Letter: Translating Augustine—Sarah Ruden responds to David van Schoor
Sarah Ruden responds to David van Schoor’s letter, published in our January issue, addressing Ruden’s response to Van Schuur’s review…
Category: International
[The JRB Daily] 2018 9mobile Prize for Literature shortlist announced
The shortlist for the 2018 9mobile Prize for Literature (formerly the Etisalat Prize for Literature) has been announced. The award…
[The JRB Daily] The early years: Read an excerpt from Hugh Ramapolo Masekela’s autobiography, Still Grazing
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela died in Johannesburg today, at the age of seventy-eight, after a long battle with prostate cancer. The…
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela, legendary jazz musician, RIP
Hugh Ramapolo Masekela, one of South Africa’s most celebrated and pioneering musicians, has died in Johannesburg. Masekela had been fighting…
[Conversation Issue] ‘The family is a great convenience for a writer’—Jonathan Franzen talks to Ben Williams in South Africa
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Ben Williams talks to Jonathan Franzen. Purity Jonathan Franzen Fourth Estate, 2016 American…
[Conversation Issue] Using language without restraint to show the energy of the ‘wretched of the earth’—Fiston Mwanza Mujila chats to Bongani Kona
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Bongani Kona interviews award-winning Congolese author Fiston Mwanza Mujila. Tram 83 Fiston Mwanza…
[Conversation Issue] ‘Lagos is home, the place where I don’t have to explain myself’—Chibundu Onuzo chats to Wamuwi Mbao about Welcome to Lagos
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Wamuwi Mbao chats to Chibundu Onuzo. Welcome to Lagos Chibundu Onuzo Faber and…
[Conversation Issue] ‘Readers of African novels published in the West are a lot more diverse now’—Anietie Isong chats about his debut novel Radio Sunrise
As part of our January Conversation Issue, Anietie Isong chats to Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike about his debut novel Radio Sunrise,…
[Conversation Issue] [City Editor] Niq Mhlongo reveals how he missed his own debut book launch, leading to an astounding moment at the Abantu Book Festival twelve years later
As part of our January Conversation Issue, The JRB presents City Editor Niq Mhlongo’s keynote speech from the 2017 BRICS…
[In Memoriam] [Photo Editor] A selection of Victor Dlamini’s portraits of Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile
The JRB presents Victor Dlamini’s literary portraits of Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile. South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse Kgositsile, passed…
[In Memoriam] [Photo Editor] Listen to Victor Dlamini’s 2008 interview with Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile
The JRB Photo Editor Victor Dlamini interviewed South African Poet Laureate Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile back in 2008. Listen to the…
[In Memoriam] Watch a video of Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile on the importance of platforms for African literature
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents footage in memoriam of South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse Kgositsile, who passed away…
[In Memoriam] Nthikeng Mohlele remembers Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile
Nthikeng Mohlele honours South African National Poet Laureate Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, who passed away in January. A Person of…
Guinean author Tierno Monénembo honoured with Grand Prix de la Francophonie
Guinean novelist and biochemist Tierno Monénembo received the Grand Prix de la Francophonie at a ceremony late last year at…
« Le bébé est mort. » Leïla Slimani explodes the French home in the newly translated Lullaby
The English translation of French–Moroccan author Leïla Slimani’s award-winning novel, Chanson Douce, is out this month. The book, the title…
Letter: David van Schoor responds to Sarah Ruden
David van Schoor responds to Sarah Ruden’s letter, published in our December issue, addressing Van Schoor’s review of her translation…
Details of memorial services for Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile (1938—2018): 11, 12 and 16 January
South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, passed away in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 3 January. He was seventy-nine….
Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, RIP
South Africa’s National Poet Laureate, Keorapetse ‘Bra Willie’ Kgositsile, has died in Johannesburg. Kgositsile passed away at Milpark Hospital in…
[The JRB Daily] The Johannesburg Review of Books’s Book of the Year
The JRB’s Editor takes a look back at 2017 and picks out the single work that left the biggest impression….
[The JRB Daily] 2018 9mobile Prize for Literature longlist announced
The longlist for the 2017 9mobile Prize for Literature (formerly the Etisalat Prize for Literature) has been announced. South African…
The Visiting Hours: A dispatch from Harare by Tonderai Munyevu
The author visited Harare, Zimbabwe shortly after the military intervention that led to President Robert Mugabe’s resignation on 21 November,…
[Fiction issue] ‘Some Men’, a new short story by SJ Naudé
Exclusive to The JRB, new short fiction from SJ Naudé. ~~~ Some Men Jakob leaves the gift on the roof…
[Fiction issue] Exclusive excerpt from Lying Perfectly Still, a work in progress by Laura Fish
The JRB presents an exclusive excerpt from Lying Perfectly Still, Laura Fish’s novel in progress, which is set in Swaziland….
[Fiction issue] ‘1. This Is The Title’, a short story by Richard de Nooy
Exclusive to The JRB, a new short story by our Editorial Advisory Panel member Richard de Nooy. ~ ~ ~ 1. This…
New poetry by Jim Pascual Agustin: ‘Fire, the King Who is Called’
The Johannesburg Review of Books presents previously unpublished poetry by Jim Pascual Agustin. Fire, the King Who is Called…
[Fiction issue] ‘Four Blocks Away’, a short story by Niq Mhlongo
The JRB presents City Editor Niq Mhlongo’s short story ‘Four Blocks Away’. The story is excerpted from Mhlongo’s most recent book,…
[Fiction issue] An excerpt from Imagine Ghosts Telling Tales in front of Smoky Mirrors, the debut novel by SL Masunda
Exclusive to The JRB, an excerpt from the debut novel of Zimbabwean author SL Masunda. Imagine Ghosts Telling Tales in…
Letter: Sarah Ruden responds to David van Schoor’s review of her translation of Augustine’s Confessions
Sarah Ruden responds to David van Schoor’s review of her translation of Augustine’s Confessions, ‘Translation as nuclear arms race’, published in the November…
Theatre and family trees: A new short story by Moroccan writer Driss Ksikes
Driss Ksikes gives us a vivid intergenerational short story in ‘Fuckin’ Family’ (‘Putain la famille’). For a long time, family…
Éric Vuillard wins the 2017 Prix Goncourt for his novel L’ordre du jour
Éric Vuillard has won the Prix Goncourt 2017 for his book on the rise of Hitler, L’ordre du jour. The…
[The JRB Daily] The Caine Prize wasn’t what I thought it would be: Efemia Chela traces the real value of big literary prizes
In a piece for the Caine Prize blog titled ‘An Unexpected Prize’, Efemia Chela describes how losing out on the…
[The JRB Daily] He seemed invincible: Petina Gappah reflects on Robert Mugabe’s rule
Writing for the New Yorker, The JRB Editorial Advisory Panel member Petina Gappah contemplates ‘How Zimbabwe Freed Itself From Robert Mugabe’. Mugabe’s resignation…
[The JRB Daily] Dove, Lifebuoy and apartheid: Panashe Chigumadzi considers soap’s hidden significance in the control of black bodies
The New York Review of Books has featured an article by Panashe Chigumadzi, titled ‘Soap and South Africa’s “Fatal Intimacy”‘….
[The JRB Daily] Six African authors up for world’s richest annual literary prize, the International Dublin Literary Award
Six African authors have made the longlist for the International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for…
Linger No More: Mandela speaks from the grave, and Bongani Madondo speaks to his medium, author Mandla Langa
Nelson Mandela altered the world. He affected everyone in it, in ways few will ever manage. He also died before…
‘Speaking Shona was associated with humiliation’: Petina Gappah on the influence, on her writing, of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Decolonising the Mind
Exclusive to The JRB, a new essay by Petina Gappah on the influence of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s work on her…
Fear and loathing in Bordeaux: Race and the French myth in Marie NDiaye’s My Heart Hemmed In
Efemia Chela reviews Marie NDiaye’s newly translated masterpiece My Heart Hemmed In, a mixture of literary fiction, psychological thriller and…
‘I wanted my family to read my book and enjoy it’: Nathan Hill talks to Jennifer Malec about his bestselling debut novel The Nix
Jennifer Malec sat down with Nathan Hill in Cape Town during the Open Book Festival recently to talk about his…
Two vast countries of weird violence: Olivia Rose Walton contemplates Turkey and South Africa by train
Olivia Rose Walton considers loss and erasure across two landscapes, traversed by train. 1. Kayseri station, Turkey On the steps…
Translation as nuclear arms race: David van Schoor reviews Sarah Ruden’s bold interpretation of Augustine’s Confessions
David van Schoor reviews Sarah Ruden’s bold new translation of Augustine’s Confessions. Confessions Sarah Ruden Modern Library, 2017 1. Sine…