Once on this island by Wela Kapela Productions, is at the Baxter Flipside from 8 to 16 July.

Bargain Books is giving away a copy of the novel Deception. Lesley Pearse is their author of the month.

"This is the end of the family
who once lived in the house.
And the end is otherwise quiet"

"The narrative of The Jungo is not a tale of victory, either, but an extremely interesting one, and the people known by this name do remain unbowed despite hardship."

Bargain Books is giving away a copy of The measure by Nikki Erlick.

"Writing is usually such a solitary thing, and it can get lonely. So, being surrounded by other writers has been amazing. Being in a space where six of us are together and working, feels like I'm part of a community of artists where we can share our processes and our progress."

"Masks and capacity restrictions were finally history after almost two and a half years of lockdown, but the abrupt and almost off-hand nature of the government’s announcement had left people wondering – could it really be true? Were we allowed to be here, carefree, barefaced? This was the first in-person National Arts Festival in two years; would it also be the last? And if people weren’t going to show up for theatre, dance, comedy and music in this strange little town, was there any hope for the arts in South Africa?"

In Xolisa Ngubelanga’s Siwagawula siwarhuqa, a woman recounts how, as a school girl, she fell in love with a handsome gardener, Sakhumzi, and how the experience left her hands covered with thorns. Zikhona Jacobs performs the monologue, directed by Mfundo Zono. English subtitles. Stemme | Voices | Amazwi is LitNet’s series of 15 short, powerful monologues presented in collaboration with Suidoosterfees, NATi and ATKV.

"For me, happy endings are more meaningful when you’ve seen the characters go on a tough journey to get there."

Bargain Books is giving away a hamper full of Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney. You could be the lucky winner, enter now!

Do you like the Dog diaries? Bargain Books is giving away a hamper full of books by James Patterson.

"Africa’s 20th-century history shows the true cost of the world’s powerful countries locked into a struggle for dominance, economic or otherwise."

Since his appointment in January 2020, De Ruyter has faced intense opposition from within the power utility as he attempts to clean up corruption and return the electricity company to a semblance of its former glory. He is not alone.

Mphuthumi Ntabeni is one of six authors currently in residence in Somerset East, courtesy of the Jakes Gerwel Foundation and PEN South Africa. His novel The wanderers is on the long list for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize.

Stemme | Voices | Amazwi is LitNet’s series of 15 short, powerful monologues presented in collaboration with Suidoosterfees, NATi and ATKV. Watch Buhle Ngaba’s performance of After tears, written by Buhle and directed by Amelda Brand.

"Soon I will be dead
It’s uncertain
When is the final curtain?"

"I’m blown away and I feel so honoured. When I left KwaSizabantu back in 1993, there was very little support available to survivors of cultic and coercive groups. It was pre-internet days, too, so I was on my own and really struggled. Books saved me, however."