Gideon Mendel’s ‘Damage’ exhibition of photographs from 1980s South Africa launched at the Apartheid Museum
The cover image for the April 2019 issue of The JRB is by Gideon Mendel, from his new exhibition ‘Damage’. Born…
Category: South Africa
[The JRB Daily] Commemorate Human Rights Day with an exclusive excerpt from Lie on Your Wounds: The Prison Correspondence of Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe
Header image: Book cover (left); and Sobukwe, inside the grounds of Orlando Police Station, awaiting arrest, on the morning of 21…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 3, Issue 3
Bongani Madondo • Rustum Kozain • Lebohang Mojapelo • Troy Onyango • Victor Dlamini • Niq Mhlongo • Ngwatilo Mawiyoo…
Illuminating a mighty poet and a total artist—Rustum Kozain reviews Dread Poetry and Freedom: Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Unfinished Revolution
The JRB Poetry Editor Rustum Kozain reviews David Austin’s new book Dread Poetry and Freedom: Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Unfinished Revolution, finding…
[City Editor] Niq Mhlongo’s township etiquette—an irreverent guide to Soweto, my hood
Forget about Vilakazi Street, Soweto is deeper than that. When you get off the taxi and you’re a smoker, buy…
[The JRB Daily] 2018 Short Story Day Africa Prize longlist announced
The longlist for the Short Story Day Africa Prize for Short Fiction has been announced. The prize was founded in…
‘I use anything handy which kills the gods’—Read an interview with Charles Mungoshi (1947–2019)
Literary giant Charles Mungoshi died on 16 February 2019, at the age of seventy-one. Mungoshi was born in 1947 in…
[The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from Ekow Duker’s forthcoming novel, Yellowbone
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Yellowbone, the forthcoming novel by Ekow Duker. Yellowbone will be published by Kwela…
The novel as a series of moments of potentiality—Wemar Strydom on ‘Translate Yourself’, Eben Venter’s first exhibition of visual work
Eben Venter presented the world debut of his first visual exhibition, ‘Translate Yourself’, at the February Lectures conference at the…
‘Postcolonial Africa is an interlocking of forms, signs and languages’—Photographs from Guy Tillim’s new book Museum of the Revolution
The JRB presents an excerpt, in photographs, from Museum of the Revolution, a new book by renowned photographer Guy Tillim. The…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 3, Issue 2
Namwali Serpell • Jacob Dlamini • Barry Gilder • Rustum Kozain • Rémy Ngamije • Farai Mudzingwa • Oyinkan Braithwaite…
‘There is no comfort to be had in fiction. Our history is too raw for that’—Jacob Dlamini reviews Barry Gilder’s ‘brilliant, haunting’ novel The List
The List, the debut novel by former anti-apartheid activist and uMkhonto weSizwe member Barry Gilder, is a meditation about betrayal, faith,…
New poetry by Rustum Kozain: ‘Miró Miró’
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Rustum Kozain. ~~~ Miró Miró In flight sudden a something…
New short fiction: ‘The Neighbourhood Watch’ by Rémy Ngamije
The JRB presents a new short story by Rémy Ngamije. ~~~ The Neighbourhood Watch Mondays: Auasblick, Olympia, and Suiderhof (maybe…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Tsitsi Dangarembga and Achmat Dangor by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Visit the ten-year retrospective of…
[City Editor] Behind every story, think of the writer—Niq Mhlongo on the new stage adaptation of his short story ‘Nailed’
There’s a film that stands the test of time and still resonates with my friends and me: The Shawshank Redemption….
New short fiction: ‘Loadshedding’ by Michael Yee, winner of the 2018 Short Sharp Stories Award
The JRB presents ‘Loadshedding’ by Michael Yee, the winner of this year’s Short Sharp Stories Award. The Short Sharp Stories…
A 1960s summer in New York with Lewis Nkosi—Read an excerpt from Vintage Love and Other Essays by Jolyon Nuttall
The JRB presents an excerpt from Vintage Love and Other Essays by Jolyon Nuttall. Vintage Love Jolyon Nuttall Jacana Media, 2018 …
‘It was the only way we could escape our whiteness’—Read ‘Struggle Heroes’, an excerpt from Hugh Lewin’s memoir, Stones Against the Mirror
The JRB presents an excerpt from Stones Against the Mirror, the memoir of journalist, author and anti-apartheid activist Hugh Lewin,…
Hugh Lewin, 1939–2019, RIP
Journalist, author and anti-apartheid activist Hugh Lewin has died, aged seventy-nine. Lewin passed away at his home in Killarney, Johannesburg…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 3, Issue 1 (January 2019, The Conversation Issue)
Emmanuel Iduma • Lidudumalingani • Zoë Wicomb • Chigozie Obioma • Mbali Sikakana • Amatesiro Dore • Chike Frankie Edozien…
[Conversation Issue] ‘Intersectionality seems so blindingly obvious a notion’—Zoë Wicomb in conversation with Andrew van der Vlies, from their new book Race, Nation, Translation
As part of our January Conversation Issue, we present an excerpted interview from a new collection of Zoë Wicomb’s writing, Race,…
[Conversation Issue] ‘Africa exists in the world, and the world has always been in Africa’—Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu chats to Jennifer Malec about her debut novel, The Theory of Flight
As part of our January Conversation Issue, The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec talks to Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu about her debut novel, The Theory of…
[Conversation Issue] ‘Poetry is music, nothing more’—PR Anderson talks to Rustum Kozain about his new collection, In a Free State: A Music
The JRB’s Poetry Editor Rustum Kozain was in conversation with PR Anderson at the launch of Anderson’s new book, In…
New short fiction: ‘Monkeys’ by Keletso Mopai
The JRB presents a new short story by Keletso Mopai. ~~~ Monkeys Pa is a farmer. He is also a…
[Photo Editor] Original portraits of Futhi Ntshingila and Sabata-mpho Mokae by Victor Dlamini
Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. Visit the ten-year retrospective of…
Read an excerpt from PR Anderson’s new collection of poetry, In A Free State: A Music
The JRB presents excerpts from PR Anderson’s new collection, In A Free State: A Music, published by uHlanga Press. Read:…
[The JRB Daily] Top 10 of 2018—A look back at our most popular articles of the year
This December marked the twentieth issue of The JRB, and the twelfth of the year. With the festive season reaching…
Justin Cartwright, 1945–2018, RIP
Acclaimed South African novelist Justin Cartwright has died, aged seventy-three. Cartwright passed away on Monday, 3 December, according to The…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 2, Issue 12 (December 2018, The Fiction Issue)
Ivan Vladislavić • Sisonke Msimang • Nuruddin Farah • Achmat Dangor • Odafe Atogun • Michiel Heyns • Koos Prinsloo…
[Fiction issue] [The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from Ivan Vladislavić’s forthcoming novel, The Distance
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from The Distance, the forthcoming novel by Ivan Vladislavić. Vladislavić is an award-winning novelist, short story…
[Fiction issue] ‘Paying for Independence’, a new short story by Sisonke Msimang
The JRB is proud to present a new short story by Sisonke Msimang. Msimang is the author of Always Another Country:…
[Fiction issue] [The JRB exclusive] Read an excerpt from a work in progress by Achmat Dangor
The JRB presents an excerpt from a work in progress by Achmat Dangor. Dangor, a political activist and award-winning author, is…
[Fiction issue] ‘The Story of My Cousin’ by Koos Prinsloo, newly translated by Michiel Heyns
In The JRB Fiction Issue this year, we are delighted to feature two short stories by Koos Prinsloo, published for…
[Fiction issue] ‘The Story of My Father’ by Koos Prinsloo, newly translated by Michiel Heyns
In The JRB Fiction Issue this year, we are delighted to feature two short stories by Koos Prinsloo, published for…
[Fiction issue] ‘Chasing shadows’, a new short story by Palesa Manaleng
The JRB presents the short fiction debut of Palesa ‘Deejay’ Manaleng. ~~~ Chasing shadows It’s raining, the roads are slippery, the…
[Fiction issue] Johannesburg’s ‘is a beauty that is heard as much as it is felt’—Read an excerpt from Nthikeng Mohlele’s forthcoming novel, Illumination
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Nthikeng Mohlele’s new novel, Illumination, and a short interview with the author. Mohlele,…
[Fiction issue] ‘How the War Ended for Jonathan’, a new short story by Byron Loker
The JRB presents new short fiction by Byron Loker. ~~~ How the war ended for Jonathan Jonathan and I became…
[Fiction issue] ‘The History of Emil Coetzee’, an excerpt from a work in progress by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu
The JRB presents an excerpt from a work in progress by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu. Ndlovu is the author of The…
[Fiction issue] Read an excerpt from Kagiso Lesego Molope’s new novel, Such a Lonely, Lovely Road
The JRB is pleased to present an excerpt from Kagiso Lesego Molope’s new novel, Such a Lonely, Lovely Road. Such…