Books LIVE

Rediscovering a Passion for Books at the Launch of Richard de Nooy's The Big Stick

Amy — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:05:36 +0200

In an article for Gauteng blog, Colin Ford describes how his passion for print books (as opposed to eBooks) was reignited when he attended the Johannesburg launch of Richard de Nooy‘s latest, The Big Stick, at Love Books. He says that beautiful and welcoming bookstores like Love Books do well to encourage the demand for print media, and that the pleasures of reading a paper book can’t be matched by an eBook. Says Ford, “I bought a copy of The Big Stick at the launch and [...]

"Essential to Our Psychic Health": Doreen Baingana Defends Contemporary Dance

Sophy — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:03:43 +0200

In an article for START Journal, Ugandan author Doreen Baingana defends the arts – in particular, contemporary dance – against those who downplay its value. Baingana, author of the award-winning Tropical Fish, attended the Ugandan contemporary dance festival, Dance Transmissions, in October last year which featured, among others, the South African dance troupe Mhayise Productions. Baingana picks out the performance from Mhayise Productions to show how accessible contemporary dance can be and to support her argument that the arts are “essential to our psychic health”. A woman, or [...]

Nuwe Woordfees-optrede: Marita van der Vyver gesels oor haar komende roman

Chris — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:57:56 +0200

Nog ‘n wonderlike toevoeging tot die propvol Woordfeesprogram is hierdie week aangekondig toe Marita van der Vyver bevestig het dat sy vanuit Frankryk gaan kom om aan ‘n middagetegesprek oor haar komende roman deel te neem. Op 7 Maart om 12:00 sal Van der Vyver saam met feesgangers aansit vir ‘n heerlik middagete by die Knorhoek-wynplaas. Haar uitgewer, Riana Barnard, sal met haar in gesprek [...]

Advice from "Fairy Godmother" Donna McCallum: Setting Goals and Visualising Success (Video)

Amanda — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:56:14 +0200

Donna McCallum, author of The Fairy Godmother’s Guide to Getting What You Want, recently stopped by the morning show Expresso, where she shared some of her advice for achieving success and fulfilment in your life. She spoke to Michael Mol and Liezel van der Westhuizen about the right way to set goals and use creative visualisations to get what you want: Click here to view the embedded video. Not Playing? Watch on YouTube Click here to view the embedded video. Not Playing? Watch on [...]

Diane Victor Converts Smoke into Stain to Articulate "the Loss and Traceability of Human Life"

DKP — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:48:56 +0200

Mary Corrigal recently reviewed Diane Victor’s haunting exhibition Ashes to Ashes and Smoke to Dust, which combines the impermanence of smoke with the mutability of wax to signify, what Corrigall calls, “the loss and traceability of human life”. Read her review of Victor’s work: When Diane Victor first started making smoke drawings, it was to direct attention to victims of violent crime. The medium was ideal for this purpose; the transparent brown residue the smoke imprinted on the [...]

Jonathan Amid Reviews The Big Stick by Richard de Nooy

Chiara — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:47:30 +0200

Verdict: carrot The Big Stick is South African-born Richard de Nooy’s follow-up to the acclaimed Six Fang Marks and a Tetanus Shot, the second part of what the author terms a “loose trilogy”. It is sure to gain this distinctive voice more than just a cult following. Set in a vibrant, salacious 1980s Netherlands, De Nooy’s startling melange of characters, themes and voices shifts boundaries while remaining deliberately eclectic. The main thrust of the plot sees Alma Nel, mother to the gay Staal (nicknamed “Princess” by the mysterious [...]

Two songs: Glen Cowan and Edith Södergran

Patricia — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:28:32 +0200

I first heard Glen Cowan’s A spring song when I was about 16 years old. He read it aloud at a poetry circle organised by Philippa Berlyn, the editor of Two Tone: A quarterly of Rhodesian poetry. Philippa nurtured emerging poets in much the way that Hugh Hodge, Robert Berold and Gus Ferguson do. I owe to her the sense that, if you are aware of a poem within you, you are more than duty-bound to release it and give it life for others to experience. When I heard Glen read his A spring song, I wished I had written it. [...]

Potgooi: Marinda van Zyl gesels oor Wilhelmina Radebe kom tuis

Suzann — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:19:34 +0200

Marinda van Zyl was al van kleins af, op die plaasskool waar sy onderrig is, ‘n storieverteller. Die ouer kinders is soms ingespan om die jongeres besig te hou en dan het sy hulle met stories, wat sy self geskryf het, vermaak. Toe sy begin werk en studeer het, was daar nie juis meer tyd om te skryf nie, het Van Zyl op die RSG-program Leesking aan Christelle Webb-Joubert gesê. Maar terwyl sy met haar proefskrif oor swart verstedeliking in Vereeniging besig was, het sy geweet dat sy [...]

Obie Oberholzer's Solo Exhibition Long Distance Opens at Johannesburg's Circa Gallery

Amy — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:13:50 +0200

A new solo exhibition by acclaimed photographer Obie Oberholzer, most recently author of Diesel & Dust, opens at Johannesburg’s Circa gallery on 16 February at 6 PM. The exhibition, entitled Long Distance, runs until 10 March 2012. Don’t miss it! In his review of the exhibition, fellow artist Willem Boshoff describes Oberholzer as an “intergalactic traveller and lone planet wanderer”: So many stars in the sky, but in this life we find few shooting stars – crazy individuals that do not conform as any [...]

Reading Revolution: Ashwin Desai on the Influence of Shakespeare at Robben Island

Mafeno — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:04:33 +0200

Sociologist and activist Ashwin Desai has received a lot of press for his new book, Reading Revolution: Shakespeare on Robben Island, which tells the story of the political prisoners on Robben Island and the role books played in their intellectual and personal development. He was recently interviewed in the Witness and by Wendy Jasson da Costa in the Mercury. In his interview with da Costa, Desai describes how books came to play an emancipatory role for the Robben Island prisoners: By day they were stone-breakers, at night they were confined to prison cells. [...]