This groundbreaking, multi-genre anthology answers the question: what did the literary landscape look like in South Africa at the start of the twenty-first century?

It documents a slice of this landscape by bringing together the writings of over twenty contributors through literary critique, personal essays and interviews. The book tells the story of the seismic shift that transformed national culture through poetry and is the first of its kind to explore the history and impact of poetry by Black women, in their own voices. It straddles disciplines: literary theory, feminism, history of the book and politics – thus decolonising literary culture.

Our Words, Our Worlds covers expansive reflections: from the international diplomacy-transforming poem, ‘I Have Come to Take You Home’ by Diana Ferrus, to the pioneering publisher duduzile zamantungwa mabaso; from the self-confessed closeted poet Sedica Davids, to the fiery unapologetic feminist Bandile Gumbi; from the world-renowned Malika Ndlovu, to the engineer and award-winning Nosipho Gumede; from the formidable foursome Feela Sistah, to feminist literary scholars V.M. Sisi Maqagi and Barbara Boswell. The collective contributions are a testimony to the power of creativity and centrality of poetry in a changing society.

This book is an assertion of Black women’s intellectual prowess and – as Gabeba Baderoon puts it – black women’s visions of ‘a world made whole by their presence’.

The essays in this collection were crafted in celebration of the centenaries, in 2019, of Peter Abrahams, Noni Jabavu, Sibusiso Cyril Lincoln Nyembezi and Es'kia Mphahlele, all of whom were born in 1919. All four centenarians lived rich and diverse lives across several continents. In the years following the Second World War they produced more than half a century of foundational creative writing and literary criticism, and made stellar contributions to institutions and repertoires of African and black arts and letters in South Africa and internationally. As a result, their oeuvres present multifaceted engagements and generative insights into a wide range of issues, including precolonial existence, colonialism, empire, race, culture, identity, class, the language question, tradition, modernity, exile, Pan-Africanism, and decolonisation. The range of the centenarians' imaginations, critical analyses and social interventions spanned disciplinary divides. This volume, in the same spirit, draws on approaches that are equally transdisciplinary. Two aims thread through the contributors' reflections on the complexities of black existence and of intellectual and cultural life in the twentieth century. The first is the exploration of some of the centenarians' key texts and cultural projects that shaped their legacies. In doing so, the volume contributors trace a number of divergent intellectual and aesthetic lineages in their works and organisational activities. The second aim is a consideration of the ways in which these foundational writers' legacies continue to resonate today, confirming their status as crucial contributors to modern African and diasporic black arts and letters.

Now in its 8th year, the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award has been the launching pad for upcoming poets. From slam poetry to formal rhyme, the anthology is a celebration of language and cultural diversity. Assembled by a brilliant team of judges, from a blind selection, this year's compilation contains the best poems from 500 entries, including 10 of the 11 South African languages. Named after Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje (1876-1932), the award recognises the life and vision of this highly respected political and social activist. We always hope that it reveals the political and social attitudes of our time and reflects the complex, nuanced and uncomfortable truths of life in South Africa.

Makhosazana Xaba's poems are drawn from situations of contemporary South African life and are filled with topical and familiar references. Her poems question the structure of South African society and contemporary racial and gender divisions. Although written by one with an obvious gift for words, this is not obscure poetry penned from a linguistic ivory tower. Rather, it is the poetry of everyday life, filled with the fresh juice of observant wit, with a twist of lemon on the side. What makes Xaba's voice unique is her genuine originality and strong confidence to think for herself.

This anthology comes after the rousing international success of the award winning, Queer Africa: New and Collected Fiction (MaThoko’s Books, 2013). The 25 stories by writers from Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Uganda, USA present exciting and varied narratives on life. There are stories on desire, disruption and dreams; others on longing, lust and love - a range of human emotions abound on lives of Africans and those of the diaspora who identify variously along the long and fluid line of the sexuality, gender and sexual orientation spectrum in the African continent. Centered in these stories and their in attendant relationships is humanity. The writers showcase their artistry in storytelling in thought-provoking and delightful ways.

‘The art of telling my stories lies in saying the right things the right way, but sometimes, and sometimes more importantly, it lies in finding ways to say the things that are never said.’ The above quote, taken from Emil Rorke’s ‘Poisoned Grief’, one of the eighteen fine stories showcased in Queer Africa, beautifully captures both the motivation behind and urgent need for this anthology. Each of the authors represented here has found just the right way in which to talk about the things that are too often silenced, too often denied or violently opposed. Each one has also interpreted, explored and represented the theme ‘queer Africa’ in a unique way, resulting in a diverse and ground-breaking collection of short-form writing. Queer Africa brings together historical and contemporary stories, affirming and disquieting stories, urban and rural stories. It features characters who are rooted firmly in their countries and cultures, and others who could live anywhere in the world. At its heart, the collection celebrates the diversity and fluidity of queer and African identifications and expressions, offering a sometimes radical re imagining of life on the continent. The stories courageously – and often in surprising and delightful ways – challenge assumptions about what it means to represent particular human experiences. As such, this collection of well-crafted and absorbing stories is for everyone: male and female, queer and straight, young and old, African and non-African.

Turning her back on what is considered conventional, Makhosazana Xaba engages with her subject-matter on a revolutionary level in Running and Other Stories.

She takes tradition - be that literary tradition, cultural tradition, gender tradition - and re-imagines it in a way that is liberating and innovative. Bracketed by Xaba's revisitings of Can Themba's influential short story, The Suit, the ten stories in this collection, while strongly independent, are in conversation with one another, resulting in a collection that can be devoured all at once or savoured slowly, story by story.

By re-envisioning the ordinary and accepted, Xaba is creating a space in which women's voices are given a rebirth.