“Three generations of white South African men were bound together at that table. Vermuelen was the first generation. He defined Africa, made it safe for Basson to defile. I was the last generation, the last to grow up in segregated neighborhoods. Between us was the silent photograph of Wouter Basson. Like a distant father, Basson was absent at the dining table.” – Henk Rossouw (Hole in the White ‘Hood). Also Mahmood Mamdani on Bantu Education at UCT, Gael Reagon on sisterhood, Binyavanga Wainaina on dis-covering Kenya, Gaston Zossou on African intellectuals and more…
Cover:
Strange Fruit by Lewis Allen
Oncoming Traffic by Maakomele R. Manaka (Botsotso, 2018)
The traffic mainly reflects the silence in the author’s personal conflicts, meaning, writing what he cannot say, fusing different styles and tones from the lyrical to the surreal to strip himself down to the vulnerable marrow.
As such, this collection of poetry grapples with issues he has struggled with on a daily basis: firstly, what it means to be man when raised by a woman; secondly, his relationship with himself as a man with a physical disability; and lastly, as a black man dealing with the reality of living in a dysfunctional society.