Hambidge, J. (2021). Nomadiese sterre (Eerste uitgawe). Protea Boekhuis R200.-

Nomadiese sterre bied ʼn terugkyk op Hambidge se net meer as 60 jaar en veral ʼn blik op haar plek in die Hambidge-huisgesin (soos in die gedigreeks “Witbank-Blues” waarmee die bundel afgesluit word). Dié blik word ’n lamentoso, ’n pynlike terugkyk (“Antigone”) en die “blues” ʼn tint wat die stemming van die bundel kleur. Johan Myburg merk op: “Wat deurgaans opval is Hambidge se omgaan met “hartenswoorde”: woorde wat ʼn duidelike persoonlike betekenis het, maar só geboetseer word dat dit die leser toelaat om ʼn eie “hartensbegrip” daaraan te koppel. Wat veel vreugde bied is die spel en dikwels speelse manier waarmee sy omgaan.”

Die verwysing na sterre in die titel open verwysingsvelde van sterre, gesterntes en swerwers.

Vos, S., & Muller, S. (Eds.). (2020). Sulke vriende is skaars : die briewe van arnold van wyk en anton hartman, 1949 – 1981 (Eerste uitgawe). Protea Boekhuis R395.-

Sulke vriende is skaars. Die briewe van Anton Hartman en Arnold van Wyk bevat die geannoteerde briefkorrespondensie tussen twee seminale figure in die Suid-Afrikaanse Westerse kunsmusiek. Dit is die eerste keer dat briefwisseling binne die Suid-Afrikaanse musiekgeskiedenisskrywing gepubliseer word en is ’n publikasie wat ’n noemenswaardige bydra tot die dissipline van Suid-Afrikaanse musiekhistoriografie, asook tot Afrikaner- en apartheidshistoriografie, sal maak. Dit toon die belangrikheid aan van verdere navorsing oor die geïnstitusionaliseerde posisie van wit kunsmusiek in Suid-Afrika. Benewens die briewe, word belangrike foto’s, afskrifte van faksimilees, telegramme en ander vorme van korrespondensie geplaas en groot klem geplaas op die visuele voorkoms van die boek.

Otosirieze Obi-Young, & Sisonke Msimang. (2019). The heart of the matter (Ser. The gerald kraak anthology : african perspectives on gender, social justice and sexuality, vol. III). Jacana Media. R240,-

The Jacana Literary Foundation and the Other Foundation are thrilled to announce the publication of the third volume of The Gerald Kraak Anthology, The Heart of the Matter.

With the prize ceremony linked to Africa Day, the publication of the anthology is tied to the Pride Month of June and the celebrations of the LGBTQI+ community which occur across the globe.

The Heart of the Matter is a collection of the 21 shortlisted entries, chosen by this year’s judges; Sisonke Msimang, Sylvia Tamale, Mark Gevisser and Otosirieze Obi-Young, from over 400 submissions received from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and six other African countries. It showcases some of the most provocative works of fiction, poetry and non-fiction. The winning essay ‘Mothers and Men’ by OluTimehin Adegbeye truly captures the essence of the African LGBTQI+ community. The anthology showcases some of Africa’s most talented writers. The unique prize calls for multi-layered, stirring African voices that represent a new wave of fresh storytelling, one that provokes thought on the topics of gender, social justice and sexuality. The anthology encapsulates the current struggle of the African LGBTQI+ community; same-sex relationships are still illegal in many countries, most of them in Africa. This anthology also coincides with some of the victories of the community; Botswana’s High Court recently overturned a colonial-era law criminalising consensual same-sex relations.

The second of the Gerald Kraak Anthologies, As You Like It, received the LAMBDA Literary Award for LGBTQ Anthology Fiction 2019 at a ceremony in New York. A testament to the brave storytellers of Africa, and the impact they have.

The Gerald Kraak Anthology and Prize is made possible by the Jacana Literary Foundation and the Other Foundation.

Agrella, J. (2021). Zeus van wyngaardt en die godin van die jag (Eerste uitgawe). Protea Boekhuis. R239.-

Privaat speurder Zeus van Wyngaardt sou nooit kon droom dat ’n godin soos Diana Engelbrecht (sy naam is Zeus, hy ken godinne) op ’n dag by sy gehawende kantoor in Springs sou instap nie. Haar opdrag: Vind die vermiste Esias Kok.

Zeus besef gou agter elke storie is daar baie stories, en dié godin is dalk nie wat sy voorgee om te wees nie. Soos wat hy elke spoor begin volg, vervaag die grense tussen die reële en die digitale wêreld, oortreder en slagoffer, skuld en onskuld …

In hierdie aweregse roman vervleg Julio Agrella die lewens van uiteenlopende karakters op vindingryke wyse. Dit wat agter die geslote deure van die armstes tot die rykstes in die samelewing gebeur, wys dat misbruik en geweld nie onderskeid tref nie. ’n Boek wat die leser sal skok, sal laat lag met die donker humor daarvan, en aan die raai sal hou tot die einde.

Dlamini, J. (2020). Safari nation : a social history of the kruger national park. Jacana Media R280.-

Safari Nation opens new lines of inquiry in the study of national parks in Africa and the rest of the world. The Kruger National Park is South Africa’s most iconic nature reserve, renowned for its rich flora and fauna. According to author Jacob Dlamini, there is another side to the park, a social history neglected by scholars and popular writers alike in which blacks (meaning Africans, Coloureds, and Indians) occupy center stage. Safari Nation details the ways in which black people devoted energies to conservation and to the park over the course of the twentieth century—engagement that transcends the stock (black) figure of the laborer and the poacher.

By exploring the complex and dynamic ways in which blacks of varying class, racial, religious, and social backgrounds related to the Kruger National Park, and with the help of previously unseen archival photographs, Dlamini’s narrative also sheds new light on how and why Africa’s national parks—often derided by scholars as colonial impositions—survived the end of white rule on the continent. Relying on oral histories, photographs, and archival research, Safari Nation engages both with African historiography and with ongoing debates about the “land question,” democracy, and citizenship in South Africa.

Jacob Dlamini is assistant professor of history at Princeton University and is a qualified field guide. He is the author of Askari: A Story of Collaboration and Betrayal in the Anti-Apartheid Struggle and Native Nostalgia.

Francis, S., & Rico. (2021). Family meeting. Jacana Media R185.-

After 29 years, Madam & Eve is still going strong and are back with more hilarious cartoons looking back at another year of the crazy rollercoaster that is daily life and politics in South Africa.

Madam & Eve cartoons appear regularly in the Mail & Guardian, The Star, The Saturday Star, Herald, Mercury, Witness, Daily Dispatch, Cape Times, Pretoria News, Diamond Fields Advertiser, Die Volksblad, EC Today, Kokstad Advertiser and The Namibian.

Madam & Eve is South Africa’s best reminder that we need to laugh at ourselves as a society.

Daly, N. (2021). Fly high! thoko. Jacana Media

Daly, N. (2021). Ndiza! thoko. (W. N. Zulu, Trans.). Jacana Media

Daly, N. (2021). Ntingela phezulu! thoko. (X. Guzula, Trans.). Jacana Media. R130.-

Your favourite children’s author is back with his delightful local heroine, Thoko! Niki Daly makes reading about life as a child entertaining and realistic with his much-loved character.

In these four easy-to-read stories, follow Thoko as she realises that beauty is not about how you look. Thoko meets her mama’s new boyfriend, and cleaning up the beach leads to a creative recycling project