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The Johannesburg Review of Books

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Category: South Africa

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Fiction

Eking out a deeper truth on the rough seas of historical fiction: Wamuwi Mbao reviews Fred Khumalo’s Dancing the Death Drill

July 3, 2017May 30, 2019Wamuwi Mbao2 Comments on Eking out a deeper truth on the rough seas of historical fiction: Wamuwi Mbao reviews Fred Khumalo’s Dancing the Death Drill

Dancing the Death Drill Fred Khumalo Umuzi, 2017 The historical novel presents rough seas for a writer. Attaching a novel…

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Africa

‘I appreciate stories that mess with me a little’: Yewande Omotoso on her latest book, The Woman Next Door

July 3, 2017August 4, 2018Jennifer Malec1 Comment on ‘I appreciate stories that mess with me a little’: Yewande Omotoso on her latest book, The Woman Next Door

The Woman Next Door Yewande Omotoso Chatto & Windus, 2017 Yewande Omotoso spoke to Johannesburg Review of Books editor Jennifer…

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Photography

[Photo Editor] Original portraits by Victor Dlamini: Zakes Mda; and Zakes Mda with Mandla Langa

July 3, 2017July 3, 2017Victor DlaminiLeave a Comment on [Photo Editor] Original portraits by Victor Dlamini: Zakes Mda; and Zakes Mda with Mandla Langa

Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. ~~~ Zakes Mda and Mandla…

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Academic

Finding beauty under apartheid: Interview with Dan Magaziner, and excerpt from his book The Art of Life in South Africa

July 3, 2017January 12, 2018Jennifer Malec1 Comment on Finding beauty under apartheid: Interview with Dan Magaziner, and excerpt from his book The Art of Life in South Africa

The Art of Life in South Africa Dan Magaziner UKZN Press, 2017 Main image: Ndaleni group shot, late 1970s, Ndaleni…

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Drama

Video: Watch a clip from Siphiwo Mahala’s The House of Truth starring Sello Maake kaNcube

July 3, 2017September 14, 2018The JRB1 Comment on Video: Watch a clip from Siphiwo Mahala’s The House of Truth starring Sello Maake kaNcube

The Johannesburg Review of Books brings you a clip of Siphiwo Mahala’s acclaimed play on the life of Can Themba,…

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Awards

[The JRB Daily] Fiction is essential in a corrupt society—Read Zakes Mda’s Sunday Times Literary Awards keynote address

June 25, 2017December 20, 2017Jennifer Malec1 Comment on [The JRB Daily] Fiction is essential in a corrupt society—Read Zakes Mda’s Sunday Times Literary Awards keynote address

Zakes Mda was the keynote speaker at the Sunday Times Literary Awards last night. Mda won the Barry Ronge Fiction…

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Awards

[The JRB Daily] Zakes Mda and Greg Marinovich win Sunday Times Literary Awards

June 25, 2017June 25, 2017Jennifer MalecLeave a Comment on [The JRB Daily] Zakes Mda and Greg Marinovich win Sunday Times Literary Awards

Zakes Mda and Greg Marinovich were announced as the winners of the 2017 Sunday Times Literary Awards last night. The awards…

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Awards

[The JRB Daily] UJ Prize shortlists announced: Fiction, poetry, short stories, essays and biography feature

June 6, 2017August 4, 2017Jennifer MalecLeave a Comment on [The JRB Daily] UJ Prize shortlists announced: Fiction, poetry, short stories, essays and biography feature

The shortlists for the 2016 University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English have been announced, with works…

Here we Art Maboneng
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Africa

The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 1, Issue 2 (June 2017)

June 5, 2017January 22, 2018Jennifer MalecLeave a Comment on The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 1, Issue 2 (June 2017)

The second issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books is here—replete with some of the finest writing on books and…

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Essays

Step on the Bassline: Bongani Madondo unlocks a torrent of Joburg memories

June 5, 2017February 2, 2018Bongani MadondoLeave a Comment on Step on the Bassline: Bongani Madondo unlocks a torrent of Joburg memories

I don’t believe any biographer can be objective. —Mark Gevisser … I saw a sign over a door in café…

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Essays

‘I want my legs back’: A personal history of catastrophe by para-athlete Palesa ‘Deejay’ Manaleng

June 5, 2017June 5, 2017Palesa Manaleng2 Comments on ‘I want my legs back’: A personal history of catastrophe by para-athlete Palesa ‘Deejay’ Manaleng

The JRB brings you an exclusive excerpt from a work in progress by Deejay Manaleng, which tells the story of…

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Book excerpts

[Sponsored] Infidelity among MK comrades: An excerpt from Achmat Dangor’s Bitter Fruit, republished this month

June 5, 2017May 3, 2019The JRBLeave a Comment on [Sponsored] Infidelity among MK comrades: An excerpt from Achmat Dangor’s Bitter Fruit, republished this month

A new edition of Achmat Dangor’s acclaimed novel Bitter Fruit is out soon from Picador Africa, ahead of the publication…

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Audio

[Sponsored] Karina M Szczurek on life with Andre Brink and her new memoir, The Fifth Mrs Brink (including podcast)

June 5, 2017June 5, 2017The JRBLeave a Comment on [Sponsored] Karina M Szczurek on life with Andre Brink and her new memoir, The Fifth Mrs Brink (including podcast)

Ingrid Winterbach spoke to Karina M Szczurek at the Woordfees literary festival recently about her life with one of South…

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Awards

‘Writing is sometimes like a thread that weaves all our hearts into one’: Lidudumalingani reflects on his Caine Prize visit to the United States

June 5, 2017June 7, 2017LidudumalinganiLeave a Comment on ‘Writing is sometimes like a thread that weaves all our hearts into one’: Lidudumalingani reflects on his Caine Prize visit to the United States

Lidudumalingani won the 2016 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story ‘Memories We Lost’. As part of the…

Here we Art Maboneng
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Features

[City Editor] A miracle under the apricot tree in Chi Town: How a writer came to name Maboneng

June 5, 2017Niq MhlongoLeave a Comment on [City Editor] A miracle under the apricot tree in Chi Town: How a writer came to name Maboneng

One morning at the beginning of February 2009 I was approached by Indra Wussow, founder and curator of The Sylt…

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Africa

New short fiction from Queer Africa 2: ‘Nine Pieces of Desire’ by Idza L

June 5, 2017November 14, 2022The JRB2 Comments on New short fiction from Queer Africa 2: ‘Nine Pieces of Desire’ by Idza L

Exclusive to The JRB, new short fiction by Kenyan writer Idza L excerpted from Queer Africa 2, courtesy of MaThoko’s Books,…

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Non-fiction

[Photo Editor] Two original portraits by Victor Dlamini: Palesa Morudu and Lindiwe Hani

June 5, 2017July 2, 2017Victor DlaminiLeave a Comment on [Photo Editor] Two original portraits by Victor Dlamini: Palesa Morudu and Lindiwe Hani

Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. ~~~ Lindiwe Hani, photographed by…

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Africa

Lagos, one long literary and artistic lime: Etisalat Prize judge Elinor Sisulu reflects on a trip of note

June 5, 2017July 25, 2019Elinor SisuluLeave a Comment on Lagos, one long literary and artistic lime: Etisalat Prize judge Elinor Sisulu reflects on a trip of note

The Etisalat Prize for Literature, established in 2013, awards £15 000 for a first novel from Africa, and has grown…

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Awards

It was a hard book to write: Kopano Matlwa discusses her latest novel, Period Pain

June 5, 2017January 12, 2018The JRBLeave a Comment on It was a hard book to write: Kopano Matlwa discusses her latest novel, Period Pain

Period Pain Kopano Matlwa Jacana Media 2017 Kopano Matlwa burst onto the literary scene in 2007 with the publication of…

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Book excerpts

Welcome to Jozi maboneng, the place of lights: Read an excerpt from After Tears by Niq Mhlongo

June 5, 2017The JRBLeave a Comment on Welcome to Jozi maboneng, the place of lights: Read an excerpt from After Tears by Niq Mhlongo

The JRB’s City Editor, Niq Mhlongo, gave Johannesburg’s vibrant arts precinct, Maboneng, its name. Here is an excerpt from his…

Ponte Tower, Hillbrow, by David East
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Africa

The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 1, Issue 1 (May 2017)

May 1, 2017January 2, 2018Jennifer Malec2 Comments on The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 1, Issue 1 (May 2017)

We are delighted to present the first issue of The Johannesburg Review of Books—comprising almost twenty reviews, essays, articles, stories,…

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Poetry

Portrait of the poet as a young genius: Bongani Madondo reviews Koleka Putuma’s Collective Amnesia

May 1, 2017April 30, 2019Bongani MadondoLeave a Comment on Portrait of the poet as a young genius: Bongani Madondo reviews Koleka Putuma’s Collective Amnesia

There is an ‘undecidable conflict’ between the poet’s desire to sing an alternative world and, as Grossman puts it, the…

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Non-fiction

[Sponsored] An excerpt from Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s new book The Republic of Gupta

May 1, 2017May 1, 2017The JRBLeave a Comment on [Sponsored] An excerpt from Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s new book The Republic of Gupta

The Republic of Gupta Pieter-Louis Myburgh Penguin Random House South Africa 2017 In The Republic of Gupta, Pieter-Louis Myburgh delves…

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Fiction

[Sponsored] Submit your manuscript to Pan Macmillan during an open submissions window in May

May 1, 2017May 1, 2017The JRBLeave a Comment on [Sponsored] Submit your manuscript to Pan Macmillan during an open submissions window in May

Pan Macmillan South Africa, one of South Africa’s leading publishers, does not as a rule accept unsolicited manuscripts, but has an open…

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Poetry

New poetry by Rustum Kozain: ‘When I write’

May 1, 2017October 22, 2021Rustum KozainLeave a Comment on New poetry by Rustum Kozain: ‘When I write’

When I write Prose poem Rustum Kozain When I write, I am aware of how meaningless and ineffectual the activity…

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Johannesburg

[City Editor] Soweto’s traditional Good Friday soccer tournament: Where legends are made

May 1, 2017May 1, 2017Niq MhlongoLeave a Comment on [City Editor] Soweto’s traditional Good Friday soccer tournament: Where legends are made

The tradition of the Good Friday soccer tournament has existed for a very long time in the townships around Johannesburg,…

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Non-fiction

[Sponsored] Read John Kane-Berman’s speech from the launch of his new book Between Two Fires

May 1, 2017The JRBLeave a Comment on [Sponsored] Read John Kane-Berman’s speech from the launch of his new book Between Two Fires

Between Two Fires John Kane-Berman Jonathan Ball Publisher 2017 At recent the launch of his new book Between Two Fires:…

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Academic

On Things Fall Apart and Things Falling Apart—Simon van Schalkwyk considers modernism in the here and now

May 1, 2017April 16, 2020Simon van SchalkwykLeave a Comment on On Things Fall Apart and Things Falling Apart—Simon van Schalkwyk considers modernism in the here and now

1. Chinua Achebe, modernist What might it mean to offer a suite of lectures on Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart…

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Fiction

[Photo Editor] Two original portraits by Victor Dlamini: Binyavanga Wainaina and Niq Mhlongo

May 1, 2017July 2, 2017Victor DlaminiLeave a Comment on [Photo Editor] Two original portraits by Victor Dlamini: Binyavanga Wainaina and Niq Mhlongo

Victor Dlamini is The JRB’s Photo Editor. We feature his work on our Instagram channel. ~~~ Author Binyavanga Wainaina, photographed…

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Academic

Spectacular collisions of perspectives in Grace A Musila’s A Death Retold in Truth and Rumour: Kenya, Britain and the Julie Ward Murder

May 1, 2017May 2, 2017Makhosazana XabaLeave a Comment on Spectacular collisions of perspectives in Grace A Musila’s A Death Retold in Truth and Rumour: Kenya, Britain and the Julie Ward Murder

A Death Retold in Truth and Rumour: Kenya, Britain and the Julie Ward Murder Grace A Musila James Currey 2015…

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Features

Sailing with The Argonauts: A personal history of Christmas, queerness and Maggie Nelson by Efemia Chela

May 1, 2017May 1, 2017Efemia ChelaLeave a Comment on Sailing with The Argonauts: A personal history of Christmas, queerness and Maggie Nelson by Efemia Chela

The Argonauts Maggie Nelson Graywolf Press 2016 Actually, no one is inspired by anyone except his own self and his…

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International

Facing up to a techno-feudal world: Richard Poplak reviews Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future

May 1, 2017May 2, 2017Richard PoplakLeave a Comment on Facing up to a techno-feudal world: Richard Poplak reviews Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future

Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future Martin Ford Oneworld 2016 The robots are coming….

Ponte Tower, Hillbrow, by David East
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Literary

Welcome to The Johannesburg Review of Books

April 30, 2017June 12, 2020Ben Williams14 Comments on Welcome to The Johannesburg Review of Books

It gives me great pleasure to introduce The Johannesburg Review of Books, a new literary review from southern Africa. Our…

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