LITERATURE - The African Mirror

Jul

10

2022

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…

Jul

20

2020

By The African Mirror

Best-selling novel exposes life of child slaves in Nigeria

LITERATURE

NELLIE PEYTON WRITER Abi Dare grew up in a part of Lagos, Nigeria where most families, including hers, had maids as young as eight years old who worked all day, were often beaten and did not go to school. It was only as an adult that she realised these so-called "house girls" were essentially slaves. "I did have questions growing up but they weren't questions I necessarily voiced because it was the norm. It still is happening," the 38-year-old told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from her home in London. Dare's debut novel, "The Girl with the Louding Voice",…

Apr

14

2022

By The African Mirror

Reflecting on South African novelist K. Sello Duiker’s art of madness and social justice

LITERATURE

THE South African novelist K. Sello Duiker would have turned 48 on 13 April 2022. Since 2005, when he took his own life at the age of 30, his importance to the body of African literature has become even more evident. His works have been republished within and outside South Africa and continue to be the subject of both academic and social media discussions. Testament to his legacy, the South African Literary Awards gives a prize in his name every year to writers under 40. Author FEMI EROMOSELE, Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand Duiker is considered a key voice in…