Books

Book Review: "My Father, My Monster"

Written by Brendah Nyakudya
Tuesday, 13 December 2011 15:28

With his unique name, distinct accent and confident manner, MacIntosh Polela, spokesperson for the Hawks, could easily be mistaken for a man whose background is one of privilege, luxury and ease. However, his riveting memoir, My Father My Monster, reveals that his childhood and youth were the exact opposite.

Book review: Patchwork – Ellen Banda-Aaku

Written by Tendai Maidza
Wednesday, 05 October 2011 16:55

Ellen Banda-Aaku’s book Patchwork, which won the 2010 Penguin African Writing prize, tells a uniquely African coming-of-age story through memorable and universally relatable characters.

The book is written in two parts – nine-year-old Pumpkin’s experiences in the first part and then 30-something-year-old Pumpkin’s life in the second. The two parts tie together cleverly because one feels as though the life described in part two is the logical fruition of the seeds sown in the first part.

Noria Mabasa

Written by Sam Mathe
Tuesday, 16 August 2011 12:48

Born in a traditional Venda community in what is now Limpopo, world-renowned sculptor Noria Mabasa defied tradition when she switched from clay to wood, the latter medium being traditionally an exclusive male preserve.

The first phase of her artistic expression is clearly rooted in the Venda women’s art and craft tradition of using mud and clay to mould household items such as cooking pots and water vessels that are also used to store traditional beverages such as sorghum beer.

Mmakgabo Mmapula Mmankgato Helen Sebidi

Written by Sam Mathe
Tuesday, 16 August 2011 12:44

One wonders whether all these names appear in Sebidi’s identity documents, but the fact that her book is titled in this way is a clear indication that she attaches enormous importance to her identity as a black woman and how this identity has shaped her world view as an artist.

Sebidi’s main influence was her grandmother, a gifted decorator of walls in the traditional Tswana style. She raised young Makgabo to cherish traditional African value systems as opposed to what she regarded as the “selfish values of city life”.