[Conversation Issue] A palate cleanser in JM Coetzee’s playful late style—Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Pole and Other Stories
JM Coetzee’s late style has often been indifferently received, but The Pole is a beautifully elegant story, writes Wamuwi Mbao,…
Category: South Africa
[Conversation Issue] ‘Poetry refuses the abstraction of theory’—danai mupotsa in conversation with Makhosazana Xaba
This is the fifth in a series of long-form interviews by Patron Makhosazana Xaba to be hosted on The JRB,…
[Conversation Issue] ‘I don’t want to tell my reader what to feel; I want to make them feel’—Tan Twan Eng chats to Jennifer Malec about his new novel The House of Doors
Tan Twan Eng’s third novel, The House of Doors, was longlisted for the Booker Prize, and has just been longlisted…
[Conversation Issue] The world ends several times for Black people—A conversation with Uhuru Portia Phalafala and critical reading of her book Mine Mine Mine
Kim M Reynolds considers the historical and the personal in Uhuru Portia Phalafala’s new book Mine Mine Mine, in discussion…
[Sponsored] Is the Party Over? by Oscar van Heerden—a powerful account of the inner workings of a cripplingly divided political party
Is the Party Over? by Oscar van Heerden will be out from Jacana Media in March, ahead of the elections on…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘To survive as a woman in South Africa, I had to be angry’—Read an excerpt from Margie Orford’s new memoir, Love and Fury
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Love and Fury: A Memoir by Editorial Advisory Panel member Margie Orford. Margie OrfordLove and Fury:…
[The JRB exclusive] ‘I still take my bearings from the inner city’—Read an excerpt from Ivan Vladislavić’s forthcoming book The Near North
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from The Near North, the new book by Ivan Vladislavić, which will be published…
‘Powerful drama fused with its cerebral yet emotional writing’—Read Njabulo S Ndebele’s Foreword to the 60th anniversary edition of William ‘Bloke’ Modisane’s Blame Me on History
The JRB presents Njabulo S Ndebele’s Foreword to the new sixtieth-anniversary edition of William ‘Bloke’ Modisane’s Blame Me on History….
‘This book is being published while Gaza, where I live, is being annihilated’—Read an excerpt from Decolonising the Palestinian Mind by South African–Palestinian author Haidar Eid
The JRB presents an excerpt from Haidar Eid’s new book Decolonising the Palestinian Mind. Decolonising the Palestinian MindHaidar EidInkani Books,…
New poetry by Kelwyn Sole
The JRB presents previously unpublished poetry by Kelwyn Sole. The leader’s speeches 1 The leader’s speeches slide into our ears like…
[Photo Editor] A portrait of Siphiwo Mahala 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 portraits. View this…
Short, sharp but eclectically ear-pricking—A playlist compiled by Tymon Smith
There’s not much to say about this playlist, perhaps because there’s not much one can say about the exasperating state…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 7, Issue 5 (December 2023, the Fiction Issue)
Makhosazana Xaba • Masiyaleti Mbewe • Wamuwi Mbao • Jarred Thompson • Simon van Schalkwyk • Franki Jenkins • Werner…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Centres of Gravity’ by Jarred Thompson
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Centres of Gravity By Jarred Thompson Poor robot … That’s what father said…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘A History of Phantoms’ by Wamuwi Mbao
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ A History of Phantoms By Wamuwi Mbao There comes a time and place…
[Sponsored] Listen to an excerpt from Jessica George’s bestselling debut Maame, a novel that explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures
Listen to an excerpt from Jessica George’s instant bestseller Maame—the debut of 2023! Maame is out now from Jonathan Ball…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Nightcrawler’ by Simon van Schalkwyk
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Nightcrawler By Simon van Schalkwyk I On weekends, I worked as a runner…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Bakang Goes to Sea’ by Franki Jenkins
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Bakang Goes to Sea By Franki Jenkins Nolwazi During Rhodes Must Fall every…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Do You Remember That Time We Saw the UFO Over Jansenville?’ by Werner Pretorius
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Do You Remember That Time We Saw the UFO Over Jansenville? By Werner…
[Fiction Issue] Read an excerpt from ‘Waiting’, a work in progress by Makhosazana Xaba
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ From ‘Waiting’, a work in progress The feeling of relief is much stronger…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘Non Compliant’ by Duane Jethro
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ Non Compliant By Duane Jethro ‘His poes also,’ was the first thought that…
[Fiction Issue] Read ‘The Deep River of Missing Things’ by Tshegofatso Nkwane
New original fiction in The JRB. ~~~ The Deep River of Missing Things By Tshegofatso Nkwane I wasn’t there to…
Poetry by iyra e m maharaj, from earth-circuit
The JRB presents an excerpt from earth-circuit by iyra e m maharaj. earth-circuitiyra e m maharajDryad Press, 2023 Ouroborous dear…
A Christmas Miracle at the South African Post Office—A playlist compiled by Tymon Smith
For the Record: It’s the end of the year and so time to file another stinker away and hope that…
[Fiction Issue] ‘No one in Durban remembers a Christmas as hot as this’—Read an excerpt from Shubnum Khan’s forthcoming novel The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil
The JRB presents an excerpt from The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil, the forthcoming novel from Shubnum Khan, which will…
[Fiction Issue] ‘And just like that, in one touch, Ruth’s trauma passed to her’—An excerpt from Tsitsi Mapepa’s debut novel Ndima Ndima
The JRB presents an excerpt from Ndima Ndima, the debut novel from Tsitsi Mapepa. Ndima NdimaTsitsi MapepaCatalyst Press, 2023 The…
[Fiction Issue] ‘They came riding cattle lorries. Their whole world travelling with them’—Read an excerpt from Magogodi oaMphela Makhene’s Innards
The JRB presents an excerpt from ‘7678B Old Potchefstroom Road’, from Innards, the debut short story collection by Magogodi oaMphela…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Sometimes we need to lie to ourselves. It’s the only way the world makes sense’—Read an excerpt from SE Bhamjee’s debut novel Home Scar
The JRB presents an excerpt from Home Scar, the forthcoming debut novel by SE Bhamjee. Home ScarSE BhamjeeModjaji Books, 2024…
[Fiction Issue] ‘You don’t expect annihilation in the afternoon’—Read an excerpt from Diane Awerbuck’s new short story collection Inside your body there are flowers
The JRB presents an excerpt from Inside your body there are flowers, the new collection of short stories by Diane…
[Fiction Issue] ‘Once I lay outside for five days. In the rain.’—Read an excerpt from Byron Loker’s New Swell, out soon in a new edition
The JRB presents an excerpt from New Swell, the short story collection by Byron Loker, which will be published in…
[The JRB Daily] 2023 South African Literary Awards winners announced
The winners of the 2023 South African Literary Awards (the SALAs) have been announced. The SALAs are awarded annually by…
[The JRB Daily] Bulelwa Mabasa and CA Davids win the 2023 Sunday Times Literary Awards
The winners of the 2023 Sunday Times Literary Awards have been announced. Bulelwa Mabasa has won the Non-fiction Award for…
[The JRB Daily] Henrietta Rose-Innes wins 2023 UJ Prize for Literary Translation
Henrietta Rose-Innes has been awarded the prestigious UJ Prize for Literary Translation, for her translation of Etienne van Heerden’s novel…
[The JRB Daily] 2023 South African Literary Awards shortlists announced
The shortlists for the 2023 South African Literary Awards have been announced. The SALAs are awarded annually by the wRite…
The Johannesburg Review of Books Vol. 7, Issue 4 (October 2023)
Wamuwi Mbao • Makhosazana Xaba • vangile gantsho • Zikhona Valela • Fungai Machirori • Irene Staunton • Sanya Osha…
‘There is something to be gained in looking at that which resists being looked at’—Wamuwi Mbao reviews Black Racist Bitch by Thandiwe Ntshinga
Thandiwe Ntshinga’s Black Racist Bitch is the sort of book some readers will absolutely love, and others will find unreadable,…
[Sponsored] ‘It takes a lawyer, an activist and a storyteller to change the world’—Find out more about The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated
The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated: People Power and Legal Power in the 21st Century, edited by Katie Redford and…
‘I believe poetry is how my ancestors found me’—vangile gantsho in conversation with Makhosazana Xaba
This is the fourth in a series of long-form interviews by Patron Makhosazana Xaba to be hosted on The JRB,…
A fascinating, if flawed, enquiry—Zikhona Valela reviews Jonny Steinberg’s Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage
Zikhona Valela reviews Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage by Jonny Steinberg. Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage…
An enigma called Christopher Okigbo—Sanya Osha reflects on the visionary and paradoxical poet (including an interview with his biographer Obi Nwakanma)
Once one experiences the phenomenal power of Christopher Okigbo’s poetry, it seems the reverberations persist throughout one’s creative life, writes…