by Tracey on 16 May 2012
On her Radio Today show “Reading Matters”, Sue Grant-Marshall talks to Patrick Flanery, author of Absolution about imagining narratives, the ongoing translation of the book into 9 different languages and the bidding war between three UK publishers for this extraordinary debut:
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by Lindsay on 16 May 2012
Verdict: stick
If writer Lesego Rampolokeng was given to overt off-stage narcissism, he would probably compare himself to a Johnny Dyani bassline. In a country in which populist guitarist Jimmy Dludlu just took a South African Music Award for best jazz album, Rampolokeng’s increasing obscurity is nothing if not symbolic.
In 2007 the journal Chimurenga put out its 11th issue, Conversations with Poets Who Refuse to Speak. Had that volume been released this year, Rampolokeng would have featured in its pages, reiterating his “difficulty” with being thought of as a “performance poet” while throwing in some caustic humour about bards who sell petrol and body lotion.
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by Claire on 15 May 2012
Jonathan Ball and Kalk Bay Books cordially invite you to the launch of Invisible Furies by Michiel Heyns.
On Friday 25 May, at 6:00 for 6:30 PM, Henrietta Rose-Innes will be talking to Heyns about his latest book.
See you there!
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by Sophy on 15 May 2012
The Times:
What are you reading?
This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman
In a nutshell?
A teenage girl sends a sexually explicit video to a boy she fancies. He forwards it and it goes viral. The ripple effects are devastatingly credible.
Why read it?
I’m interested in the invasive power of social media. Privacy seems an outdated concept.
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by Ben - Editor on 14 May 2012
Not pictured: the inimitable Tymon Smith, who took the snap, and whose tweets were essential to the 2012 FLF Books LIVE project
The Books LIVE team had a great weekend, livetweeting the 6th annual Franschhoek Literary Festival. Thanks to all who tuned in – we’ll resume our regular coverage of all things SA Lit tomorrow morning.
Congratulations to Jenny Hobbs and her organising team – the festival was another smashing success!
For those who weren’t able to follow all the literary action in Franschhoek, don’t miss the FLF blog, chock full of the top tweets from dozens and dozens of sessions.
And here are two important announcements that you’ll not want to miss:
From me to my team: thanks for your professionalism and dedication – terrific work!
by Amanda on 10 May 2012
Margaret von Klemperer recently interviewed Shaida Kazie Ali about her latest book, Lessons in Husbandry, for The Witness. They discussed her son’s aversion to her use of the word ‘vagina’ at the book launch and her “dysfunctional relationship” with the writing process:
ONE character from Shaida Kazie Ali’s first novel, Not a Fairytale, gets a mention in her second, Lessons in Husbandry.
“My son, who is 13, told me to bring Zuhra back, so she gets a brief appearance. He also told me he would have enjoyed Not a Fairytale more if I hadn’t written it.”
When Ali told him she would probably say the word vagina at least three times at the Cape Town launch of Lessons in Husbandry , he told her to signal when it was coming by touching her ear, so that he could leave the room.
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