Die skrywer se eerste boek, Vandag se sekretaresse (Human & Rousseau, 1988), was gebaseer op ontelbare kantore, kollegas en werkgewers waarmee sy tydens 'n elektroniese revolusie te doen gekry het. Daar was wêreldwye bekommernis oor of die sekretaresse met moderne kantoortoerusting vervang sou kon word. Nou is daar weer wêreldwye onsekerheid tydens 'n pandemie waar vetsug lewensgevaarlik is. My laaste dieet is die memoires van 'n smullende skaalslaaf. Ná 'n lewenslange stryd en ervaring van vraatsug, gepaard met kennis en ondervinding van 'n magdom diëte, beskou die skrywer haarself as die Koningin van Diëte.

This ethnography explores the Ngoma healing tradition as practiced in eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. 'Bungoma' is an active philosophical system and healing practice consisting of multiple strands, based on the notion that humans are intrinsically exposed to each other and that this is the cause of illness, but also the condition for the possibility of healing. This healing seeks to protect the 'exposed being' from harm through augmenting the self. Unlike Western medicine, it does not seek to cure physical ailments but aims to prevent suffering by allowing patients to transform their personal narratives of Self. Like Western medicine, it is empirical and is presented as a 'local knowledge' that amounts to a practical anthropology of human conflict and the environment. The book seeks to bring this anthropology and its therapeutic applications into relation with global academic anthropology by explaining it through political, economic, interpretive, and environmental lenses

Met haar nuutste bundel, Disteltyd, neem die digter Marlise Joubert bestek op haar lewe; die verouderingsproses met gepaardgaande fisieke aftakeling en verlies, maar ook besinning oor familie, eie kinderjare en die onlangse inperking, beurtkrag en geweld.

Dit is gedigte met ’n sterk poëtiese en visuele inslag en word gekenmerk deur ’n introspektiewe, selfs nostalgiese, toonaard. Soos die distel as onkruid ’n saadpluim lewer wat lig, dartelend en lieflik is, is hierdie gedigte ook.

Disteltyd is ’n bundel wat weens die geskakeerdheid daarvan ’n belangrike bydrae lewer tot die steeds groeiende korpus van laatwerke; gedigte wat meestal ontroer weens die menslikheid en humor daarin verwoord, maar terselfdertyd ook die leser konfronteer met die maatskaplike onregte kenmerkend van ons tyd.

"My struggles with mental illness were in some ways like a child crying out for attention; more than that they were a cry for help from the mind I felt trapped in. There was a darkness in me that many times swallowed me whole."

This is how Keamogetswe Bopalamo introduces her account of her troubled early life. It is an intensely personal account, and yet it speaks to a reality much broader than itself. In the exciting whirl of South Africa’s post-apartheid society, there is this darker side: the confusions, the fears, the rebellions, the degradations and emotional pain.

How does a young black girl cope when her parents are taken away as political detainees, or when she is repeatedly expelled from schools and hostels, or when she ends up in a mental institution after trying once again to end her own life? What I Wore offers startling answers.

For the first time, the 92-metre frieze of the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, one of the largest historical narratives in marble, has been made the subject of a book.

The pictorial narrative of the Boer pioneers who conquered South Africa’s interior during the ‘Great Trek’ (1835-1852) represents a crucial period of South Africa’s past. Forming the concept of the frieze both reflected on and contributed to the country’s socio-political debates in the 1930s and 1940s when it was made. The frieze is unique in that it provides rare evidence of the complex processes followed in creating a major monument.

Based on unpublished documents, drawings and models, these processes are unfolded step by step, from the earliest discussions of the purpose and content of the frieze through all the stages of its design to its shipping to post-war Italy to be copied into marble and final installation in the Monument. The book examines how visual representation transforms historical memory in what it chooses to recount, and the forms in which it depicts this. It also investigates the active role the Monument played in the development of apartheid, and its place in post-apartheid heritage.

The second volume, to be published later this year, expands on the first, considering each of the twenty-seven scenes in depth, providing new insights into not only the frieze, but also South Africa’s history.

A deeply felt account of the relationship between a mother and son, and an exploration of what care for the dying means in contemporary society.

The book is emotionally complex – funny, sad and angry – but above all, heartfelt and honest. It speaks boldly of challenges faced by all of us, challenges which are often not spoken about and hidden, but which deserve urgent attention. This is first and foremost a work of the heart, a reflection on what relationships mean and should mean.

There is much in the book about relationships of care and exploitation in southern Africa, and about white Jewish identity in an African context. But despite the specific and absorbing references to places and contexts, the book offers a broader, more universal view.

All parents of adult children, and all adults who have parents alive, or have lost their parents, will find much in this book to make them laugh, cry, think and feel.

Many of the photographs are as familiar as they are iconic: Nelson Mandela gazing through the bars of his prison cell on Robben Island; a young Miriam Makeba smiling and dancing; Hugh Masekela as a schoolboy receiving the gift of a trumpet from Louis Armstrong; Henry ‘Mr Drum’ Nxumalo; the Women’s March of 1955; the Sophiatown removals; the funeral of the Sharpeville massacre victims …

Photographer Jürgen Schadeberg was the man behind the camera, recording history as it unfolded in apartheid South Africa, but his personal story is no less extraordinary. His affiliation for the displaced, the persecuted and the marginalised was already deeply rooted by the time he came to South Africa from Germany in 1950 and began taking pictures for the fledgling Drum magazine. In this powerfully evocative memoir of an international, award-winning career spanning over 50 years – in Europe, Africa and the US – this behind-the-scenes journey with a legendary photojournalist and visual storyteller is a rare and special privilege.

Schadeberg’s first-hand experiences as a child in Berlin during the Second World War, where he witnessed the devastating effect of the repressive Nazi regime, and felt the full wrath of the Allied Forces’ relentless bombing of the city, are vividly told. The only child of an actress, who left her son largely to his own devices, Jürgen became skilled at living by his wits, and developed a resourcefulness that held him in good stead throughout his life. At the end of the war, his mother married a British officer and emigrated to South Africa, leaving Jürgen behind in a devastated Germany to fend for himself. With some luck and a great deal of perseverance, he was able to pursue his interest in photography in Hamburg, undergoing training as an unpaid ‘photographic volunteer’ at the German Press Agency, then graduating to taking photos at football matches.

After two years there, Jürgen made the decision to travel to South Africa. He arrived at Johannesburg station on a cold winter’s morning. He had a piece of paper with his mother’s address on it, his worldly possessions in a small, cheap suitcase on the platform beside him, and his Leica camera, as always, around his neck.

Have slums become 'cool'? More and more tourists from across the globe seem to think so as they discover favelas, ghettos, townships and barrios on leisurely visits. But while slum tourism often evokes moral outrage, critics rarely ask about what motivates this tourism, or what wider consequences and effects it initiates.

In this provocative book, Fabian Frenzel investigates the lure that slums exert on their better-off visitors, looking at the many ways in which this curious form of attraction ignites changes both in the slums themselves and on the world stage. Covering slums ranging from Rio de Janeiro to Bangkok, and multiple cities in South Africa, Kenya and India, Slumming It examines the roots and consequences of a growing phenomenon whose effects have ranged from gentrification and urban policy reform to the organization of international development and poverty alleviation.

Controversially, Frenzel argues that the rise of slum tourism has drawn attention to important global justice issues, and is far more complex than we initially acknowledged.

I Declare is Andrea Dondolo’s first published book. A journey through years of gracing stages, evoking the effervescent spirit of the praise singer, the forerunner of royals.

Some of the poems in this book foreran and set the tone for nation building events, setting the tone for magnanimous decisions. Like a weaver bird’s nest, this book holds and gives love unmeasured, a feast for word lovers, cultural guardian, creatives, subject matter think tanks.

This is an invitation to take your shoes off, free your wings and soar.

South Africa’s progressive Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (No. 92 of 1996), which permits abortion at the request of a pregnant person in the first trimester, was hailed as transformative in terms of reproductive health and rights. Despite this promise, many challenges persist resulting in a lack of services, especially in rural areas where distances and transport costs are a factor.

Accessing abortion services in rural areas under conditions of liberal abortion legislation is neither straightforward nor simple. As the South African example shows, the liberalisation of abortion legislation was the first step in granting pregnant persons access to abortion care. Despite this and some progress in implementation, many challenges persist resulting in a lack of services, especially in areas where distances and transport costs are a factor.

Drawing on the findings of a study conducted in three rural districts of the Eastern Cape, the authors highlight the complexities involved in understanding problematic or unwanted pregnancies and abortion legislation within these communities; the reported barriers to, and facilitators of, access to abortion services among rural populations; and preferences for types of abortion services.

A key finding is the conundrum of costs versus confidentiality: lack of confidentiality involves additional costs to access services outside the area; high costs mean that confidentiality may have to be foregone, which leads to stigma. The authors place the findings within a reparative reproductive justice framework and present a comprehensive set of recommendations. Abortion Services and Reproductive Justice in Rural South Africa is an insightful and informative resource – the first of its kind –for scholars in health and sociology, health anthropology, health psychology, health sociology and social work, reproductive health policy makers, national planners, health facility managers and providers, and activists.

Hotelier and guest lodge owner extraordinaire Nicky Fitzgerald poses the question, ‘How can you
possibly feed guests who, when they are not on safari, are eating in the best restaurants on the planet?’

As she goes on to say, ‘It is a daunting challenge to prepare food in the middle of nowhere for guests
who come from all four corners of the world, from different culinary cultures and who, quite rightly,
expect the best of the best when it comes to choosing where to stay for their next holiday.’

Angama Mara not only rose to the challenge, it has exceeded it. Perched on the edge of the Great
Rift Valley overlooking Kenya’s lovely Maasai Mara, Angama Mara and its bush kitchen draws
inspiration from the finest ingredients to be found in Kenya: beautiful vegetables from the highlands,
tropical fruits a-plenty from the coast, cheese from a renowned supplier just outside of Nairobi,
prawns from Malindi, freshwater fish from Lake Victoria and beef from the north. As you will discover
as you read this book, Kenyan cuisine is deeply influenced by Arab-inspired Swahili dishes from the
coast and Indian food from the significant communities that have called this country home for many
generations. Aren’t your taste buds dancing with delight at the very thought?

This quirky anthology of recipes, reminiscences, anecdotes and stories was compiled and written
in honour of the chefs at Angama Mara, and its guests who made the dream possible. The food and
the breathtaking scenics were photographed by Sam Linsell, herself a well-known food stylist, food
and travel photographer, and cookbook author.

Making a Life: Young Men on Johannesburg’s Urban Margins explores the dynamic everyday life-making strategies of young men in Zandspruit, a sprawling informal settlement on the outskirts of Johannesburg. In many ways, Zandspruit typifies the precariousness of life in South Africa, where two-thirds of young people lack waged employment. However, rather than seeing Zandspruit as dumping ground, Hannah J. Dawson calls for an integrated understanding of the complex linkages between people’s lives and livelihoods, and the multifaceted sociopolitical landscape of urban settlements.

Based on 14 months of ethnographic research, Dawson investigates how social belonging, identity and economic realities intertwine in informal settlements like Zandspruit. This approach not only challenges conventional approaches to studying work; it also questions the increasingly prevalent perspective that romanticises the adaptive survival strategies of the urban poor. By exploring the intricate connections between those with and without waged employment, the author shows how young men manage complex social, political and economic conditions.

Making a Life offers insights into issues such as urban work, citizenship, un(der) employment and inequality in South Africa. At the same time, it contributes to a global understanding of how young people – men especially – manage economic uncertainty.

Louis, a self trained photorapher , grew up on a smallholding north east of Pretoria in South Africa. Louis qualified in the field of commerce and followed a corporate career in a large financial services organisation . At the age of 40, Louis started to take photography, his hobby for many years, more seriously.

He enrolled for varies courses and did a lot of self studying on the subject. Louis discovered the value of photography as a medium to communicate without words and how to paint stories with light. He became passionate about photographing remote landscapes, places and ordinary people. Over the last 20 years, Louis has participated in several solo and group exhibitions. He exhibits permanently in Price Albert, his hometown, and shares his passion for photography with others during workshops .

These poems written over roughly 11 years describe an intense journey through trauma and abuses. The writer found strength while left to deal with the emotional damage alone after being treated like an outcast, when she finally voiced the truth about her abuser.

These poems capture a journey to hope breaking open. “Do not hide from your breaks or aches or wounds. Do not let them be drowned in silence. Give them voices, so that you can have a voice too.”

Recommended to all seeking meaning in misery, authenticity, courage and soul, in a broken world.

What do African feminist traditions that exist outside the canon look and feel like? What complex cultural logics are at work outside the centres of power? How do spirituality and feminism influence each other? What are the histories and experiences of queer Africans? What imaginative forms can feminist activism take?

Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist in South Africa is the first collection of essays dedicated to contemporary Black South African feminist perspectives. Leading feminist theorist, Desiree Lewis, and poet and feminist scholar, Gabeba Baderoon, have curated contributions by some of the finest writers and thought leaders. Radical polemic sits side by side with personal essays, and critical theory coexists with rich and stirring life histories. By including writings by Patricia McFadden, Panashe Chigumadzi, Sisonke Msimang, Zukiswa Wanner, Yewande Omotoso, Zoë Wicomb and Pumla Dineo Gqola alongside emerging thinkers, activists and creative practitioners, the collection demonstrates a dazzling range of feminist voices.

The writers in these pages use creative expression, photography and poetry in eclectic, interdisciplinary ways to unearth and interrogate representations of Blackness, sexuality, girlhood, history, divinity, and other themes. Surfacing is indispensable to anyone interested in feminism from Africa, which its contributors show in vivid and challenging conversation with the rest of the world. It will appeal to a diverse audience of students, activists, critical thinkers, academics and artists.

Hierdie boek behandel vier hooftemas:

Die toekoms van Afrikaners in `n uiters onseker land;

Die aard van Afrikaans-wees en Afrikaner-wees - verlede, hede en toekoms;

Sleutelvoorwaardes vir `n vooruitstrewende Suid-Afrika;

Wat staan ons as Afrikaners te doen om `n goeie toekoms te help skep?

Decolonising the Human examines the ongoing project of constituting ‘the human’ in light of the durability of coloniality and the persistence of multiple oppressions

The ‘human’ emerges as a deeply political category, historically constructed as a scarce existential resource. Once weaponised, it allows for the social, political and economic elevation of those who are centred within its magic circle, and the degradation, marginalisation and immiseration of those excluded as the different and inferior Other, the less than human.

Speaking from Africa, a key site where the category of the human has been used throughout European modernity to control, exclude and deny equality of being, the contributors use decoloniality as a potent theoretical and philosophical tool, gesturing towards a liberated, pluriversal world where human difference will be recognised as a gift, not used to police the boundaries of the human. Here is a transdisciplinary critical exploration of a wide range of subjects, including history, politics, philosophy, sociology, anthropology and decolonial studies.

Force for Good is a bold and refreshingly balanced exploration of positive masculinity, written to inspire men to become powerful forces for good in a world that desperately needs them to step into this role. The book challenges the extremes that often define the discourse around masculinity – aggressive dominance on one side and passive disengagement on the other. It offers a vision of true and healthy masculinity that is both strong and gentle, fierce and safe, confident and humble.

At its core is the conviction that men are made to be powerful forces, but only in service of what is good. Power, often misunderstood or negatively viewed, is essential. Without it, a man cannot fulfil his potential or meet the needs of those who depend on him. Power itself is neutral; how it is used determines whether it becomes a force for good or harm.

The book is divided into three parts – Being Man, Becoming a Force, and Doing Good – and builds a compelling case for the value of healthy masculinity. It explores the internal and external battles men face, the journey from boyhood to manhood, and the sacred responsibility to grow in strength and purpose. Force for Good calls men to action, not against others but for the good of others. It is a timely, courageous invitation to be all that a man was made to be, because such a man will be a Force for Good.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment and is renowned for being one of the most unequal societies in the world. In this context, training and education play critical roles in helping young people escape poverty and unemployment. Post-school Education offers insights about the way in which young people in South Africa navigate their way through a host of post-school training and education options. The topics range from access to, and labour market transitions from, vocational education, adult education, universities, and workplace-based training. The individual chapters offer up-to-date analyses, identify some of the challenges that young people face when accessing training and education and also point to gaps between education and the labour market. The contributors are all experts in their respective components but write with a holistic view of the post-school education system, using an unashamedly empirical lens. Post-school Education will be of interest to all researchers and policymakers concerned with the transformative role of further education and training in society.

"A patient is standing in the middle of the river. He gazes across the water to the city and the mountain above where the sun is setting. His back is turned to the hospital. The nurses are waiting for him patiently on the river bank. He seems uncertain whether to cross the river or to return. There is no danger. He is on the edge, in an in-between space, as is the hospital where I have worked as a specialist psychiatrist for over twenty-five years."

For many of us, what lies beyond conventional portrayals of mental illness is often shrouded in mystery, misconception and fear. Dr Sean Baumann spent decades as a psychiatrist at Valkenberg Hospital and, through his personal engagement with patients’ various forms of psychosis, he describes the lived experiences of those who suffer from schizophrenia, depression, bipolar and other disorders.

The stories told are authentic, mysterious and compelling, representing both vivid expressions of minds in turmoil and the struggle to give form and meaning to distress. The author seeks to describe these encounters in a respectful way, believing that careless portrayals of madness cause further suffering and perpetuate the burden of stigma.

Baumann argues cogently for a more inclusive way of making sense of mental health. With sensitivity and empathy, his enquiries into the territories of art, psychology, consciousness, otherness, free will and theories of the self reveal how mental illness raises questions that affect us all.

Madness is illustrated by award-winning artist Fiona Moodie.

How do you teach the grace and quiet confidence that comes with the permission to be yourself? How do you teach someone to know what to do when they don’t know what to do? That kind of leadership cannot be taught. It must be experienced and understood, and it is a profoundly personal and dynamic journey.

Leading with Humanity is an invitation to take the first steps on the inside-out journey of understanding what it is to become and be a leader – discovering who we are meant to be in a world obsessed with what we do. Drawing from great thinkers and leaders through the centuries – and decades of personal leadership experience – Peter Laburn’s Leading with Humanity combines time-tested philosophical notions with proven research principles into an authentic guide for anyone striving to be a better human being, and thus a better leader, in business and life.

Living as a human being is challenging in a world that encourages and incentivises us to operate as human doings.

In Moerstaāl word oorsprong in oënskyn geneem: perspektiewe word gebied op geskiedenis en erfenis en hoe dit met taal saamhang. ’n Skryfwyse wat deur Khoekhoegowab geïnspireer is, veral wat die gebruik van die makron op klinkers betref, word ingespan tesame met Sols se kenmerkende Ghoema-Afrikaans. ’n Respek vir byna uitgestorwe kennis word oorgedra en in dié opsig is die gedigte ’n kreet van verlies en ’n bewuste poging tot ’n daad van bestendiging.

Die lewe-gewende moederfiguur tree hier na vore – die vrou wat verguising en ontkenning moes deurleef en wie se bydrae en plek, soos ook dié van die taal, in en deur die bundel herstel, of ten minste openbaar gemaak, wil word.

Die musikaliteit van Sōls se vorige twee bundels is weer hier teenwoordig. Só ook sy vlymskerp kommentaar en ironie, en sy digterlike gebruik van spreektaal. Sols se terugkeer na geskrewe poësie – die eerste bundel in sestien jaar – is beslis ’n groot aanwins vir die Afrikaanse letterkunde.

In the period between the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and the enactment of university apartheid by the Nationalist Government in 1959, the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits) developed as an ‘open university’, admitting students of all races. This, the second volume of the history of Wits by historian Bruce Murray, has as its central theme the process by which Wits became ‘open’, the compromises this process entailed, and the defence the University mounted to preserve its ‘open’ status in the face of the challenges posed by the Nationalist Government.

The University’s institutional autonomy is highlighted by Yunus Ballim in his preface to the centenary edition of WITS: The ‘Open’ Years. He writes: ‘The emerging posture of a university willing to rise in defence of academic freedom was important because this was to become infused into the institutional culture of Wits.’

The book looks at the University’s role in South Africa’s war effort, its contribution to the education of ex-volunteers after the war, its leading role in training job-seeking professionals required by a rapidly expanding economy, and the rise of research and postgraduate study. Students feature prominently through their political activities, the flourishing of a student intelligentsia, the heyday of the Remember and Give (Rag) parade, rugby intervarsity, and the stunning success of Wits sportsmen and women. Wits: The ‘Open’ Years paints a vivid picture of the range of personalities who enlivened the campus – among them some well-known figures in the new South Africa.

The book includes chapters by Alf Stadler, who was Professor of Political Studies at Wits and the author of The Political Economy of Modern South Africa, and Jonty Winch, former Sports Officer at Wits and the author of Wits Sport.