“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…
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Strange Fruit by Lewis Allen
Sunrise Poison by Phillip Zhuwao (Deep South, 1996)
Philip Zhuwao who died in 1997 aged 27 was a brilliantly original Zimbabwean poet. His poems are visceral, sharp-witted, linguistically playful, and uncompromising in their anarchic aesthetic and intensity. Rich is classical and literary references and following moments of chance, they move fluidly between the poet's inner pain, the scarred landscape of Harare's townships, and unforgettable images of rage and beauty.
Sunrise Poison co-edited with the poet in 1996, is the first of a planned four-volume collected by Zhuwao, which include fiction, essays and letters, as well as poetry.