Search results for ""jacana""

An insightful look into South Africa in the 1930s and 1940s, this novel tells an unlikely love story. When Sofie goes to work for Big Dan—a forester whose wife is terminally ill—she takes care of his neglected children and gains an education while helping them with their homework. After the lady of the house passes away, Big Dan finds himself increasingly drawn to Sofie and her tender yet straightforward ways. Eventually, the two fall in love and marry. Despite her simple background, Sofie manages to draw a deeply complicated family together with wisdom and understanding beyond her upbringing. As Sophie tackles the prejudices of her fellow villagers with veracity and brutal honesty, this tale demonstrates that grace and wisdom are the products of character and not social standing.

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Thandi's parents have died of AIDS, and she must go to live with her Gogo. Memories of her family are woven throughout the making of a special doll - a doll made from a few oddly shaped rags, but who shows Thandi how to find comfort and hope.

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An investigation within an investigation, this richly imagined tale follows an organ recipient, Guy Hawthorne, and the person who performed his heart transplant. The mystery opens with an unexplained violent death and a video tape left with the body, leading to a story of modern medicine and the psychological twists that lie at the heart of celebrity and obsession. Infused with the halfway modern spirit of South Africa in the 1960s, this poetic and haunting thriller captures the tensions of the times, weaving together fiction and fact in a gripping storyline.

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A revealing personal journal, this life story of Lorna Levy follows her from being shaken out of a privileged white upbringing in 1950s South Africa and awakening to the inequity around her amid radical political movements to her exile in England and eventual return to Cape Town. This chronicle shows insights into the struggle to free South Africa from apartheid and reveals how that struggle manifested itself through individuals exiled outside of the country. Searching for an identity and place in a foreign culture while working for decades towards improvements at home, this narrative shows a life stripped of all the myths and explores the complex situation and emotions of returning home.

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In the early 1860s, Gustav Fritsch, a 25-year-old German medical doctor and anthropologist, travelled through southern Africa on a scientific expedition to study the 'native races', making great use of the new medium of photography. Fritsch's portraits of southern African people are extraordinary images, bringing to life a whole gallery of both known and unknown figures with astonishing veracity. Retrieved from archives in Germany and reproduced here in their entirety for the first time, these photographs can now be reclaimed as part of our common cultural heritage. They are accompanied by several essays that describe Fritsch's journey and scientific project and set them in the context of his racial theories and life's work.

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Outlining key social and economic realities that confront South Africa's new government, this collection of 11 essays by top economic and political analysts debates the problems facing newly elected socialist-leaning president Jacob Zuma. Politically, the widespread world recession has South Africans on both the left and the right calling for change in the economy, and these articles offer 70 key recommendations for bolstering the country's business climate. Controversial issues include interest rates, labor markets, the breakaway COPE party, and how far to the Left a Zuma government can swing, given the economic constraints on their options.

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A fictional account of a Jewish family’s journey from Nazi Germany to post–World War II South Africa, this breathtaking novel follows their everyday struggles living in Johannesburg in the 1950s. Through the voices of Hannah, the daughter of the house, her mother Susan, grandmother Leah, and domestic worker Sina, the story explores the cultural and generational parallels and differences and the unraveling of a family. The stories of Leah in the shtetl in Lithuania, Sina in her village outside Pietersburg, and Hannah in a quiet Johannesburg suburb are told in a compassionate narrative that is both disturbing and illuminating.

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In this new story, we find Gaps in the midst of frantic, colourful wedding preparations. His big sister is about to get married. Now Gaps faces another problem: Father Nguni Bull has given him a brand new pair of trousers to wear to the wedding, but they are much too long! Gaps asks every cow in his family to shorten the trousers, but they are all too busy preparing for the wedding. Gaps gives up and goes to bed, leaving his trousers lying in the kitchen. Very early the next morning, as the cows enter the kitchen, they see the neglected trousers...and each in turn shortens them, with hilarious results. But Gaps comes out tops yet again!

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The Little Explorers series takes children on a journey to teach them more about the world around them. Each title is beautifully illustrated and easy for children to read themselves. Approved by the National Department of Education as a Foundation Phase reader for Grades 1, 2 and 3. Shapes are Everywhere shows children how to find different shapes in the beautiful world around us. What are You Doing? introduces children to the many different ways that children can find the written word. Stop, Look and Listen shows children essential elements of road safety while dodging wild animals in a national park. It's Time! takes us through all the things that happen in a normal day. Oh No! is the story of poor Dangoes, who has many things to do but falls ill and can't do them. She gets better, but then it starts to rain! Lele Dreams takes the reader on a fantastical journey to the clouds and the sea.

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A collection of recent cartoons, these scathing and hilarious depictions document 2007 as an eventful year of political folly in South Africa. With a special eye for the ridiculous, this commentary provides opportunity to laugh at the often bizarre antics of political figures, and the sharp, unique wit makes for both an entertaining and intellectually stimulating read.

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Meanwhile don't push and squeeze is an account of the year that writer spent teaching at a university in Hangzhou, China. Filled with puzzlement and discovery, it is enriched by the writings of Berold's enthusiastic students and those of his articulate companion. Berold's passion for literature soon takes him well beyond limits of his contract as a 'foreign expert'. This is a wide-ranging and at times very funny title, filled with fresh, startling images of 21st Century China. Robert Berold spent a year teaching creative writing in China, and this is his poetic and delightful record of that year.

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A series of lively, colourful stories from South Africa's most famous township - snapshots of life and the characters that inhabit the area.

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Call on the Wind tells the story of Isaak and Liesa, young people growing up in a small Griqua fishing village on the Tsitsikamma coast. Isaak and Liesa struggle with their life choices and their love for one another. Does Isaak leave the villiage and become a musician, or does he feel too responsible for the livelihood of the village? Can Liesa acknowledge her true feelings for Isaak? The backdrop to their story is that of the fate of their community, and their struggle for survival. Together with its historical truth, the characters of the community and the flavour of their interactions, this novel carries an authentic and uniquely South African ring to it. David Donald has woven an exciting story of tragedy and bravery, of action and poignancy, and ultimately one of a strong spirit of resilience. David Donald is an Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology of the University of Cape Town.

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As part of the ongoing and necessary effort to create a UN that is truly representative of all its members, this title attempts to present the African perspective far more clearly and persuasively than has previously been the case. The argument in the title can be summed up in this excerpt: "Africa and the West have engaged in a "dialogue of the deaf " at the UN and other international forums since the continent's "lost decade" of the 1980s. The dialogue runs as follows: Africans call for an annulment of what they see as an unpayable external debt of $290 billion and note that they have paid back $550 billion out of an initial debt of $540 billion between 1970 and 2002; the West continues to roll over the debt and offers periodic "debt relief" for an ailing African patient. Africans call for the West to meet aid targets of 0.7 per cent of Gross National Product (GNP) set as far back as 1970; the West responds by continuing to maintain average annual aid levels of about 0.3 per cent and to make persistent unmet promises to reach the target of 0.7 per cent. Finally, Africans call on the rich world to live up to its free trade principles by eliminating agricultural subsidies that prevent the continent from growing out of poverty; the West continues to maintain subsidies of over $311 billion that by 2001 had surpassed the entire economic strength of sub-Saharan Africa." This title is a contribution to African efforts to engage the UN to achieve these noble goals.

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Individuals and corporations increasingly own our world. New property rights now enable the private possession of life and ideas, driven by the profit motive. Genetically engineered crops, patented computer programmes, harvesting of human cells, and the exploitation of biodiversity, molecules and atoms for private profit are just some of the issues examined in this title, making it an essential read for anybody who has wondered, "What does this mean for me?" This collection of essays analyses this steady erosion of our human rights and destiny. Among the many examples illustrated in A patented world? are - An American company owns the patents on two breast cancer genes and for the next 20 years it can exclude any, but its own researchers, from testing or using the genes in search of a genetic cure for breast cancer. The company can set whatever price it chooses for the exclusive right to test for the presence of these genes. The present price of sending a tissue sample to its laboratory is US$2760. Another is the case of a Mr Moore in America who went to court to secure the property right to cells from his own spleen. He lost the case and doctors created a billion-dollar cell line from his "naturally occurring raw material".

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A professor contemplates the ruin of his life while delivering a passionate final lecture; a city girl suffers an unaccountably cruel twist of fate in a stranger's apartment; a rising executive flies blindly toward his past; and, darkly fleeting, a young boy haunts the lives of all who cross his path. In The new Suffolk hymnbook, it is the district of Suffolk that binds them together.

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When Mia was a child, she told Asher that the dreamcloth took away her nightmares. This is a stirring work of great tenderness and courage. It is 1994 when Mia finally returns home, ambivalent, afraid of what she will find. A strong-willed journalist embroiled for the last decade in ravaged conflict zones; she arrives in Johannesburg to confront the secrets that have plagued her family for three generations. And, hidden in her bra, close to her heart, is the dreamcloth. When Mia finally retrieved the small patchwork cloth of beads and lace from Asher, the man she blames for her father's death a decade ago, she unwittingly regained the only clue to an expansive tale of lost love and anguish. The cloth, woven in the 1920s by a seamstress in a grim shtetl in Lithuania, veils the mystery of a forbidden love affair of Mia's paternal grandmother, Maya, as she fled anti-Semitic Europe and will lead Mia to a shattering truth. In Mia's search to reconnect with the places and people she left behind, she journeys through her childhood, through her relationships with her beloved father, Issey, her nanny, Sarafina, and best friend, Grace. But, the first person she will have to face is her distant mother, Fran obsessed with the roses in her perfectly manicured, northern suburbs garden. Mia comes to terms with what has passed and been lost, she must decide: will she, like her nomadic ancestors, be a gypsy forever, or will she stay in South Africa? This is a sprawling and controversial epic that weaves together the present, past and distant past.

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Once again Ben Trovato, South Africa's best satirical writer, has written a title that guarantees to make readers burst out in uncontrollable fits of laughter. This time around he discusses various types of crime in South Africa, including exquisite pieces on perlemoen poaching, arson and drunk driving. He gives his trusted advice on how to secure your home, how to act in life-threatening situations, and how to survive acts of God, to name a few. Trovato lives in Sea Point and writes a regular column for The Cape Times. He is sponsored by Cobra Beer and trains homing seagulls in his spare time. He is looking forward to the day that one returns.

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Sponsored by the Centre for the study of violence and reconciliation (that initiated the Justice for Women Campaign which seeks to promote the just and equitable treatment of battered women who have killed their abusive partners) and endorsed by the Human rights foundation, spiral of entrapment deals with: The context of domestic violence and abused women's lives; the prevalence of domestic violence in South Africa as well as government and civil society sponsored options to end abuse; the psychology of abuse; why women don't simply leave; self-defence and putative self-defence for women who killed because they believed they had no other choice to escape the abuse; non-pathological criminal incapability and the insanity defence for women who killed because they lost control; post-conviction remedies for abused women who kill their batterers.

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This edition of the Tree spotting series that is designed to enhance this fast-growing eco-hobby in southern Africa. The Tree-spotter can record memorable meetings with trees - be they the first for each of the 1300 species listed, thereby creating the lifer-list of the title - or be they by Habitat, Ecozone or Biome - or even by province or holiday/recreation destination. It has long been a habit of birders to gloat about 180 species in Kruger ticked off over one long weekend in summer - now Tree Spotters can compete on equal terms! Over the past decade there has been a movement in southern Africa to 'rationalise' the common names of both birds and trees. The list is easy to understand, accurate, politically sensitive in an environment of changing names and gives preference to more descriptive names, to be used by all wanting to identity and name species: Growers of indigenous trees; nurseries stocking indigenous trees; botanical gardens; departments of parks and grounds; training institutions and environmental educators; publishers of botanical listings; nature reserves; avid tree lovers.

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A Johannesburg health activist becomes entangled with a reformatory boy called Hennie. His lady journalist partner is investigating treatment scams. The marriage of his best friend breaks up and now he decides to move in. All goes well with this improvised household until they discover a secret to keep: Hennie is a pyromaniac. That means, once he has murdered his victims, he likes to set them on fire.

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In the third volume of Milton Shain’s history of antisemitism in South Africa, he traces and unpacks hostile attitudes towards Jews and irrational fantasies that accompany them in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.

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My parents named me Vuyani, which simply means be happy and let us rejoice!’ The Joy Dancer, by multi-award-winning dancer and choreographer, Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, co-written with the legendary Gcina Mhlophe, takes children on a jubilant voyage through his extraordinary life. This is an autobiographical children’s book brought to life with vibrant illustrations from the acclaimed illustrator, Elizabeth Pulles. To celebrate Gregory’s 50th turn around the sun, and in marking his legacy (Birthday Legacy Project), he shares his journey of self-discovery, reminding children that their dreams can take them on extraordinary adventures, such as his. Gregory grew up in Soweto where he found magic in music and dance as a young child. His father’s jazz music, the gumboot dancers at the men’s hostel, and seeing Michael Jackson on television all stirred his imagination. Gregory played the big drum for the marching band with the drum majorettes and created his own band called The Joy Dancers who performed for his community. Gregory had a dream to dance and in this stunning book, children will take pleasure and inspiration in dreaming along with him. Both dazzling and informative–and as profoundly rich as Gregory’s dreams–The Joy Dancer will be a cherished classics for generations to come. This book is his legacy and our children’s heritage.

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My parents named me Vuyani, which simply means be happy and let us rejoice!’ The Joy Dancer, by multi-award-winning dancer and choreographer, Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, co-written with the legendary Gcina Mhlophe, takes children on a jubilant voyage through his extraordinary life. This is an autobiographical children’s book brought to life with vibrant illustrations from the acclaimed illustrator, Elizabeth Pulles. To celebrate Gregory’s 50th turn around the sun, and in marking his legacy (Birthday Legacy Project), he shares his journey of self-discovery, reminding children that their dreams can take them on extraordinary adventures, such as his. Gregory grew up in Soweto where he found magic in music and dance as a young child. His father’s jazz music, the gumboot dancers at the men’s hostel, and seeing Michael Jackson on television all stirred his imagination. Gregory played the big drum for the marching band with the drum majorettes and created his own band called The Joy Dancers who performed for his community. Gregory had a dream to dance and in this stunning book, children will take pleasure and inspiration in dreaming along with him. Both dazzling and informative–and as profoundly rich as Gregory’s dreams–The Joy Dancer will be a cherished classics for generations to come. This book is his legacy and our children’s heritage.

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Growing up in apartheid-era Chatsworth, Kumi Naidoo tells how his mother’s suicide when he was just 15 years old acted as a catalyst for his journey into radical action against the apartheid regime. In this revelatory and intimate story, Kumi describes his political awakening, and his experiences as a young community organiser and underground ANC activist during the 1980s. His grief and anger became fuel for his efforts to help liberate South Africa and to build a better world.

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The Zondo Commission of Inquiry was one of the most important political developments in modern South African history. The commission sat for years, hearing the evidence of 300 witnesses and gathering a vast quantity of documents. The result is a damning and sometimes searing account of state take over: how the Gupta family found willing acolytes in the state, and set about systematically looting the country and destroying institutions of democracy. There is little doubt that understanding South Africa’s political history, its current malaise and its political future requires an understanding of the commission’s work. The commission’s final findings, however, run to over 5 000 pages. Reading all of this material is a daunting and overwhelming task for even the most dedicated citizen. Zondo at your Fingertips solves this problem. In straightforward and accessible language, author Paul Holden sets out the work of the commission, its findings and recommendations. Holden is well placed to do so: he gave evidence before the Zondo Commission over multiple days, tracing the ways in which the Gupta family captured and looted. Zondo at your Fingertips summarises concisely each volume of the commission’s final findings, and communicates the commission’s sometimes complex legal discussions clearly and candidly. But Holden does not just summarise: he also evaluates the commission’s findings, highlighting the good, the bad and the ugly of it’s work. In so doing, he points to stones left unturned, leads that must be followed and warnings to heed.

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Holding My Breath is a candid, heart-breaking and very funny memoir of life in one of Johannesburg’s busiest emergency rooms. Biccard’s warmth and humanity shine through the often harrowing tale, creating an unputdownable, uplifting and inspiring book.

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Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us is a groundbreaking series of books which introduces you to the powerful stories of South African women who have all made their mark and cleared a path for women and girls. These books recognise, acknowledge and honour our heroines and elders from the past and the present. South African women are silent no more on the roles that we have played in advancing our lives as artists, storytellers, writers, politicians and educationists. The title ‘Imbokodo’ was been chosen as it is a Zulu word that means “rock” and is often used in the saying ‘Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ Imbokodo!’, which means “You Strike a Women, You Strike a Rock!” These books were made possible with the support of Biblionef and funding from the National Arts Council. In 10 Curious Inventors, Healers & Creators you will read about the women who shape our world through education, science and maths. You will read about women who became teachers, nurses, social workers, scientists and community workers, overcame obstacles and through their work fought for social change.

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In The Lion, the Dung Beetle and the Veld Tool Box, natural history and travel writer David Bristow delivers the fourth in his Stories from the Veld series of non-fiction narratives. You could say this book has a bit of everything: scientific descriptions of animals alongside philosophical discourses on the nature of wilderness, high drama in the jaws of death, and tragedy played out as farce when things go unexpectedly wrong on safari. You’ll also find out why lions can roar so loudly, why giraffes can barely whisper, why the elephant’s trunk is one of nature’s wonders and why dung beetles study astronomy. The author examines questions featuring little-known information about nature and some of its creatures. Then there is the quirkier stuff, like men who think they are lions, a woman who watches wolves (otherwise known as brown hyenas), and an explorer who invented his own species. And if that was not enough, there’s the man who fought off hippos and crocodiles only to be rescued by a buffalo, and a woman who lived in a tree. Written in the same engaging style as his previous three books in the Stories from the Veld series (The Game Ranger, the Knife, the Lion and the Sheep; Of Hominins, Hunter Gatherers and Heroes; and Big Pharma, Dirty Lies, Busy Bees and Eco Activists), these bush tales are written in his usual highly entertaining style, yet are intricately woven through with scholarly insights into his subjects.

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A thrilling array of African writers, including Fred Khumalo, Sibongile Fisher, Lucas Ledwaba, Vonani Bila, Lynn Joffe and Christopher Mlalazi, tell surprising and unnerving tales in this collection of commissioned stories from the master of narrative writing, Niq Mhlongo. These stories give answers to the question: what does being haunted and hauntings mean in our southern African world, in the past, the present and the future?

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Faizel is back with a new adventure! A Gold Star for Faizel sees Faizel taking a big step and going to school for the first time. Does Faizel enjoy his first day at school and very importantly, will he be able to share his love of nature and the wonder of the stars with his classmates? A gentle story about a Muslim boy who speaks Afrikaaps. Joan Rankin’s whimsical illustrations portray a boy for whom kindness, understanding and forgiveness is what matters most. Unforgettable!

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No little thorn in the flesh or irritating fly in the ointment, Zapiro just cannot be ignored. It’s been another helluva year, and who better to make sense of it than Zapiro, political analyst, cartoonist and agent provocateur. He has the ability to knock the air out of us, to rock us back in our seats, to force us bolt upright with a 1000-watt jolt of electrifying shock. He makes us angry, he makes us laugh and he makes us think. He shines a light on the elephant in the room, presents the emperor in all his naked glory. Impossible to brush off, he is determined to provoke a response. When all around is crumbling, when fake news and zipped lips conceal the truth, Zapiro comes to the rescue. With the dissecting eye of a surgeon, the rapier-like point of his pen exposes flimflam, and reveals with a line what lies behind the action.

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It is not easy. Having a dream, having talent and being faced with a world that wants you to have neither – it is not easy. This is not an easy story. This is a book about difficult odds, about cruelty, about broken families and addiction. This is also a story about hope. This is a tale of bravery and the undefeatability of the spirit of South African women. This is a story about football, but it is a story about so much more. This is a tale about the fearless women who carry the sport on their back, told through the eyes of the best player on the African continent. This is the story of a little girl who rose out of the tough streets of Mohlakeng and went on to become a champion of the world.

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‘…the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.’ The Modern South African Edition of the Communist Manifesto Includes: Leon Trotsky’s Afrikaans Introduction to the 1937 edition with an English translation. Neville Alexander’s 2002 Introduction in isiZulu and English to the isiZulu translation of The Communist Manifesto. A new isiZulu translation of The Communist Manifesto. Jeremy Cronin’s Introduction to this edition. As the first in the new series RADICAL PASTS, RADICAL FUTURES, this edition of The Communist Manifesto is a vantage point from where to view the lives, work and creativity of ordinary South Africans in the years 1937, 2002 & 2022, and a prompt to visit and re-visit Marx & Engels’ urgent text.

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In this lyrical story from the award winning Bester sisters, a mother Wildebeest calls her child to finish playing because it is time to go. But the child is not ready. As the push and pull continues, we learn that the Wildebeest and Zebra are in fact leaving their home behind to move to a new place. Time to Go is a story about endings and loss, yet it affirms the joys and adventures of life. To the end, the child is gently encouraged to accept the change and to embrace hope. This book quietly acknowledges the experience of displaced families and communities.

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What would life be like without a Daily Maverick dose of Zapiro? Where would we be without the illumination, the spicy crispy wit, the cutting, the clever, the way of showing us the politicians and life in South Africa with a dose of humour and more than a dash of satire? Zapiro’s annual offering is our duplicity warning, our canary in the coalmine, our national conscience. Exposing and revealing, brilliantly appealing, Zapiro does it again!

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Celebrated and honoured across the globe for its bearer’s selfless role in the liberation of South Africa, the name Mandela has become an iconic brand. Nelson Mandela’s life was dedicated to politics and achieving freedom for the oppressed in the country, which left him little time with his children and loved ones. It was not easy growing up a Mandela. Ndileka Mandela is a social activist, former ICU nurse and the head of a rural upliftment organisation known as the Thembekile Mandela Foundation. Born to Madiba Thembekile Mandela (Nelson Mandela’s first born), who died in a car accident while his father was in prison, and the eldest grandchild of Nelson Mandela, Ndileka has lived a challenging life – a labyrinth of highs and lows. I Am Ndileka tells the story of a woman who has made great strides in society, but still faces many challenges. Even though South Africa has been emancipated from the apartheid regime and so-called gender inequality structures have been removed, women still face oppression and abuse. In October 2017, as part of the #MeToo campaign to denounce sexual violence, Ndileka disclosed for the first time that she had been raped by her then partner in her own bed five years before. Follow Ndileka on her journey as she deals with death in her family, patriarchy, motherhood, depression, being homeless and surviving rape and abuse. Along the journey of tackling challenges and expectations that come with her last name – things that she did not ask for but are asked of her nonetheless – Ndileka finds her voice. “Often when I have shared titbits of my life on social media, my followers or what I call my public family have always asked me when I will write my story. I am not only writing for them but for me as well. I have found that as the years go by there are certain parts of your life that seem to get lost, as they aren’t documented. There are parts of my life that I want to make sense of, and when they are in black and white, I can finally do this. I want to confront some of my ghosts through this literary work and finally lay them to rest. Contrary to popular belief, people think being from this family is a walk in the park and that we perhaps do not go through the same challenges as everyone else.”

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This is the third volume of The Gerald Kraak Anthology, The Heart of the Matter.With the prize ceremony linked to Africa Day, the publication of the anthology is tied to the Pride Month of June and the celebrations of the LGBTQI+ community which occur across the globe. The Heart of the Matter is a collection of the 21 shortlisted entries, chosen by this year’s judges; Sisonke Msimang, Sylvia Tamale, Mark Gevisser and Otosirieze Obi-Young, from over 400 submissions received from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and six other African countries. It showcases some of the most provocative works of fiction, poetry and non-fiction. The winning essay "Mothers and Men” by OluTimehin Adegbeye truly captures the essence of the African LGBTQI+ community. The anthology showcases some of Africa’s most talented writers. The unique prize calls for multi-layered, stirring African voices

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Living Coloured (Because Black and White were Already Taken) is a compilation of short stories that is an ode to an era all Cape Coloured people will instantly recognise – from the nightclubbing at Space Odyssey and the shenanigans at the Mitchells Plain public swimming pool, to the traditions of delectable food exchanges during Ramadan among Muslims and Christians, alike. This book truly is a tribute to all that the Coloured community holds dear and sings of the spirit which helped them eek out an existence on the dusty flat plains of the Cape.But as you read story after story, you will also be confronted with the blatant racism that was the Group Areas Act, the legacy of a people removed and dumped in this windswept place that wasn’t of their own making, and the constant forging ahead to make life worthwhile under very harsh political and economic circumstances. The stories will also leave you seething with anger at the sheer brutality of what this community had to endure (and still do), while their black counter parts in the township next door lived even harsher realities.

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Now in its 8th year, the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award has been the launching pad for upcoming poets. From slam poetry to formal rhyme, the anthology is a celebration of language and cultural diversity. Assembled by a brilliant team of judges, this year’s compilation contains the best poems from 500 entries, including 10 of the 11 South African languages.Named after Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje (1876-1932), the award recognizes the life and vision of this highly respected political and social activist. The hope is that the included poetry in this anthology will reveal the political and social attitudes of our time, and reflect the complex, nuanced and uncomfortable truths of life in South Africa.

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This extraordinary account of imprisonment shows with exacting clarity the awful injustices of the system. Sylvia Neame, activist against apartheid and racism and by profession a historian has written a highly personal account, in an original style. It casts a particularly sharp light on the unfolding of a police dominated apartheid system in the 1960s. The author incorporates some of her experiences in prisons and police stations around the country, including the fabricated trial she faced while imprisoned in Port Elizabeth, one of the many such trials which took place in the eastern Cape. But her focus is on Barberton Prison. Here she was imprisoned together with a small number of other white women political prisoners, most of whom had stood trial and been sentenced in Johannesburg in 1964–5 for membership to an illegal organisation, the Communist Party. It is a little known story. Not even the progressive party MP Helen Suzman found her way here. Barberton Prison, a maximum security prison, part of a farm jail complex in the eastern part of what was then known as the Transvaal province, was far from any urban centre. The women were kept in a small space at one end of the prison in extreme isolation under a regime of what can only be called psychological warfare, carried out on the instructions of the ever more powerful (and corrupt) security apparatus. A key concern for the author was the mental and psychological symptoms which emerged in herself and her fellow prisoners and the steps they took to maintain their sanity. It is a narrative partly based on diary entries, written in a minute hand on tissue paper, which escaped the eye of the authorities. Moreover, following her release in April 1967 – she had been altogether incarcerated for some three years – she produced a full script in the space of two or three months. The result is immediacy, spontaneity, authenticity; a story full of searing detail. It is also full of a fighting spirit, pervaded by a sharp intellect, a capacity for fine observation and a sense of humour typical of the women political prisoners at Barberton. A crucial theme in Sylvia Neame’s account is the question of whether something positive emerged out of her experience and, if so, what exactly it was.

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Jolyon Nuttall writes with feeling and depth–and often with wry humour–about episodes in his life as diverse as the romanticism of early loves, the agonies of boiling an egg, and learning to live alone after a long marriage. He has spurned the autobiography in favour of the essay as the Orwellian literary form in which to record these and other significant happenings in his life. Jolyon Nuttall is anything but a mediocre talent.

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Add a twist of humour to South African nostalgia with Hagen Engler's latest offering. Black Twitter, Blitz and a Boerie as long as your leg is a light-hearted, humorous read of multiple entries that can be dipped into at will. Optimistic, topical and definitely tongue-in-cheek, this book could easily be that last-minute gift that you pick up at the airport before you head back to the parental home for the holidays. Not too politically edgy - so as not to offend any sensitive elephants in the room - it draws on the great many things that South Africans do have in common, and that will give us all a moment to agree on something, for a change. Black Twitter, Blitz and a Boerie as long as your leg lists and celebrates the tiny, subtle aspects of South African life that we all experience but don't always notice. Engler looks at icons of our shared South Africanness but drills a little deeper to make them more specific, a bit more ridiculous, a bit funnier, and hopefully to induce an excited exclamation from the reader of, "Yoh! That's so true!" Even if the entry is ostensibly negative, Engler will find a poignant aspect of it that is lovable and help us laugh at ourselves. Some of the book's 150 to 200 entries include "Pearl Thusi's Afro", "The Corner Cafe", "Stoney Hiccups", "A Long, Steel Urinal", "AB de Villiers's Hairline", "Getting a proper vuvuzela blast going", "The instep of Siphiwe Tshabalala's left foot", "Jaywalking with impunity", "Black Twitter", "Trevor Noah's dimples", "The smell of Blitz", "Kurt Darren's chest", "The frog in Gwede Manthashe's throat" and "Building a ten-year relationship with the guy at your robots". For example, Stony Hiccups... As involuntary as a tweet the minute you show up to see #BlackPanther. The Stoney hiccup just comes out of you the very instant you sip a mouthful of South Africa's tangiest, most refreshing ginger beer. It is followed by the sweet, sweet flavour rave and then the pleasant tickle down the back of the throat. And then the irresistible urge to have another swig, perhaps another hiccup until you have consumed your 330 ml allocation. Stoney hiccups mean you are human. In fact they will be an excellent zombie test once the apocalypse kicks in properly. If Stoney ginger beer doesn't make you hiccup, you are an emissary from the dark side and must be executed with a shotgun blast to the head... Or would that be a bit harsh? Black Twitter... or just Twitter, to be fair, seeing as the social media platform has pretty much achieved full transformation over the past few years. From the militant feminist wing to the reflexive irony of #AsinamadodaTwitter and the #Beyhive Beyonce prayer group to the online health advice of doctor @SindivanZyl, to the edges of #wokeTwitter where it segues into #WakandaForever Twitter, there is a world inside the world that is Twitter as practised by South Africa's black people. Any brave white person who sticks his or her head above the parapet and attempts to weigh in on a subject beyond the field of white expertise will be sent scurrying back to #Woolworths and #Parenting Twitter with well-practised barbs about bringing the land back and perhaps something about Ed Sheeran. It's tomorrow's news, now, seeing as whatever Black Twitter is discussing will show up in the media in the course of tomorrow, you can bet the last of your vibranium on it!.

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Puzzled by the difference between a coalition and confidence-and-supply? Confused about how McKinsey, Trillian and a bunch of corrupt individuals at Eskom fleeced the utility? Don't know your Nhlapo Commission from your Moerane Commission? The third edition of Jacana's popular guide has all the information you need to navigate your way through our complex political scene. With more than 300 entries covering important terms, events, policies, groups and individuals, it's an excellent source of current and historical data. Highlighting the power brokers and stars as much as those who are on their way down or captured, this valuable quick research tool is for anyone interested in where South Africa is at - and why. What are the links between the Auditor-General and the Asset Forfeiture Unit? Why do Black Twitter and its political influencers matter? Who are the diehard reds, and who switched from communism to capitalism? Who goes by the nickname of "Mkhuluwa" (old man), and who as "His Excellency"? South Africa is the only African country that is a member of the G20, but which bright minds represent it there and in other international arenas? The country is highly-ranked in platinum, palladium and gold output, but which are the trade unions and who are the revolutionary leaders fighting on behalf of workers? You'll find those answers here too. Everything you should know, starting with the shack-dwellers' movement, Abahlahi baseMjondolo, and ending at Jacob Zuma, is inside. And as a bonus, there's a quiz at the end to test your head. The A-Z of South African politics was compiled and written by newspaper editor and former investigative journalist Kashiefa Ajam, former editor of three newspapers and award-winning journalist Kevin Ritchie, former newspaper editor and award-winning journalist Lebogang Seale, former newspaper editor and award-winning author Janet Smith and top news editor and award-winning journalist Thabiso Thakali.

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Welkom by Resepte! Hierdie boek se bladsye is propvol geliefkoosde resepte wat ek oor baie jare versamel en opgetower het; van my Ouma se ou klassieke resepte tot my eie skeppings wat almal gaan laat gons oor jou volgende feesmaal! Jy sal heerlike nageregte ontdek, maklike aandetes, asook prettige en smaaklike afdraaipaadjies van Suid-Afrikaanse gunstelinge (enigeen vir bobotieballetjies?), sowel as paar ongelooflike resepte deur spesiale gaste wat ook, ag, shame, so graag in die boek wou wees. Hierdie kookboek is vir almal! Al is jy bobaaskok of beginner; al weet jy kwalik hoe om mikrogolfoond te hanteer of dink dat jou maaltye altyd so bietjie verroes lyk: daar sal iets in hierdie kookboek wees vir jou. Strik jou voorskoot aan, liewe mens! Dis tyd om jou eie kreatiwiteit te volg en die kombuis in gastronomiese betowering te omskep. DIY? Want almal kan!

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It’s been one helluva year – again. We’ve seen Zuma resign as president, the DA go after its own people, Trump exercise his megalomania, the rise of racial tensions (as well as the petrol price) and tempers being flared. All while the Guptas fled the Saxonwold Shebeen. Who better to make sense of this than Zapiro, political analyst, cartoonist and agent provocateur. He has the ability to knock the air out of us, to rock us back in our seats, to force us bolt upright with a 1000-watt jolt of electrifying shock. He makes us angry, he makes us laugh and he makes us think. He shines a light on the elephant in the room, presents the emperor in all his naked glory. Impossible to brush off, he is determined to provoke a response. When all around is crumbling, when fake news and zipped lips conceal the truth, Zapiro comes to the rescue. With the dissecting eye of a surgeon, the rapier-like point of his pen exposes flimflam, and reveals with a single line what lies behind the action.

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Meet Colleen, the third-born child of parents who share a chaotic relationship. Set against the backdrop of Cape Town in the 1940s, this is Colleen's journey. It is a time of religious fervor, baptisms, conversions and Sunday school picnics. Apartheid can't be escaped and is experienced by the children, who are bemused and confused by the flawed and unjust system. The pages are crowded by a host of odd characters, at once lovable, eccentric and troubled. There's Aunty Bubbles who teaches the children to jitterbug and Uncle Nicholas who speaks the Queen's English and plays a trumpet in the Royal Navy Band. There's Aunty Beryl, who carries a Chihuahua around in her handbag, and a midwife and home-undertaker named Two-Coffee-One-Milk. But not all is rosy in this richly peopled world. There is a human thread recognizable to anyone who has ever been in a co-dependent relationship, been abused, grown up poor or had an alcoholic father, which gives this book universal appeal. Sharp, insightful, and abundant in measured humor, it will resonate with many.

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