Archive for the ‘South Africa’ Category
by Kate on May 13th, 2013
Taiye Selasi, who was recently named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists, was interviewed by Ellah Allfrey for the Granta podcast about her debut novel Ghana Must Go, which is set in a few different countries.
Allfrey commented on the novel’s various settings, saying that this seems to “reflect the contemporary reality of Africans”. Selasi spoke about her own experience of living in different places and described her life as “sort of a five CD disc changer rotation” between Delhi, New York, Accra, Rome and London.
Selasi also shared her “Writing Playlist” with Granta, naming six songs that she likes to listen to while writing, including “Fool for You” by Cee-Lo Green, performed by Alice Smith, and “Summertime” performed by Kat Edmonson:
1. In a Sentimental Mood by John Coltrane
Perhaps it’s because I was raised by a music-loving mother, perhaps because I studied piano, cello, music theory – whatever the reason, my approach to prose is informed by my sense of sound. For me, notes tell stories; stories are melodies. No piece of music makes this point more clearly than Coltrane’s. Those first seven notes of ‘In a Sentimental Mood’ hit my ears like words, not notes. I shall never tell stories as well as Coltrane’s alto sax, but it’s my greatest joy to try.
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by Kate on May 13th, 2013
Love Books, the Service Station restaurant and Penguin Books SA invite you to the launch of Jackie Cameron Cooks at Home on Tuesday 21 May at 6 PM for 6:30 PM.
The Service Station will be cooking from the book. Tickets cost R295 per person and booking is essential.
Don’t miss it!
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by Kate on May 10th, 2013
On his visit to South Africa, Anthony Schneider met with Sue Grant-Marshall to discuss his novel A Quiet Kind of Courage.
Schneider, who was born in South Africa and now lives in New York, spoke about his lead character, Henry Wegland, who joins the ANC during apartheid, goes to their secret meeting place at Lilliesleaf farm, and gets involved in an assassination attempt.
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by Kate on May 9th, 2013
Rahla Xenopoulos visited Indulgence Cafe in Johannesburg for an Author Talk in April and was filmed giving a reading from her book Bubbles, a re-imagining of the life of murder victim Bubbles Schroeder.
Xenopoulos read from a chapter titled “Cry Me a River”, in which Bubbles describes the poker evenings that the middle-aged bookie Barry would hold with his friends. Usually when Barry had men come to visit he would expect her to be around, sitting on his knee or pouring drinks, but during the poker evenings she was expected to make herself scarce.
Watch Xenopoulos giving the reading:
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by Kate on May 8th, 2013
On his Radio Today show, Bruce Dennill interviewed Louis Greenberg, one half of SL Grey, about writing the first two books in Grey’s horror series The Mall and The Ward.
Greenberg revealed that, unlike his co-author, Sarah Lotz, he was too afraid to watch horror movies as a child as he was prone to nightmares. He tried to exorcise and rationalise this fear in various ways, including studying vampires at university, and found, at last, that he could control it by writing about it.
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by Kate on May 8th, 2013
Incredibly moving and beautifully drawn, White Dog Fell From the Sky by Eleanor Morse is an intimate portrait of Africa. Botswana, 1976.
Isaac Muthethe thinks that he is dead. Forced to flee his country after witnessing a friend murdered by white members of the South African Defense Force, he finds himself, for the first time, in a country without apartheid. Smuggled across the border from South Africa in a hearse, buried in a coffin, he awakens covered in dust, staring at blue sky and the face of White Dog. Walking along the road into Gaborone, Botswana’s capital, White Dog following close behind, a chance encounter with an old school acquaintance changes the course of Isaac’s life – as does the job he finds as gardener for a young American woman, Alice Mendelssohn, who has abandoned her Ph.D. studies in order to follow her husband to Africa. But when Isaac goes missing and Alice goes searching for him, what she finds out will change her life and inextricably bind her to this sunburned, beautiful land.
“Eleanor Morse captures the magic of the African landscape and the terror and degradation of life under apartheid in White Dog Fell from the Sky …tense and heartfelt”. — O, The Oprah Magazine.
“Magic, friendship, the tragedy of apartheid and the triumph of loyalty are recounted in poetic, powerful prose by this unconventional and intelligent writer. Shattering and uplifting”. — Kuki Gallmann, author of I Dreamed of Africa.
“Morse’s writing is lyrical and quite beautiful, with searing descriptions of the dusty earth, unforgiving sun, and stark skies”. — Entertainment Weekly.
About the author
Eleanor Morse has taught in adult education programs, in prisons, and in university systems, both in Maine and in southern Africa. She currently works as an adjunct faculty member with Spalding University‘s MFA Writing program in Louisville, Kentucky. She lives on Peaks Island, Maine.
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by Kate on May 7th, 2013
Good Housekeeping South Africa is giving six lucky readers the chance to win a copy of Jackie Cameron Cooks at Home.
To enter and stand a chance of winning you need to answer the following question on Good Housekeeping’s website:
Q: What is the name of the hotel where Jackie Cameron is the executive chef?
The competition closes 24 May 2013. Good luck!
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by Kate on May 6th, 2013
The Guardian has published an excerpt from Taiye Selasi’s acclaimed debut novel, Ghana Must Go.
We meet Olu, the eldest son of the Sai family, as he talks to his girlfriend’s father, Dr Wei, who is also an immigrant to America. The meeting starts off well but then Dr Wei expresses his views on “the dysfunctions of Africa”, saying that it is the lack of respect that African men have for family that is to blame:
Dr Wei started also, his deep, bossed gong laugh. “I say this to say that I admire the culture, your culture, its respect for education above all. Every African man I have ever encountered in an academic setting excelled, barring none. I haven’t met a single lazy African student, or a fat one for that matter, in 40 years here. I know it sounds crazy, we laugh, but believe me. I teach undergraduates. I see it every day. African immigrants are the future of the academy. And the Indians.” He paused here to finish his tea.
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by Kate on May 3rd, 2013
Penguin Books and Novel Books take pleasure in inviting you to an evening with Susan Newham-Blake, author of Making Finn, on Tuesday 9 May 2013.
The event starts at 6 PM for 6:30 PM at Novel Books in the Hobart Grove Centre, Bryanston. RSVP before 7 May 2013.
See you there!
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by Kate on Apr 30th, 2013
On Thursday, Mamphela Ramphele, author of Conversations with My Sons and Daughters and leader of political party platform Agang SA, delivered a speech titled “Fear in South African Politics” at the Wits Origins Centre.
Ramphele said that South Africans should be inspired by the courage of struggle icons such as Steve Biko (who was her partner) to speak up and demand proper service delivery and an end to corruption. Currently, Ramphele said, it seems that citizens are as afraid to speak out against the ANC as they were of challenging the Nationalist apartheid government.
Following this speech, Mamphela was interviewed by John Maytham on 567 Cape Talk, where she spoke about the true meaning of Freedom Day, saying that for many people, 19 years after the first democratic election, “freedom is yet to be a reality in their daily lives”.
Ramphele’s speech was widely reported on:
AGANGSA leader Mamphela Ramphele on Thursday described the political climate under the African National Congress (ANC) as marked by intolerance of criticism.
She said citizens were still as gripped by the fear of government as they were during apartheid under National Party rule.
Johannesburg – Struggle veteran Mamphela Ramphele has pleaded with South Africans to overcome their fear and speak out against the ills and abuse by the government and the ruling party.
The former medical doctor-turned-party political leader of Agang SA (Let’s Build South Africa) made the plea when she addressed Wits University students and academics at the institution’s Origins Centre in an address entitled “Fear in South African Politics”.
Agang SA leader Mamphela Ramphele was pressed into taking questions from the audience after her prepared speech at the Wits Origins Centre on Thursday when a student interrupted her exit to ask whether the public would be allowed to engage with her. “We’re not in church here,” he said.
Unflustered, Ramphele took a series of questions from the audience, which was made up mostly of students. Although many had cheered and clapped during her speech, which was themed as a citizen’s fear of criticising government, even the obvious Agang supporters asked probing questions of the struggle stalwart.
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