LIFESTYLE - The African Mirror

Dec

08

2022

For the love of books: This South African author, publisher is on a mission to get everyone reading

LITERATURE

BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY LORRAINE Sithole credits her passion for books to a family tradition instilled in her by her grandmother decades ago. This meant that early childhood literary success was celebrated and reinforced. "One of the most profound moments for me when I was in primary school was when I was awarded an English book written by a local author," she said. Being recognised and awarded at a time when most of her peers were communicating exclusively in their mother tongue sparked a sense of ownership of her second language. Since then, she's been unstoppable. Years of networking,…

Dec

06

2022

By The African Mirror

Corruption in South Africa: new book lifts the lid on who profits – and their corporate enablers

LITERATURE

KEITH GOTTSCHALK THE new book The Unaccountables: The Powerful Politicians and Corporations who Profit from Impunity is welcome for the way it contextualises corruption. It shows how politicians and bureaucrats could not implement corruption without their corporate and professional enablers – the accountants, auditors and advocates who make it all possible. The book is the result of a decade of research by Open Secrets and other NGOs. It is edited by Michael Marchant, Mamello Mosiana, Ra’eesa Pather and Hennie van Vuuren (a blend of investigative journalists and activists) and has 11 named contributors. Analytically, it covers four overlapping issues: crimes…

Dec

02

2022

By The African Mirror

Koos Prinsloo: the cult Afrikaans writer has been translated to English – here’s a review

LITERATURE

THERE are some writers you wish you had encountered years ago. There are some authors you only discover – for many reasons – years after their death. The Afrikaans writer Koos Prinsloo is one such, for me. He wrote during the last violent decade of apartheid – a system of forced racial segregation implemented by the Afrikaans-speaking white minority rulers of South Africa. While the country was undergoing states of emergency and increasing internal revolt, Prinsloo wrote from deep within the dominant white patriarchal culture. But his work spoke directly back to this domination by representing a maligned and repressed…

Nov

18

2022

By The African Mirror

Juby Mayet, legendary South African writer and journalist, remembered through new book

LITERATURE

SOUTH African writer Juby Mayet passed away in 2019 at the age of 82. She wrote her autobiography in 1997 but it has only now been published, 25 years later. Freedom Writer: My Life and Times finally places the spotlight on an outstanding figure in South African journalism. Mayet was a reporter in Johannesburg from 1957 until 1978, and during those two decades, she wrote for important popular and political publications. These included the tabloid newspaper Golden City Post, the famous Drum magazine, the UBJ Bulletin published by the anti-apartheid Union of Black Journalists, and the anti-apartheid periodical The Voice.…

Nov

09

2022

By The African Mirror

In conversation with award-winning Nigerian author and director of Ake festival Lola Shoneyin

LITERATURE

BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY. AFRICA is ethnically and culturally diverse. The nature of art and literary works from the continent are equally varied. African writers like Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi, Alain Mabanckou, and Bessie Head, among many others, have elevated African arts to the global space. Still, there is a need to sustain the momentum. Lola Shoneyin, a poet, novelist, publisher, bookseller and festival organiser, is one of the few dedicated to ensuring African literature and art get better recognition and appreciation. When the 48-year-old published her debut novel ‘The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, in 2010, she…

Jul

27

2022

By The African Mirror

Africa’s free trade area offers promise for cities – but only if there’s investment

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, AFRICITIES

THE African Continental Free Trade Area came into operation on 1 January 2021. This is a considerable achievement. The free trade area is now the world’s single largest market for goods and services, when measured by a number of countries, after the World Trade Organisation. It is also the largest in terms of geographic area and population size. If implemented as foreseen by the agreement, the free trade area will unlock significant growth for the African continent. The World Bank has estimated that by 2035, trade between African countries could expand by 81%, boosting output by US$450 billion, raising wages…

Nov

08

2022

By The African Mirror

Hotel Rwanda: a film that proved to be a double-edged sword for Kigali

LIFESTYLE

PAUL Rusesabagina is perhaps one of the world’s best known Rwandans. His actions during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi were made famous in the 2004 Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda. The film was inspired by what happened inside Hotel des Mille Collines in the capital, Kigali. Here, 1,268 Rwandans, both Tutsis and Hutus, were saved from genocidal forces waiting beyond its walls. Author JONATHAN BELOFF, Postdoctoral Research Associate, King's College London The film depicts Rusesabagina – who left Rwanda in 1996 – as a hero who saved these lives. Following the film’s release, Rusesabagina received several humanitarian awards, including the…

Oct

19

2022

By The African Mirror

What is cultural appropriation and why is it so harmful?

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

ADAM HAUPT DIE Antwoord is a South African band that uses hip-hop music to create a style it calls “zef”. Since it first appeared in 2009, Die Antwoord has been criticised for cultural appropriation (using cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative way). It’s accused of copying the lyrics and styles of Cape Town artists rapping in South Africa’s Kaaps language, and of mimicking the visual styles of Cape Flats gang members. Adam Haupt has researched and written extensively on hip-hop and identity. He discusses cultural appropriation and the role of power in interactions between dominant and marginalised…

Oct

19

2022

By The African Mirror

Trevor Noah brought a new perspective to TV satire – as well as a whole new audience

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFTER seven years of hosting The Daily Show on Comedy Central, a hit comedy show produced in the US but with global reach, South African-born comedian Trevor Noah has announced plans to leave and focus on his stand-up comedy. During his tenure as host of the political satire series, which he took over from the revered Jon Stewart, Noah has offered important takes on issues in the US – and the world. Author GIBSON NCUBE, Lecturer, Stellenbosch University Considering that the late-night television satire scene in the US remains populated by white men, Noah has offered unique “black” African insights…

Oct

18

2022

By The African Mirror

Chibok kidnappings: why it’s important to listen to the survivors of Boko Haram terrorism

LITERATURE

IN 2009 a once quiet local Salafi group called Boko Haram became increasingly violent in north-east Nigeria and border communities of Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Its quest to forbid western education in the heavily Islamic region has led to the kidnapping of many school children, the slaughter of an estimated 2,200 teachers and the burning down of 1,400 schools. But the terrorist group was largely unknown on the world stage until the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from the Nigerian town of Chibok in April 2014. The hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, used in the international calls for the girls to be rescued, garnered…