Remembering Myesha Jenkins, a revolutionary in politics, poetry and jazz, by Christa Kuljian and Makhosazana Xaba
By Christa Kuljian and Makhosazana Xaba Transformation Who I was is not who I am.And who I amis not who I…
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[The JRB Daily] 2019 Short Story Day Africa Prize ‘Disruption’ longlist announced—featuring 21 African writers from nine countries
This longlist for the seventh annual Short Story Day Africa Prize has been announced! The prize was founded in 2013,…
[Sponsored] Read an exclusive excerpt from A Family Affair, the new novel from bestselling author Sue Nyathi
A Family Affair, the new novel by bestselling author Sue Nyathi, will be out from Pan Macmillan in October 2020! ‘A…
To overthrow Europatriarchy, logic and emotion must work in tandem—Shayera Dark reviews Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone by Minna Salami
Europatriarchy takes centre stage in Minna Salami’s elegant book of essays Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone, writes…
The dialectic of connectedness—remembering Harry Garuba in Ibadan
Sanya Osha remembers the late Harry Garuba, who died earlier this year. Since he passed in February this year, friends…
[Sponsored] New book alert! VBS: A Dream Defrauded by Dewald van Rensburg—a compelling account of the epic VBS Mutual Bank heist
VBS: A Dream Defrauded by Dewald van Rensburg is out now from Penguin Random House. Originally the Venda Building Society, VBS…
New short fiction: ‘Black Beauty’ by Makena Onjerika
The JRB presents a new short story by Makena Onjerika. ~~~ Black Beauty Our housegirl Scolastica only ever wore a…
Remembering Achmat Dangor
Achmat Dangor, one of The JRB’s founding Patrons, died in September. Ben Williams remembers him. It is a year of…
[Sponsored] Book excerpt: Bouwer Bosch shares his secrets to success in Conversations with Influencers by Elma Smit
In Conversations with Influencers, the ebook companion to Become an Influencer, leading, verified influencers, as well as advertising strategists, reveal the secrets,…
A trilogy of visa rejections—Nkiacha Atemnkeng reflects on his embassy misadventures
I am a Western visa rejection expert. Three times—even though I work at an airport. But I am mostly a…
[City Editor] ‘Who owns it, who visits it, who is it for?’ Lidudumalingani visits Joburg’s James Hall Museum of Transport
It’s an odd, even an imperfect location to build a museum—to build, many may argue, any kind of structure at…
[Sponsored] Watch a powerful conversation on Femme Erasure: Our Queer Undoing, with Dr Bev Ditsie, Mona Eltahawy and Jamil F Khan
Jacana Media hosted a Don’t Shut Up Conversation titled ‘Femme Erasure: Our Queer Undoing’ recently. Watch the recording below. Throughout…
Covid-19 and an author’s transformation into silence, by Niq Mhlongo
Niq Mhlongo on searching for stories during a pandemic. I arrive in Berlin on Monday, 10 February 2020. It is…
New poetry by Sihle Ntuli, from Rumblin’
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents new poetry by Sihle Ntuli, from his chapbook, Rumblin’, published by uHlanga Press. ~~~…
‘Johannesburg swallowed my father whole’—Read an excerpt from ‘Feasting’ by Sibongile Fisher, excerpted from the new anthology Joburg Noir
The JRB presents an excerpt from Joburg Noir, a new collection of short stories edited by Niq Mhlongo, out at…
Constantly risking absurdity—a playlist for impossible times, compiled by Tymon Smith
The JRB presents tunes and accompanying editorial from our EAP member Tymon Smith. The people who know say that life…
[Photo Editor] A portrait of Chika Unigwe by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. See this ten-year retrospective of his work. Visit www.victordlamini.com.
[The JRB exclusive] ‘God withdrew from helping black people nearly thirty years ago’—Read an excerpt from Niq Mhlongo’s forthcoming novel, Paradise in Gaza
The JRB presents an excerpt from City Editor Niq Mhlongo’s new novel, Paradise in Gaza, out on 20 October 2020…
Read ‘Ugly Noo-Noos and Suburban Nightmares’ by Nicky Falkof, excerpted from Anxious Joburg: The Inner Lives of a Global South City
Nicky Falkof considers the Parktown prawn as a metaphor for the anxieties of apartheid and post-apartheid suburban life, in an…
‘Never before have both the past and the future seemed so out of reach’—Read an excerpt from Zoë Wicomb’s new novel Still Life
The JRB presents an excerpt from Still Life, the latest novel from Zoë Wicomb. Still LifeZoë WicombUmuzi, 2020 Read the…
[The JRB Daily] Louise Glück wins the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature
American poet Louise Glück has won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature. The award was announced by the Swedish Academy…
[The JRB Daily] Namwali Serpell’s The Old Drift wins the 2020 Arthur C Clarke Award
Update 25 Sep 20: Serpell has donated her prize money to bail funds for protestors in the United States who…
[The JRB Daily] The 2020 Booker Prize for Fiction shortlist is announced—including Tsitsi Dangarembga and Maaza Mengiste
The 2020 Booker Prize shortlist has been revealed—and includes two African authors for the first time in years: Tsitsi Dangarembga…
‘The beginning of an adventure’—Read the late George Bizos’s account of his escape from Nazi-occupied Greece as a child, from his memoir Odyssey To Freedom
The JRB presents an excerpt from Odyssey To Freedom, the memoir of the late George Bizos. Bizos passed away in…
[The JRB Daily] Women dominate the shortlist for the 2020 International Dublin Literary Award—the world’s richest annual literary prize
The ten-novel shortlist for the 2020 International Dublin Literary Award has been revealed. The shortlist includes Milkman, the Booker Prize-winning…
[The JRB Daily] Maggie O’Farrell wins 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel Hamnet
British author Maggie O’Farrell has been announced as the winner of this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, for her novel…
George Bizos, 1927—2020, RIP
George Bizos, esteemed human rights lawyer who fought tirelessly against the apartheid system, has died. Bizos was born on 15…
Myesha Jenkins, 1948—2020, RIP
The pioneering poet and activist Myesha Jenkins died in Johannesburg on Saturday, 5 September, 2020. Jenkins moved to South Africa…
Achmat Dangor, 1948—2020, RIP
The poet, novelist and activist—and founding patron of The JRB—Achmat Dangor, died in Johannesburg earlier today. One of the founding…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 4, Issue 7 (August 2020)
Carey Baraka • Rustum Kozain • Petina Gappah • Fiona Zerbst • Wamuwi Mbao • Efemia Chela • Lidudumalingani •…
Intimations of an ending—Carey Baraka on the unspoken demise of Kwani?, and the death of a dream
‘Still, there were dreams, and there were dreamers.’ Carey Baraka attempts to gather together the stories of Kwani? 1. One…
[Sponsored] How to get published in South Africa—Watch Pan Macmillan SA and All About Writing’s publishing webinar
Did you miss the webinar by Pan Macmillan South Africa and All About Writing on how to understand and navigate…
‘Poetry where the heavy and the light are held in tension’—Rustum Kozain reviews Fiona Zerbst’s new collection, In Praise of Hotel Rooms
Rustum Kozain reviews In Praise of Hotel Rooms, the fifth collection of poetry by Fiona Zerbst, calling it ‘a fine…
[The JRB Exclusive] Read the first act of Petina Gappah’s new Dambudzo Marechera play, Black Sunlight
The JRB presents an exclusive first look at Petina Gappah’s new play, Black Sunlight. Gappah’s first play, adapted from her…
[Sponsored] Read ‘When my mother came to stay’—Read an excerpt from Yaa Gyasi’s new novel, Transcendent Kingdom (Plus: Interview)
From Yaa Gyasi, the bestselling author of Homegoing, comes Transcendent Kingdom, an epic novel from the heart of contemporary America. Transcendent Kingdom is…
Embodying the resurgence in Black surrealism—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Nudibranch by 2020 Caine Prize winner Irenosen Okojie
Wamuwi Mbao reviews Irenosen Okojie’s Nudibranch, the ‘immersively deranged’ collection containing her 2020 Caine Prize-winning story. Nudibranch Irenosen OkojieLittle, Brown,…
The Winter of Our Discontent—Angelo Fick reflects on 150 days of lockdown
A commentary on the present crisis and the need for literate understandings of it by Angelo Fick. 1. These are…
[Sponsored] Listen to an excerpt from Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell—A tale of dreams, drugs, love, and madness, and of fame’s Faustian pact
Introducing Utopia Avenue, the spectacular new novel from the bestselling author of Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell!…
[Temporary Sojourner] The Beast in the Village—Efemia Chela reviews Confessions of a Lioness by Mia Couto, finding uncanny echoes of the coronavirus lockdown
The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela travels to Mozambique with Mia Couto’s novel Confessions of a Lioness. Confessions…
[City Editor] A city caught between two moments—Lidudumalingani considers Johannesburg’s obvious and hidden histories
Almost every city has been built more than once. Each phase complete with its own architecture and infrastructure and, for…