“Mandela was not the only head of state taken in by Koagne. Le king kept snapshots of himself with many a man of power, among them Mobutu Sese Seko and Denis Sassou Nguesso […] He took Mobutu for 15 million dollars. Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso lost 40 million to him. Sassou, Etienne Eyadéma of Togo, several high officials of Gabon, Tanzania and Kenya, a member of the Spanish government and an ex-operative of the Israeli Mossad were bamboozled as well.” – Dominique Malaquais (Blood Money: A Douala Chronicle).
Bantu Serenade by Ntone Edjabe (featuring Nah-ee-lah) (read excerpt)
Santu Mofokeng: Trajectory of a street photographer (part1) (read excerpt)
Binyavanga Wainaina: Hell In Bed With Mrs Peprah (read excerpt)
Dominique Malaquais: Lindela (the winnie suite) (read excerpt)
Boubacar Boris Diop: Myriem (read excerpt)
Cover:
Neo Muyanga
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.