Athambile Masola – The Johannesburg Review of Books

Biography & Memoir

Every time a black woman writes their story they are resisting marginalisation—Athambile Masola reviews Barbara Masekela’s memoir Poli Poli

September 8, 2022September 8, 2022Athambile MasolaLeave a Comment

Poli Poli by Barbara Masekela is a memoir that exemplifies the paradox of the ordinary and the spectacle in black…

Book excerpts

Three poems by Athambile Masola, from Ilifa

February 17, 2022February 17, 2022Athambile MasolaLeave a Comment

The JRB presents an excerpt from Ilifa, Athambile Masola’s new isiXhosa collection of poetry. IlifaAthambile MasolauHlanga Press, 2021 Isifebe NgeCawa…

Non-fiction

Private prayer and public power—Athambile Masola reviews Mothers of the Nation: Manyano Women in South Africa by Lihle Ngcobozi

June 18, 2021September 7, 2022Athambile MasolaLeave a Comment

Lihle Ngcobozi’s Mothers of the Nation reveals the social complexity and political depth of the Manyano Women’s movement, writes Athambile…

Africa

Making space for women in South Africa’s political memory, or, the case of the non-intersection of Pixley ka Seme and Charlotte Maxeke Streets

October 2, 2017March 4, 2018Athambile MasolaLeave a Comment

Recently published biographies of Pixley ka Seme and Charlotte Maxeke reveal how women’s histories become insignificant back roads in the…