LITERATURE - The African Mirror

May

25

2020

BOOK REVIEW: The ANC Spy Bible: Surviving across enemy lines

LITERATURE

It’s very rare that an intelligence operative - past or present - unmasks themselves and unveils the going-on in the dark, cloak-and-dagger lives of spies. Veteran intelligence operative and political activist Mo Shaik has done this and did it with insight and grace. Shaik’s memoir - The ANC Spy Bible - reads like a true spy thriller, full of intrigue, espionage, and the dangers associated with underground life in intelligence. It is rich in detail about his individual involvement in the ANC intelligence structures and their role in the struggle against apartheid. The book traces the making of Shaik who…

Jun

23

2020

By The African Mirror

Eight African novels to get you through lockdown

LITERATURE

FOR those looking from the global North, African literature is often marketed in a narrow way, comprising worthy stories of resistance, written in an uplifting and sober realist mode. Seen from the continent itself, this view has long been brushed aside by the effervescence and animation of ongoing literary experimentation and creativity. I approached literary academic colleagues from South Africa, Kenya and Uganda to choose – and share their thoughts on – one of their favourite books of African fiction. The resulting finger-on-the-pulse list offers a bookshelf that speaks to the vibrancy of both contemporary and older African literature. –…

Jul

10

2022

By The African Mirror

Book on Zimbabwe strongman Robert Mugabe’s legacy has many flaws

LITERATURE

DEVELOPMENT studies professor David Moore’s new book, Mugabe’s Legacy: Coups, Conspiracies and the Conceits of Power in Zimbabwe, attempts to understand the legacy of Robert Mugabe, who led Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2017, when he lost power in a military coup. Author BLESSING-MILES TENDI, Associate Professor in the Politics of Africa, University of Oxford Moore maintains that Mugabe’s legacy revolves around what he terms “the three Cs”: coups, conspiracies and conceits of political power. He shows that “the three Cs” have their origins in the perilous politics of the independence struggle, in which Mugabe was a key participant. The book…

Mar

01

2022

By The African Mirror

A short story by Ghana’s Ama Ata Aidoo offers a view of humanity’s place in the world

LITERATURE

IN recent years, philosophers and other thinkers have been rethinking how we see humanity and its place in the world. One reason for this change in thinking has been climate change: it has made humans realise that our actions have large and irreversible consequences. Many ideologies, religions and philosophies see humans as being at the centre of existence on earth, or as the rulers or stewards of all other life on the planet. But climate change forces us to realise that such a view of humans is precisely what might lead to the destruction of the world. Author BIBI BURGER,…

Mar

08

2022

By The African Mirror

Imbokodo is a long overdue series of children’s books on South African women

LITERATURE

A new series of books called Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us explores the neglected histories of South African women. Geared at younger readers, there are three books in the series: 10 Extraordinary Leaders, Activists & Protesters; 10 Inspiring Singers, Writers & Artists; and 10 Curious Inventors, Healers & Educators. The authors are Xolisa Guzula, an early literacy specialist and children’s author, and Athambile Masola, a historian and poet. We asked them about the project. Authors XOLISA GUZULA, PhD Candidate in Language and Literacy, University of Cape Town ATHAMBILE MASOLA, Lecturer, University of Cape Town What does Imbokodo mean? Xolisa Guzula:…

Dec

03

2021

By The African Mirror

New book on South Africa’s history puts black people at the centre, for a change

LITERATURE

THULA Simpson’s new book, History of South Africa from 1902 to the Present, is an event-packed narrative history. It is reminiscent of the style of Eric Walker’s History of Southern Africa eight decades ago – a very influential book, prescribed for many university history classes – except this time black South Africans are central to the story, not confined to its margins. Author KEITH GOTTSCHALK, Political Scientist, University of the Western Cape The author, an associate professor at the University of Pretoria, most recently published the book, Umkhonto we Sizwe: The ANC’s Armed Struggle, in 2016. This was also written…

Apr

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Book sheds light on apartheid South Africa’s hidden massacre

LITERATURE

APPALLING atrocities occurred under the flag of apartheid as the white minority government sought to impose a racist system on the majority of South African citizens. Many of the atrocities were subsequently investigated by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and are now seared into public memory. MIGNONNE BREIER, Honorary Research Associate, School of Education, University of Cape Town But not all. One of the more notable gaps in the country’s collective memory is a massacre that took place in 1952. It was never officially investigated and few people know about it. I set about trying to rectify this in my…

Jul

21

2022

By The African Mirror

Remembering Frantz Fanon – six great reads

LITERATURE

FRANTZ Fanon, the Martinique-born psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary and leading pan-Africanist, would have been 97 on 20 July 2022. He left a remarkable imprint. His views influenced many in the field of mental illness as well as pan-Africanist thinkers and anti-colonialism and black liberation campaigners. Fanon’s wide-ranging interests can be gleaned from his writings on numerous subjects including politics, psychiatry and even sports. Six articles from our archives attest to Fanon’s influence and legacy. Author THABO LESHILO, Politics + Society, The Conversation Psychiatry in colonial society Fanon highlighted how, by institutionalising patients, psychiatric hospitals tended to further alienate them from their…

Jan

11

2021

By The African Mirror

New Books | Archie Mafeje’s political thought

LITERATURE

BONGANI NYOKA ASPECTRE is haunting the South African academy, the spectre of knowledge decolonisation. Academics and university students are calling for decolonisation, but what they call brilliant is not new, and what they call new is not brilliant. As early as the 19th century, the South African poet William Wellington Gqoba grappled with the impact of Western education on Black people; in the early 20th century, Benedict Wallet Vilakazi and Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo were debating the role of language and modernity in South Africa. Equally, the works of Cheikh Anta Diop on sources of knowledge and social history, Kenneth…

Jul

19

2022

By The African Mirror

South Africa mourns legendary poet Don Mattera

LITERATURE

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER SOUTH Africans from all walks of life have paid tributes to and celebrated the extraordinary life of Don Mattera, the poet, author, cultural activist and community leader who passed away after a short illness. Mattera - 87 - was buried at the Heroes Acre at the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to Mattera, who was honoured in 2006 by the government with the Order of the Baobab for his “excellent contribution to literature, achievement in the field of journalism and striving for justice in South Africa” President Ramaphosa said: “As a…