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…
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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)
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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
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[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…
[Sponsored] Job alert! LAPA Publishers is looking for two innovative marketers to join its dynamic team (Closing date: 31 Aug)
LAPA Publishers, a division of Penguin Random House SA, has a career opportunity for a marketer in its trade and…
‘A tour de force of scholarship’—Arja Salafranca reviews The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers by Mark Gevisser
Arja Salafranca reviews Mark Gevisser’s new book The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers. The Pink Line: Journeys…
Three poems by Fiona Zerbst from In Praise of Hotel Rooms
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents poetry by Fiona Zerbst, from her new collection In Praise of Hotel Rooms. Read…
[Sponsored] Gerald Kraak call for submissions—An anthology and prize on the topics of gender, human rights and sexuality, for writers and photographers across Africa
The Jacana Literary Foundation (JLF) and the Other Foundation are pleased to announce that submissions for the fourth annual Gerald Kraak…
[Photo Editor] A portrait of Tsitsi Dangarembga 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.
Making Piles, Telling Tales—an apocalypse playlist, compiled by Tymon Smith
The JRB presents tunes and accompanying editorial from our EAP member Tymon Smith. And so here we still are. Mostly…
‘Lines and images stick in the mind years after they have been heard or read’—Read Ivan Vladislavić’s Introduction to My Mother’s Laughter, a new collection of poems by the late Chris van Wyk
The JRB presents an excerpt from My Mother’s Laughter: Selected Poems by Chris van Wyk, edited by Ivan Vladislavić and…
Listen to Makhosazana Xaba on the WiSER Podcast—An absent presence: Writing Noni Jabavu’s life
Makhosazana Xaba was recently featured on the WiSER Podcast, discussing the life and work of Noni Jabavu, editor, memoirist, reader,…
‘Bessie Head’s work jolted me awake … I had not thought it possible that a black woman could be a writer’—Read an excerpt from Barbara Boswell’s new book, And Wrote My Story Anyway
The JRB presents an excerpt from the Author’s Preface of And Wrote My Story Anyway: Black South African Women’s Novels…
‘We didn’t fight a revolution to stay inside’—Read an excerpt from Mark Gevisser’s new book The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers, the new book by Mark…
‘The idea of literary imagination as a kind of violation’—Imraan Coovadia considers JM Coetzee’s Disgrace, excerpted from his new book Revolution and Non-Violence in Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Mandela
The JRB presents an excerpt from Imraan Coovadia’s new book Revolution and Non-Violence in Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Mandela. Revolution and…
‘The whole wide world could see what South Africa was truly like’—Read an excerpt from Heart of a Strong Woman: A Memoir by Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema, as told to Fred Khumalo
The JRB presents an excerpt from Heart of a Strong Woman: A Memoir by Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema, as told to Fred…
[The JRB Daily] ‘I am as proud as a cow with seven udders!’ Marieke Lucas Rijneveld and Michele Hutchison win the 2020 International Booker Prize for The Discomfort of Evening
The Discomfort of Evening, written by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld and translated from the Dutch by Michele Hutchison, has been announced…
[The JRB Daily] Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga arrested during protest in Harare, released on bail
Acclaimed Zimbabwean writer and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga was reportedly arrested this morning during a protest in Harare. Update: Dangarembga has…
[The JRB Daily] Tsitsi Dangarembga, Maaza Mengiste longlisted for 2020 Booker Prize for Fiction
The longlist for the Booker Prize for Fiction has been announced, including Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga and Ethiopian–American author Maaza…
[The JRB Daily] ‘It is so important now that Africans own their own narrative’—Irenosen Okojie wins the 2020 Caine Prize for African Writing
Irenosen Okojie has won the AKO Caine Prize for African writing, for her story ‘Grace Jones’. Announcing the award, chair…
[The JRB Daily] Saaleha Idrees Bamjee wins 2020 Ingrid Jonker Prize for debut poetry for Zikr, a poignant collection of longing and loss
Saaleha Idrees Bamjee has been announced as the winner of this year’s Ingrid Jonker Prize for English Poetry for her…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 4, Issue 6 (July 2020)
Adam Smyer • Wamuwi Mbao • Nadia Davids • Hemley Boum • Nkiacha Atemnkeng • Esther Mirembe • Stella Nyanzi…
‘They hate us like we murdered their entire family.’ Read ‘Shelter in Place’, an essay on anti-Blackness by Adam Smyer
Adam Smyer reflects on a global pandemic and Black Lives Matter. As I write this, we are in roughly Month…
[Sponsored] Pan Macmillan SA stance on the South African publishing landscape
From Pan Macmillan South Africa: In this seminal moment, remaining silent and neutral on these matters of representation and commitment…
What continuities can be drawn from the murder of Ahmed Timol in apartheid Joburg to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis? Wamuwi Mbao unpacks the debased tradition of police murdering civilians
The abolition of slavery, formalised gender discrimination, apartheid and other reprehensible ways of being did not occur simply through continued…
‘Does my chest sound tight to you?’ The first 40 days; notes from a South African lockdown, by Nadia Davids
Editor’s note: by agreement with the author, this article has been removed from The JRB, ahead of its reappearance in…
[Sponsored] Find out more about Humankind—the major new book from Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, ‘the folk hero of Davos’
Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman is out now from Jonathan Ball Publishers! From ‘the folk hero of Davos’, Fox…
‘Black people are not asking to be loved beyond reason’—Hemley Boum reflects on the Black Lives Matter protests during the coronavirus lockdown
It happens that words become too inconsistent to communicate shock. Not that we can’t guess at the terrifying explosion, whose…
Pan-African Anti-Racism and Solidarity Reading List: A Resource from The JRB
In continuing solidarity with the progressive literary community and all who fight racism and anti-Black violence, The JRB presents this…
[Sponsored] Explosive new book tells all—The Accidental Mayor: Herman Mashaba and the Battle for Johannesburg
The Accidental Mayor: Herman Mashaba and the Battle for Johannesburg by Mashaba’s former chief of staff Michael Beaumont is out now…
‘I could easily be the next George Floyd. If I make just one unconscious mistake …’ Read ‘A letter from Texas’, by Nkiacha Atemnkeng
Nkiacha Atemnkeng1619 Ranch Road no. 16 San MarcosTX 78666USA Akale StreetFiango, KumbaSouth West RegionCameroon Dear Papa, Greetings from a sci-fi…
‘I was anticipating that it would be banned before we even got it out’—Stella Nyanzi chats to Esther Mirembe about her prison poetry collection No Roses from My Mouth
In February 2020, poet and academic Stella Nyanzi was acquitted and released from prison after being held for eighteen months…