“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
Unity in Flight (Botsotso, 2001)
This volume was the first anthology of fiction (2001) and included work by writers who had been published in the Botsotso Literary Journal. The themes reflect the turmoil of the 1980’s and the new issues raised in the 90’s.
Maropodi Mapalakanye’s stories focus on the political-military struggle against apartheid with an emphasis on the deadly ‘twists of fate’ that insurrection spawns with regard to the need to resist and its collateral damage to oppressed people. Peter Rule deals with more personal issues such as the anguish of rape and homophobic violence, the devastation of AIDS and the trauma of surviving police interrogation.
Zachariah Rapola brings a surreal and tragic touch to stories about lonely misfits in Alexandria, Joburg’s oldest African township. Michael Vines, on the other hand, writes about arty white suburban youth whose alienation is just as acute despite their wealthier environment. Phaswane Mpe’s stories all foreshadow his novel Welcome to our Hillbrow which also deals with student life in Johannesburg and the ramifications of the Aids epidemic.
Lastly, Kolski Horwitz touches on both the general political landscape of decolonization and internal corruption within the liberation movements as well as the shifting tides of sexual behaviour.