21 June 2021 Issue 7 Year 83

PDBY 21 June 2021

Year 83 | Issue 7

yourcampusnews.

Literature Edition 2021 Poetry Corner P13 P14

Illustration: Masehle Mailula

Science P3 literature at UP

P7

Pretoria book thrifting guide

P10

The book nerd corner

21 June 2021

2 | From the Editor

PDBY Media

Beginnings and endings...

T

his has been an overwhelming edition to put together. The edition itself was fun and an exciting literature themed project that reflects our journalists’ diverse interests and passions for literature and writing. We also received many poems and short stories from you, our readers, for this edition’s special extended Poetry Corner. You can read the wide range of submissions on page 13 and 14.

But this edition was overwhelming because it has been my final official edition as Editor of PDBY. And so this is my last editorial – mercifully, because I’m running out of things to write about. I kid – humour makes the emotions easier. I joined PDBY four years ago, and it’s been a long, challenging and rewarding experience. I began as a copy editor, thinking this would be a casual extra activity while I was at UP. But it soon became the majority of my daily life. In 2018 I became head layout editor, which was an entirely different experience of the publication, and gave me a new passion for design and layout. In 2019, I became Editor.

It’s been two years in this position, and I can’t believe it’s come to an end. I remember my first week as Editor. There were a lot of tears. And now, almost a full two years later, nothing has changed. But however challenging or stressful things have been while juggling PDBY with my degree and a pandemic, it’s also been the

Copy: CJ Barnard Maryke Steynvaart Lise le Roux Nondumiso Mntambo Ntokozo Xulu Ndinae Ramavhoya Tiara Joseph

best part of my time at UP. PDBY has changed my life, and means more to be than I ever imagined it could.

Also, the tears are easier to wipe with the wads of cash I earned in this position. That’s a joke. I didn’t earn a salary. What I did earn though was a Big Al’s addiction, the skill to do layout though blurry sleep deprived vision, the useless talent of being able to identify double spaces, and a very strong tolerance for jagerbombs.

Jokes aside, I am very sad to say goodbye to PDBY. This publication is a very important part of my life, and I treasure my time here. I have loved working to share informative and entertaining content to you as readers, and covering student life and news from a student perspective. It has enriched my experience as a student, and gave me a unique insight into UP and student life. I’d love to do this forever, but I am excited to see the future of the publication and what future Editors and journalists bring to PDBY.

Layout: Duane Kitching Kara Olivier Bellinah Zwane Kendra Dean

me organise my overwhelming feelings while writing this, and to Leah for helping with the content. To the editorial, we’ve been through a lot together, and I am going to sorely miss running PDBY with all of you. I can’t wait to see the future of PDBY, and the paper will have a reader and follower in me long after I leave.

Thanks to Leah and Kelly for helping

Kayla Thomas Editor 2020 and 2021

PDBYMedia, formerly Perdeby, is the official independent student newspaper of the University of Pretoria. We are committed to providing fresh and entertaining news content for UP students, by UP students, about UP issues.

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21 June 2021

Science literature published by UP Amukelani Makamu and Thabang Moloi

P

ollinators, Predators and Parasites by Clarke Scholtz, Hennie de Klerk, and Jenny Scholtz Professor Clarke Scholtz amongst other authors has published a book titled Pollinators, Predators and Parasites. The book is significant to the University of Pretoria, specifically in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, because it can be used as a source when doing research on pollinators, predators and parasites.

Social Insects Research Group (SIRG) at the University of Pretoria Professor Robin Crewe has started a Social Insects Research Group.

The research group is under the direction of Professor Christian Pirk, and studies social insects. Prof. Crewe has done extensive research on social insects. His most recent research is based on chemical communication and social organisation in honey bees and ants, specifically in respect to worker reproductive regulation. More on his research can be found here: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4398-8250 Battle of the sexes? by Professor Robert Miller Professor Robert Miller published a paper in a journal called Neuroendocrinology. In the paper, he discusses how male and female species have different outcomes when it comes to COVID-19. The research focuses on the role that sex hormones play on the severity of the virus. To read more on this research, use the link https://www.up.ac.za/ research-matters/news/post_2968510-covid-19-are-men-the-weaker-sexProfessor Bernard Slippers at the UP FABI Professor Bernard Slipper’s book titled The Sirex Woodwasp and its Fungal Symbiont: Research and Management of a Worldwide Invasive Pest, recently made it to the FABI Website, which is one of the leading research websites for universities. The book looks at research on the Sirex Noctilio, which is one of the invasive alien insect pests of Southern Hemisphere plantations.

UP receives R6m worth of funding for ground-breaking Cancer research The Faculty of Health Sciences researchers of the Centre of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Pretoria each received +-R3 million worth of funding from the South African Medical Research

Photo: Madeeha Hazarvi

Council (SAMRC). UP Research Matters revealed that Professor Robert Millar will use his funding towards furthering his research on prostate cancer and discover affordable and sustainable techniques to apply in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. On the other hand, UP Research Matters News revealed that the other researcher, Dr Iman van den Bout, aims to use his funding to “develop the first breast cancer organoid biobank” which is said to also enable the provision of affordable and advanced ways in the diagnosis of breast cancer for the South African healthcare system.

Unboxing Lightning by Prof. Ryan Blumenthal University of Pretoria’s forensic pathologist, Professor Ryan Blumenthal, detailed how people or animals are struck by lightning.

Prof, Blumenthal’s recent research reveals that most lightning strike related injuries and casualties are due to various “lightning attachment mechanisms”, as laid out on the UP Research Matters website: Touch potential is the indirect lightning strike that occurs when a person or an animal touches a conducting object (usually metallic) that has been struck by lightning prior.

Side flash happens when a tall object like a tree is struck by lightning and it “bounces off” to the person or animal near it.

Upward streamers occur when the electric field of the lightning moves downwards from the sky and then back up from the ground. When a person is stuck by this mechanism, the electric currents carry out the motion described in their body causing serious injury to internal organs or worse, death.

Lastly, Barotrauma, which is as a result of a person being very close to the lightning striking point and the shock waves from the lightning channel strike the victim, causing excessive damage to their limbs and organs. The study of lightning’s effects is known as keraunomedicine/ keraunopathology.

UP contributes to the funding of a digital Science Magazine, Nature Africa According to the UP website, Nature Africa is an online magazine that will report on scientific news and discoveries on the African continent.

The University of Pretoria forms part of the South African universities consortium that made it possible for the online magazine to be published.

The magazine is published in English and French and is accessible for free on the internet. The UP website further reveals Prof. Tawana Kupe’s motivations and excitement for the university to be a part of the funding contributors. Prof.

Kupe highlights the importance of the access to scientific breakthroughs in Africa being accessible and easy-toread by all Africans, giving an example of the discovery of “new potent chemical compounds that show potential as candidates for both the treatment and elimination of malaria”.

A study in honey by Prof. Robin Crewe Professor Robin Crewe is an academically acclaimed researcher of bees and their habitats. He has authored over 140 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 15 papers in beekeeping journals, three book chapters, and one book, as well as numerous presentations at scientific conferences.

His current research focuses on chemical communication and social structure in honeybees and ants, especially worker reproductive regulation. His interest lies in the way bees communicate and their livelihoods, which falls under the research branch of chemical communication systems in insects. In his researcher profile, he revealed that a person is more likely to be stung by a bee if they provoke it by swinging at it than they are if they were to ignore the bee.

The students behind iNgudukazi magazine Katherine Weber

i

Ngudukazi is a multi-award winning women’s magazine that is based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The magazine writes about struggles and promotes and empowers young Zimbabwean women.

Writers from the magazine aim to speak out and educate people on political and social justice matters in a way that sparks conversation. iNgudukazi writers enjoy sharing their knowledge and creating a space where people can learn and create an open dialogue with each other, as well as with the magazine. The feminist magazine caters to audiences of many different interests, ranging from social justice to beauty hacks, culture, and even love and relationships.

The origins of this magazine date back to the beginning of the 2020 lockdown, which inspired Nobuhle Zulu to start the magazine after thinking about it for two years. She now has a dedicated team of writers who each has a special twist that they bring to the magazine.

Two of their writers are law students at the University of Pretoria.

Zoleka Zinhle Mazibuko and Rorisang Moyo are both 3rd year law students who are using their voices to spread and educate on information on intersectional feminism.

Mazibuko, who writes stories that challenge dominant narratives and structures, is aiming to challenge the norms in Zimbabwe. Her aim is to help change people’s minds and call out problematic behaviour that affects people today. She wants to give a voice to marginalised groups of people and help them feel heard while also challenging

people with facts, analyses and “sass”. She takes pride in her ethnicity and gender and expresses that she is tired to listening to the opinions of bigots and people who do not understand her struggles. Her writing, at times, has to take a backseat to her studies, but she tries to write at least one article a month, one of them being her article on Zimbabwean Lives Matter which was written during lockdown in response to the human rights violations happening in Zimbabwe. Her voice comes from her anger towards the constant abuse that not only members of her family suffered, but also other marginalised people experienced on a daily basis. She wants to fight injustice and does so through her writing.

The magazine also aims to work with other organisations to effect change, such as the Caterpillar Cocoon Trust, a mental health initiative that seeks to empower young women to cope and manage their inner lives. The magazine collaborated with Caterpillar Cocoon Trust on a writing competition called “Dear Diary”, in which participants in Zimbabwe submitted a “Dear Diary” entry about an awkward or emotional experience, and how they overcame it. The purpose of the competition was to bring awareness to and promote healthy coping mechanisms during Mental Health Awareness Month.

The magazine is rich with voices from different walks of life, ages, genders, and experiences. They have created a safe space to learn and start a dialogue about issues that are being faced today. They also allow outside writers to submit their stories via WhatsApp to be shared on their website.

News | 3

Student voices in the pandemic

I

ntroduction In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reached South Africa and the country went into a strict lockdown to try and contain the situation. In the following months, a group of University of Pretoria development studies students themselves forced to leave campus and student residences and try to learn online – wrote about this unprecedented situation. In this short collection we share some of these experiences; some reveal what the students themselves were going through, some capture the stories of others around them. No-one, at the time of writing these really imagined that a year later we would still be so severely affected by this pandemic. But here we are, all still grappling with many of the same challenges. We hope you find these glimpses of how others have been affected in some way illuminating and perhaps encouraging.

Editors: Marc Wegerif and Bontle Modubu – March 2021 University of Pretoria, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology.

The Impact of The Lockdown On Informal Traders, Observations Of A Mamelodi East Community Member And University Of Pretoria Student.

I am a 23 year- old female from Section 14 of Mamelodi East, studying at the University of Pretoria towards an honours degree in Development Studies. My family ordinarily buys basic groceries at the beginning of each month at supermarkets or wholesalers such as Makro. We also own a car, which is used to buy groceries. My family only buys minor items such as bread at the local spaza shop because it cannot be purchased in large quantities. The spaza shop is also easier to access since it is close to the house, which is useful in cases when the family runs of certain items before month end.

Soon after the first lockdown, I was on my way to a spaza shop when I was surprised to see that there was a lot of life on the streets of section 14, Mamelodi East. I left the house around 6pm, to buy Inkomazi and brown bread at one of the Somalian-owned spaza shops, seven houses away. I found that the shop was closed because one of the owners had been arrested due to the illegal sale of cigarettes as it is one of the items prohibited from being sold under the lockdown regulations. One must bear in mind that there are other similar spaza shops one can buy from, they are just a longer distance away from my house. I walked further down the road to another Somalian-owned spaza where more than ten people were waiting to be attended to. There was no social distancing in the queue with individuals standing a metre or less away from each other and no hand sanitizers, or any practical hygiene measure in place.

This owner had low supplies of certain goods. He had run out of bread and did not have a variety of sweets. But cool drinks were in full supply. This could be because the spaza shop most community members usually buy at was shut.

Normally, I would have bought at the closest shop but I had to walk a kilometer to another shop where I finally got the bread.

On my way back, I bumped into a child who lives not so far from my house. She had bought four potatoes and two tomatoes. The child bought the vegetables from one of the spaza shops. Spaza shops usually sell single items and not in bulk. In other words, they charge “per tomato, per onion or per egg”. It is known that lots of South Africans live from hand to mouth and one could tell that the child was going to make a simple and quick dinner just for that night. Some people are not as privileged and cannot afford to panic buy or buy in bulk.

With schools also being closed and children not having access to the school feeding-scheme meals, that was probably the only good meal the child would have on that day.

The reason for a lot of people relying on spaza shops in the area is that the local supermarkets such as Spar, Shoprite and Pick ‘n Pay were congested and enforced social distancing where people must stand a metre and a half apart resulting in long queues. Taxis used for public transport were also only operating during peak hours, from 5am-10am and again from 4-pm-8pm. People’s movement became limited and forced Mamelodians from the East and West to walk to local supermarkets. I live 2-5 kilometers away from these supermarkets, walking there plus the long queues meant hours would be spent purchasing one item There is an old lady that has been selling vetkoeks, snacks and newspapers at my street corner for decades. The lady is between 70 and 80 years old. She is a retired assistant nurse who lives with two of her sons The lady mentioned that although people assume that she lives a comfortable life with a nurses pension, it is not entirely the case. She uses some of the income to pay her tithe at church and two of her children do not have stable jobs, so the extra income from selling vetkoeks fills those gaps. The profit from her small business decreased with the Covid-19 lockdown, because her customers were not leaving the house for work or other engagements such as funerals.

Author: Dineo Mogotsi Read the collection in PDBY: next installment 23/08

4 | News

21 June 2021

Self publishing as a student

News bites

Ivainashe: the UP student behind I Was Never Ready and Many Other Stories

Tshepang Moji and Kendra Connock

South African poet wins African poetry prize

Nokwanda Kubheka

3

rd year UP Law student, Ivainashe Earnest Nyamutsamba, recently launched his anthology titled, I Was Never Ready and Many Other Stories, a collection of sixteen short stories. Fifteen of them explore the intimate complexities of the African women that come from different backgrounds, whose life experiences are interwoven by the phrase ‘I was never ready’. The book also covers the story of a person who meditates about fifteen different female persons that are going through different experiences, and another story that explores the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 and focuses on a UN Peacekeeping soldier. PDBY spoke to Nyamutsamba to discuss his journey leading up to the release and publication of his book.

When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?

I shared a story about my experiences of the year 2008 with my best friend, Khanyisa Masinge, over a WhatsApp chat [in 2017]. She shared [...] her reaction to the story of how I survived 2008 during my time at boarding school. Every Zimbabwean knows 2008 was a tough year for everyone, Khanyisa said, “Earn, this feels like an extract from a novel". I would humbly say back in 2017 is when I decided that I want to become a writer.

How long did it take you to write this book Intimately acknowledging the journey thus far, honestly it took me three years. This includes developing the ideas, editing, sourcing inspiration and designing the cover art.

Where did you get information or ideas for this book?

I draw ideas from everyday life, I draw ideas from my mother, I draw ideas from my workplace, TuksFM, I draw ideas from my own personal experiences, being Zimbabwean and being financially excluded at one point. I draw ideas from my undying devotion [to] being African, being a black person, my field of study, law. My purpose in the field of law [is] “the rights of women, children and emigrants”. People like me that come from the ridiculed parts of the world, we all desire one thing and that is to be given an opportunity to be treated like a human being for once, an opportunity to be understood and be heard. My well of ideas is a quantum escape into the innumerable realm of consciousness and subconsciousness where the cosmic and the physical world[s] collide. I am just a vessel, an instrument where ideas of the universe pass through me all for the benefit of humanity. That is where my ideas for the book radiate from.

What is your schedule like when you’re writing?

Writing is something that I have grown to appreciate and embrace as it is now a part of me. My schedule as a writer is a bit hectic and helter skelter at the same time. I write poems and short stories and am working on ideas for a full-length feature novel; that shall drop soon. Frankly, it is hectic because I need to study my characters and their backgrounds in order to be able to communicate their actions as they are crude. So as to be able to communicate the intimate feeling to the reader.

How did you manage writing this book with university work?

University work is demanding. Writing the book came at a time when I was depressed and I felt as if I was going nowhere. Things felt as if they were falling apart. My subconscious would serenade me into the realm of creativity so as to protect myself from the stress. Thus, I managed the writing of the book when I was stressed, the lesson here is that writing is therapeutic and it helps. Once I felt I am comfortable to resume the demanding university work then I would carry on from where I left off.

How did your book get published?

I am a self-published writer. Unfortunately, 2020 happened, the year came along with it with its own struggles. In this regard I am hinting towards the incredulous negative corrosive impact of the pandemic. I am an international student; I come from Zimbabwe. We all know that Zimbabwe is going through her worst economic experiences ever since she attained her independence in 1980. In the year 2020, I managed to pay R5 000 for my 2019 tuition debt. Thus, I was left with the balance of R36 723. With the economy falling [flat], this understanding meant I could not return for the academic year of 2020. [... ] I brainstormed on the options that I had at my disposal, noting that it is difficult to land a job during the pandemic and I need a job that best meets my needs as a student. That is when I realised that I can be a self-published author.

That is how I got published. At the same time I managed to have my own start-up which is in the form of a bookstore called “Uncle Earnie’s Bookstore”. Thanking God, I landed a sponsorship from Yoco where I can open a virtual bookstore. [My] clients may purchase my literary works directly from me. This then allowed me to be my own boss and be able to pay off my debt and be able to return to school and resume my studies.

How were you able to secure the funding? [...] Sourcing funding is tricky and hard in these trying times. Where I stay my landlord would give me odd jobs until I raised the much-needed capital to kickstart my career as a writer. Also, the pocket money that I would get from home I would save it and dedicate to my project until it was enough. It is all dedication, frankly. Noting sacrifice, Jay Z would say, “financial freedom is my only hope".

How would you advise upcoming student authors to find publishers?

Look guys, jealousy is real among creatives, spite is corrosive. Be careful to keep an eye out on opportunists, leeches, and exploitative persons. Take your time, there is no rush, work within your means. If you have the resources that might help you to go directly to the major publishing houses go for it. If you are not sure, just send an email to the publishing houses and ask them to give you their agents that they work with and once you have their emails and commence your negotiations with the agents. If you are like me who wants to go the self-publishing route go for it, however, I must say it is a long slow process where it is you and your community against the world. Thus, I encourage all

“

Inspiration is everywhere, start by developing interest in reading

South African editor, feminist writer and poet, Maneo Refiloe Mohale, took home the 2020 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry. This was awarded for their poetry collection titled “Everything is a Deathly Flower”.

Mohale, who has worked as a contributing editor for global publications such as The New York Times and i-D, was awarded the prize by the African Poetry Book Fund- a fund established to celebrate poetry in Africa. The $1000 prize was judged by the award-winning poet, Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, who sang praises for Mohale’s work.

This adds to Mohale’s already impressive resume, including being shortlisted for the 2020 Ingrid Jonker Poetry Prize, being named a Global Feminism Writing Fellow in 2016, as well as having by-lines in spectrum.za, the Mail & Guardian and many other esteemed publications.

Image provided.

Nyamutsamba on his newly published anthoogy I Was Never Ready and Other Stories and his advice to young apsiring authors.

upcoming student authors to weigh their options and understand the terms and conditions of each path. The resolution lies within you fellow writers.

Where would you advise fellow students to start when writing books, finding a publishing house and securing funding?

Once you are a UP student; you better know that you are gifted in your own way. Inspiration is everywhere, start by developing interest in reading. Read literary works from writers of the past, yesterday and today. What this does is build up your own writing style, then practice everyday each hour, blend your field of study, your interests and curiosity, and find a supportive system of friends. I am blessed to have a pool of friends who believe in me, it all began with a notebook from my best friend on my birthday. I never turned back to what I know and I am here. Finding a publishing house is easy, but securing a contract is a bit challenging, depending on who you are and what you have in your disposal. People like me know one thing and one thing only, work. Work every day, your efforts will speak for you. Publishing houses will take note of you and if they appreciate your efforts, they shall approach you.

Securing funding, hey, look man there are no shortcuts when it comes to the hustle. Put in the hours and keep an eagle eye on opportunities.

Jot down your budget then follow up with a plan to save up money as much as you can. There is no one who will ever throw money at you for no reason, unfortunately. If someone gives you money without any cause better know when they come for their money it is going to cost you something. Look for a job that best meets your needs and then save up, even if it is a portion of that pocket money. Go for it.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Government Gazettes turned into art Susanna Anbu

W

im Botha, a UP alumni who pursued a BA fine arts, has created a sculptural installation comprising of three pieces.

His artworks were recently featured as “artworks for the week” by UP museums. The artworks form a wild life series where unused government gazettes have been carved to resemble busts of wild animals. One series of animals that comprise of hyena busts, have features of gothic architecture that mimic gargoyles. The symbolism of employing the government gazette documents to mimic a gargoyle structure articulates the paper gargoyles’ role as protectors of citizens, like the status of gargoyles in the gothic era. The hyenas, set out like trophy hunting artefacts, also symbolise the ridicule of the trophy hunting practice.

Botha has been well known for his artworks that sought to interweave social commentary with fine arts. Some of his earlier pieces have used pages of the bible to create religious artworks, or other government documents to create radical commentary. Botha has numerous accolades to his name, which include the first Tollman Award in 2003, the Standard Bank Young Artist Award (2005) and the Helgaard Steyn Prize for sculpture (2015). His solo exhibitions have taken place at Galerie Jette Rudolph in Berlin (2015), the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown (2014); Kunstraum Innsbruck, Austria (2013), and the Sasol Art Museum in Stellenbosch.

UP Residence commemorates Child Protection Week South Africa commemorated National Child Protection Week from 30 May to 5 June 2021. This annual event serves as a way to raise awareness for the many challenges facing babies, toddlers, and children in our country. Nerina, one of the university’s residences, commemorated Child Protection Week to show support for one of the charities the house supports: Tshwane Haven. This place of safety houses 20 young children, toddlers, and babies with varying medical conditions. As COVID-19 cases surge in Gauteng, the ladies of the residence were unable to visit the children in person so they opted for the next best thing. Members of the house filmed videos and audio clips of themselves reading bedtime stories which were then played for the children at Tshwane Haven. Nerina also ran a social media campaign to support Child Protection Week and a hamper of necessities was donated by the House.

Previously lost literature to be auctioned off Literary works of the Honresfield Library, once thought to be missing for good, have recently been discovered after almost a century. These works, many written by famed English writers, are set to go under the hammer, where they are expected to fetch a fortune being auctioned off at Sotheby’s.

These works include rare handwritten poems by Emily Brontë, which are expected to sell for nearly £1.2 million. A first edition of Brontë’s popular work of literature, Wuthering Heights, is set to fetch over £250 000.

The Honresfield Library collection, which will be sold at three different auctions, include a 1620 copy of Don Quixote, the first editions of Jane Austen’s Emma, Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice, as well as a multitude of works from writers including Mary Wollstonecraft, the Grimm brothers and Charles Dickens.

French writer receives international booker prize The International Booker Prize, a prestigious literary award, has been given to French-Senegalese writer, David Diop.

Diop, an author and professor of literature, became the first French writer to win the International Booker Prize. He won the award for his novel, At Night, All Blood Is Black. Diop shares the £50 000 prize with the translator of the book, Anna Moschovakis.

The novel tells a tale of a young Senegalese man who spirals into madness, woven into it the story of the Senegalese who fought for France during the First World War. Inspired by his great-grandfather’s experiences, Diop’s work gives insight into the many terrors the soldiers who were engaged in this warfare had to face.

Student forum responses available The 1st Quarter Student Forum was held on 27 May. The SRC responded to submitted questions and follow up questions posed by UP students. The minutes have been made available by the Constitutional Tribunal and can be read on PDBY’s website. Scan the QR code on the advert on page 5 to read the responses offered by the SRC.

21 June 2021

Writings of forever Tankiso Mothopeng

S

outh Africa has an impressive total of eleven official languages, which could increase to 12 if Parliament accepts a request to grant South African sign language official status. However, despite the numerous indigenous languages available in the country such as Sesotho, IsiZulu and IsiXhosa, English remains the dominant language used in literature.

As numerous young people grow up learning English, it has become a common mode of communication. In some cases, the classification of English as a second language seems questionable; many use it as their first language and their indigenous mother tongue becomes a sort of second language. The South African Social Attitudes Survey found that, in 2018, about 65% of people believed that English should be the main language of official communication and instruction at schools.

This demand for English is Image: Masehle Mailula apparent in the ratio of literary works published in English compared to indigenous languages. A report by the Publishers Association of South Africa in 2016 found that only 2% of children’s books were published commercially in an indigenous language in South Africa.

The market in South Africa for indigenous literature is incredibly small. In addition to competing with big name authors from overseas,

indigenous literature also has to make do with a limited selection of consumers who are able to read in indigenous languages. This problem goes beyond simply selling indigenous literature. Many South African indigenous languages are heading in the same direction as Latin, which is now regarded as a dead language because there are no more native speakers. Languages which were originally passed down through oral tradition and later literature face readership loss and lack of reach.

Campaigns both by government and publishing houses in South Africa have called for increased awareness for indigenous literature and language. PDBY reached out to Penguin Random House, one of the largest publishing houses in South Africa, and asked them about the indigenous literature market. Penguin Random House states that “it is very important for us to be able to publish in indigenous languages and it’s increasingly more important in order to get young people to read in their own language. We are currently publishing a children’s series in IsiXhosa and IsiZulu”.

With fewer people reading in their native language, it poses the question of whether indigenous languages will be diminished to writings of the past, or whether enough will be done to enable young people to be educated and read in their native language to ensure that indigenous languages are preserved.

Rich archive library collection at UP Tumelo Lesufi

U

P has a large range of manuscripts donated by families of late luminaries. A case in point is the Dr van Warmelo collection that was presented to the university after the doctor’s death. The collection consists of 540 manuscripts in 97 boxes. PDBY reached out to the library to find out how they keep collections safe and the policy for collecting manuscripts.

“The Van Warmelo Collection, as well as other documents collections, are specifically housed in the Special Collections Unit, in order to

preserve them. The Special Collections unit safeguards the closed collections of the library, and these collections can only be used at the unit, under the supervision of the Special Collections staff”, said Nikki Haw, the coordinator of the Special Collections Department of Library Services.

The university has a policy in place for collecting manuscripts.

According to Haw, the collection criteria, as outlined in the collection policy, is that collections must either fall within one of the collecting themes (such as Africana or Rare Books etc) or must originate from a member of the UP community (staff and/or alumni).

News | 5

Intervarsity News Tshepang Moji

University of Cape Town In the aftermath of the fire that ravaged Lion’s Head and much of their Upper Campus’ libraries, the University of Cape Town has recently completed the first phase of restoring its Jagger Library. The first phase, labelled the “Salvage Phase”, focused on the recovery of remaining library material from the Jagger Library as well as the library’s basement. The completion of this phase paved the way for the next phase, labelled the “Recovery Phase”, which has already begun.

Rhodes University Rhodes University has for the first time granted free access to the Royal Society Journals for a limited period of time.

Known for their global reach and commitment to crossdisciplinary research and widespread scientific coverage, the Makhanda-based university has allowed its students and staff to access the plethora of journals on hand. These include extensive biology letters, philosophical transactions and various interface focuses. This access will be shared with other universities in the Eastern Cape, including Nelson Mandela University, University of Fort Hare, and Walter Sisulu University.

Haw stated that the Special Collections unit and the digitisation unit of the UP Library are currently collaborating on various projects to ensure the safety of these collections from incidents like the fire at the University of Cape Town in April. Haw emphasised the importance of digitisation in preserving important manuscripts and literature. The university prides itself in preserving such collections, and adding value to the national heritage and history of the institution.

Some of the most notable collections that the university features in its library were donated by the families of alumni that have passed on.

Occasionally donors approach the university due to its ability to preserve and safeguard these manuscripts. This according to Haw, not only adds to the history of the institution, but it makes the library the caretaker of institutional and national heritage. The Van Warmelo Collection, for example, has information that is not held anywhere else.

READ AT PDBY.CO.ZA

pdby.co.za/ forum-minutes/

6 | Features

21 June 2021

Literature and the queer community Lauren Harries

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he queer community is a group that is often underrepresented in many industries. However, the importance of the community in the literary industry should not go unnoticed. Literature, in many ways, has laid the foundation for a world where the queer community is accepted.

Looking at the likes of Oscar Wilde and Patricia Highsmith, representation of the queer community in literature, be it as characters or authors, has been around for decades. Representation of the community in literature dates back to ancient Greece and Rome, as samesex relationships are seen in the likes of Homer’s Iliad and Plato’s famous Symposium. Throughout history, the queer community has played a role in literature, allowing readers to educate and inform themselves about the community even when not identifying as part of it.

Historically, people have used creativity as a way to express themselves and explore different aspects of their lives; this is no different for the queer community. Queer literature allows the queer community to explore their identities and celebrate their community in a safe space.

Many authors will agree that the purpose of literature is to explore the life of someone else and to experience things from their perspective.

Representation of the queer community in literature allows readers to do exactly that.

In a study carried out by David Comer Kidd and Emanuele Castano two psychologists - it was found that, where the focal point of a character in literary fiction is on their psychology, the reading of such a book has a tendency to produce readers that are able to detect and interpret the emotions of others more effectively. It is therefore hoped that, by increasing the representation of the queer community in literature, there will be a decrease in homophobia and an overall increase in the acceptance of the community.

However, representation of the queer community in the literary industry is still far below where it should be in a society where the community is the most accepted it has ever been. Book bans, writer prosecution, and censorship of books that touch on the queer community, or are written by members of it, continue to occur. Despite this, and as many countries

Lauren Harries

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iterature allows you to expand your horizons, build critical thinking skills, and address human nature and the human condition. It is because of this that literature plays such a big role in our development. Here are ten books to read while you are still in university, as recommended by members of UP’s English department, that will expand your horizons, challenge the way you think and allow you to explore the intricacies of humanity.

Image: Cletus Maluadi

begin to legalise same-sex marriage, literature representing the queer community has become more openly accepted and published. However, this is not to say that there are currently no obstacles that the community faces with regard to recognition and publication. In 2017 alone, the American Library Association reported that five of the top ten most challenged books consisted of queer characters, one of the books being that of a children’s book that depicted same-sex marriages.

Despite this, the representation that does exist, and is celebrated, continues to play a vital role. Representation of the queer community in the literary industry holds many benefits, including providing an escape for people from their normal lives, as well as providing those who are questioning their identities the room to explore and better understand their feelings.

Overall, representation of the queer community in the literary industry has many benefits and continues to play a vital role for those discovering their identities or wanting to learn more about the community. But, as the queer community continues to be celebrated and accepted on a larger scale year after year, it would be expected for such growth to be reflected within the literary industry. However, many countries and publishing houses still have far to go, and representation of the queer community in literature is far from equal to the representation of heteronormative relationships, characters, and authors.

The evolution of writing on the internet Kirsten Minnaar

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ver the last two decades, the internet has had an incredibly influential role in the writing and literary community. From the days of Tumblr blogging and Wattpad fanfiction, to the current popularity of BookTok, the literary landscape is constantly evolving as a result of social media.

– was picked up by Simon & Schuster and became a New York Times bestseller”. Many other Wattpad books, fanfiction or otherwise, have also seen incredible commercial success due to the platform’s enormous influence.

BookTok In 2021, TikTok is one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, hosting short videos on every topic - from dancing and cooking tutorials, to comedy skits and fashion-related content. The New York Times Tumblr reported that “videos made mostly by women in their teens and 20s have The 2000s saw a rise in the popularity of blogging. However, according come to dominate a growing niche under the hashtag #BookTok, where to the Daily Dot, most blogging sites were difficult to use and had high users recommend books, record time lapses of themselves reading, or sob barriers to entry. This all changed with Tumblr’s rise to popularity. Tumblr openly into the camera after an emotionally crushing ending”. BookTok brought blogging to the masses, and “allowed users to register their own has also become a massive commercial influence. According to the New Tumblr URL, customise their blog, and easily share videos, text, and York Times, some bookstores even have shelves dedicated specifically to GIFs”. Techcrunch also reported that Tumblr’s success was a result of the BookTok, because “no other social-media platform seems to move copies site making it possible for users to find an audience - something that had the way TikTok does”. been extremely difficult to do on traditional blogging platforms - while Shannon DeVito, the director of books at Barnes & Noble, said, “[we] also maintaining users’ anonymity. Most users on Tumblr did not want to haven’t seen these types of crazy sales — I mean tens of thousands be discoverable by the people in their lives, which Tumblr made possible of copies a month — with other social media formats”. In a few short with “the oldest privacy-control strategy on the Internet: security through years, the BookTok community has breathed new life into the literary obscurity and multiple pseudonymity”. This made Tumblr different from community, instilled a passion for reading into countless young TikTok the other popular social media platforms of the time. People, especially users and has allowed many literary enthusiasts to share their passions teenagers, were able to express their true thoughts and feelings, and find a with the rest of the world. The full power of BookTok on the literary community with whom they could really connect. world, however, still remains to be seen.

Wattpad During the early to mid-2010s, Wattpad took the internet and the literary community by storm. Digital reported that, by 2011, Wattpad had one million users, and, by 2012, the company reported that users were spending a billion minutes each month on the site. Wattpad has only continued to grow in popularity since. Wattpad, with its social media-like design, allowed people to write, share and read others’ books easily and for free.

In an interview with The Lit Platform, Allen Lau, the cofounder and CEO of Wattpad, said that “[m]ore and more people are going to access content through the screen and the internet has opened up the floodgates for a lot more people to become content creators”. According to a survey done by the New York Times, 81% of Americans want to write a book, but for a long time this goal was virtually impossible for most people. Wattpad introduced the platform that finally made writing a book, and sharing one’s written work with the world, attainable. Lau also went on to say that for “a lot of writers their motivation may not be making money. For most people the motivation is having someone to appreciate their creation. They care more about people showing appreciation of their work”. Wattpad also popularised fanfiction to an entirely new level. Wired reported that, in 2014, “Anna Todd’s series After – a One Direction fanfic

10 books to read while in university

The Defining Decade – Meg Jay The Defining Decade, a self-help book, touches on life as a “twenty-something” and how to overcome the many difficulties that are placed before us during this time. The book follows psychologist Meg Jay as she deals with a variety of experiences and explains how to navigate them in a time of life that is often filled with uncertainties.

Lord of the Flies – William Golding This book is a classic that follows the lives of a group of schoolboys stranded on an uncharted island as they attempt to form their own society. They grapple with the issues that come along with the lack of adult supervision and the introduction of evil.

According to The Guardian, this book is known for showing the loss of innocence and the darkening of a person’s heart. It is part of Dr Moonsamy’s list of books to read before or while in university.

Rape: A South African Nightmare – Pumla Gqola According to the Maverick Life, this book unpacks the South African rape crisis by delving into rape culture, its connection to the disbelief syndrome as well as South Africa’s various relationships to rape. Gqola further goes into how this influences the public’s response to rape. This is a reflective book on the crisis that South Africans face on a regular basis and is recommended by Ms Liden.

The Gate to Women’s Country – Sheri S. Tepper This science-fiction novel, which is recommended by Ms Best, is set in a feminist dystopia where women have segregated men into closed military quarters and taken on every other societal function themselves. According to Goodreads, the book follows the life of a ten year old, Stavia, as she grows up and becomes a valuable part of their society.

The Unfamous Five - Nedine Moonsamy As recommended by Mr van Wyk, this novel follows the lives of five South African Indian teenagers as they navigate their way through their next decade. African Books Collective states that the book covers topics of tradition, ancestry, sexuality, love, and money as the five teenagers continue to stumble their way through life together.

Disgrace – J.M.Coetzee Mr Ncube recommended this South African novel that focuses on the life of a lecturer, who has lost his passion in post-apartheid South Africa. According to Penguin Random House, the book examines the comfortable life of a communications and romantic poetry lecturer and his relationships which soon results in a drastic shift in his life and the ultimate feeling of disgrace.

The Quarter-Life Breakthrough– Adam Smiley Poswolsky This book deals with what to do when you do not know what to do. This self-help book provides career advice for anyone trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives. It follows the lives of people in their 20’s and 30’s finding out how to work with purpose instead of working in a mere well-earning job.

Nervous Conditions -Tsitsi Dangarembga The politics of decolonisation as well as women’s rights play a central role in this psychological novel, as you follow the life of a young girl in pursuit of education from her small Rhodesian homestead. As seen in Goodreads, the book covers topics of race, class, gender, and cultural changes as the young girl navigates her way through life . It is recommended by Dr Masola as one of the ten books you should read while in university.

The Secret History – Donna Tartt From the author of The Goldfinch comes this interesting novel, which is recommended by Mr van Wyk, that follows the lives of a professor and some eccentric university students as they explore a new way of thinking and existing. According to The Cut, the book follows the group as they gradually slip away from the boundaries of standard human morality and into the darkness of evil.

Image: Cletus Maluadi

Period Pain– Kopano Matlwa According to Exclusive Books, Period Pain touches on how broken people continue to survive and captures the confusion of South Africans that feel defeated by the continuous injustices making the news headlines. Recommended by Mr Ncube, the story allows you to reflect on and examine the intricacies of humanity while also rediscovering it.

21 June 2021

Features | 7

The Pretoria book thrifting guide Found in translation E “ L Kirsten Minnaar

veryone with a passion for literature knows exactly how expensive it can be to buy new books. Aside from the expense, buying new books is also not the most environmentally friendly pastime. The Guardian reported that a study “of the US book industry for a single year (2006) estimated that publishing consumed approximately 30 million trees and had a carbon footprint equivalent to 12.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide”. Book thrifting, therefore, serves as a much more environmentally friendly, affordable way to buy books. Luckily for UP students, there are many places in Pretoria that offer a great selection of second-hand books. Here are some of the best places to thrift books in Pretoria:

Rutland Books Rutland books, located on Soutpansberg Road.

This store consists of 13 rooms “with over 60 000 books”, making it a book-lover’s paradise.

According to the shop’s website, they “sell and on a selective basis, exchange and purchase second-hand books” and ”if [they] can’t use the books you don’t want, then [they]redistribute them to various charities”.

Charity Shops Buying books from charity shops can be an excellent way to find books for great prices, while supporting a good cause in the process. Some charity shops in Pretoria with an incredible selection of books include the Princess Christian Homes Bookstore, the Sungardens or Centurion Hospice shops and the Tshwane SPCA. Rainbow Books Located in Hennopspark, this book shop offers a

Book thrifting, therefore, serves as a much more environmentally friendly, affordable way to buy books

great selection of books, starting from as little as R2.

They also have a selection of games, comic books, and even a “children’s room”. This store also has a great coffee shop, where one can find gourmet cakes, and a wide range of gourmet milkshakes.

Protea Boekwinkel Protea Boekwinkel in Hatfield is less than a fiveminute walk away from the Hatfield campus. The store offers a selection of “[university] textbooks, general books, special orders, [second-hand] titles and much more”. Students can also sell their textbooks here if they are looking to earn a bit of money.

Hazel Food Market The Hazel Food market is open every week from 8am to 2pm. This market offers an incredible selection of food, drinks and art vendors. The market is also a great place to go book thrifting. Those willing to spend a bit of time searching for books can find some great deals, while also experiencing a lively atmosphere and enjoying some delicious food.

While it may take a bit of time, book thrifting can be an incredibly rewarding way of finding books, and exploring all that Pretoria has to offer in the process.

The conferring of honorary doctorates in South African arts: Feted or free-for-all?

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he South African arts and culture scene has received vast recognition over the past decades. As a result of this, the media has seen many artists cross the stage with pride to earn their honorary doctorate degrees. During its autumn graduation ceremony held on 3 May, the University of Pretoria paid homage to the well-renowned playwright, Mfundi Vundla, and musical giant, Abdullah Ibrahim, for their stellar contributions to the South African entertainment industry by conferring honorary doctorates on the industry veterans. Vundla is known as the founder and chair of Morula Pictures and the creator of Generations: The Legacy, while Ibrahim is an internationally acclaimed jazz legend.

Honorary degrees are extraordinary academic awards conferred by accredited universities for which the usual requirements are waived and thus, awarded honoris causa, or, “for the sake of honour”. The primary purpose of this degree is to recognise the recipient’s exceptional lifetime achievements and contributions to society in their relevant craft. Hence, it is important to understand that recipients of honorary degrees are not subject to any of the typical requirements for an academic doctorate, such as the completion of a thesis.

Previously, conferment of the degree constituted a form of mutual patronage, offering privileges to those who are in positions to provide financial or political support to the institution.

Subsequently, this has sparked controversy, as the public questions of whether or not there is honour in bestowing honorary doctorates.

People often ask whether an honorary degree is a “real degree”, whether or not it is valid and if it actually means

anything. In his article entitled “Where’s the honour”, Rivaan Roopnarain criticises the concept, on the basis that its constituents are mostly highranking politicians that have been “given” honorary doctorates by institutions (usually abroad).

Roopnarain goes further to argue that honorary doctorates pale in comparison to merited doctorates, yet there continues to be a long list of political figures that wear the title “doctor” as a result of it. To this extent, it is often held that one’s social standing, rather than merit, has become determinant of receiving what Roopnarain calls the “scant ‘achievement’”. Although the type of recipients granted honorary degrees sometimes supports this claim - sometimes, they do not. During a recent interview with Sowetan Live, Vundla expressed disdain for being referred to as “doctor”, despite his elaborate education background, wherein he obtained a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s Degree in the USA. The titan went further to say: “I am being honoured for the contribution and the mark I made in the society.”

Hence, it is worth noting that these degrees are not equivalent to a Ph.D., which is obtained through completing several years of study beyond the bachelor’s, honour’s, and/or master’s degrees.

“

I am being honoured for the contribution and the mark I made in the society

“

Andiswa Kibi

Illustration: Masehle Matome Mailula

There are no academic or professional privileges associated with honorary degrees. Furthermore, recipients who note on their resumes that they have been awarded the degree should specify the words honoris causa or “honorary” after the degree, indicative of the fact that the degree was not earned through compliance with the academic requisites of a doctorate (Ph.D.). All universities that award honorary degrees adhere to a selection policy to identify those individuals who, in their opinion, have made significant contributions to society or a specific field. It is not usually a requirement that the recipient is alumni of the university conferring the honorary degree. Some members of the public refute the awarding of honorary degrees as being overly flexible, too accessible, and entirely subjective, while others argue that there are varying views on merit. This begs the question: what constitutes a legend, and, moreover, what renders such a person eligible for this conferment?

In the case of Vundla and Ibrahim, the artists’ respective career records speak for themselves.

Vundla’s contributions run across the visual and performing arts landscape of South Africa, from film to television and theatre. His work reflects his political consciousness and is best reflected in popular South African soapies such as Generations, Jozi H, Magic Cellar, and Backstage, among others. The playwright told Sowetan: “It has been a long time coming. It is wonderful to be recognised for what you have done. I think I deserve it.” The creative has paved the path for local television content creation. Moreover, musical great Ibrahim boasts a career that spans well over two decades. The jazz pianist has toured the world, extensively playing with huge bands at major concert halls and festivals. His collaborations with orchestras resulted in renowned recordings such as African Suite (1999) and the Munich Radio Philharmonic Orchestra’s symphonic version, African Symphony (2001).

Known by some as “Dollar Brand”, Ibrahim developed a musical vocabulary on a calibre of its own.

Both Ibrahim and Vundla join South African music, theatre, art, film, and television titans who have received the prestigious honorary degree. This includes the likes of the late jazz diva, Sibongile Khumalo, and Dr Esther Mahlangu, who received an honorary degree as South Africa’s leading Ndebele.

Acclaimed actress, Lilian Dube, is also amongst the industry icons who now hold the title “Dr” before their names.

Muskaan Singh

iterature is a door into different worlds, and to read is to step into different selves.

The importance of literature cannot be understated. Not only does it allow one to explore different perspectives, cultures, and places; it is also a tool used to look at the world critically. At the very least, it is a useful means of escapism.

The Odyssey is a piece of literature that fulfils all of these functions. The poem, traditionally attributed to Homer, follows the story of the Greek king Odysseus’s return to his wife in Ithaca after the Trojan War. The second oldest poem in the Western tradition, the Odyssey was first translated into English from Greek in 1615 by George Chapman. Since then, there have been around sixty English translations of the Odyssey. Still, it was only in 2017 that the first English translation of the poem by a woman was produced - by Dr Emily Wilson.

While the Odyssey is about Odysseus, it is just as much about other people: his wife Penelope, the witch Circe, Calypso the nymph, and the many slaves that are often never named. Wilson’s translation explores the lives of these surrounding characters as well. This is not the only difference between her translation and that of her predecessors. For one, Wilson’s translation emphasises some of the inequalities between the characters that previous translations have glossed over. For example, Wilson uses the term ‘slave’ where previous translations would use ‘maid’, ‘domestic servant’ or a more specific term. In this subtle way, Wilson includes unnamed slaves in the narrative where they have previously been ignored. Wilson writes, “The need to acknowledge the fact and the horror of slavery and to mark the fact that the ideali[s]ed society depicted in the poem is one where slavery is shockingly taken for granted, seems to me to outweigh the need to specify, in every instance, the type of slave”.

Wilson also breaks the modern beauty standards that previous translations had imposed on the descriptions of various characters. At one point in the narrative, Penelope unlocks a storeroom of Odysseus’s weapons. Here, the original Greek describes her hand as “thick”. In the past, translators have ignored the adjective or replaced the description with a more palatable “steady hand”. Wilson instead describes her hand as “muscular” and “firm” to highlight Penelope’s physical strengths.

Wilson writes that the Odyssey provides a “defence of a male dominated society, a defence of its own hero and his triumph over everybody else but it also seems to provide these avenues for reali[s]ing what’s so horrible about this narrative, what’s missing about this narrative”. Through her contemporary style of writing, concern for the supporting characters in the poem, and careful use of language, Wilson translates the original in a way in which modern audiences can more accurately contextualise the narrative in a framework of their own understanding.

Wilson’s translation of the Odyssey garnered a lot of attention as well as criticism. It was accused of having strayed too far from the original text and turning the original into a “feminist reading”. These conflicting responses beg the question: what makes a good translation and should the translator’s gender affect the interpretation of a text?

At every turn, a translator has countless options to choose from that would stay true to the original text. In fact, in an interview with New York Times magazine, Wilson shared that she had considered writing the first line of the Odyssey as “Tell me about a straying husband”. This translation was completely viable, but would seem radical in comparison to previous translations. While Wilson was criticised for possibly tainting the translation as a result of her “woman’s perspective”, it could just as easily be said that previous translators had, as a result of their “male perspective”, ignored the nuance surrounding the poem’s female characters. It is impossible to define a good translation. For some, it is important that the translation is as close as possible to the original in linguistic terms, while others believe that the translated text should mimic the style of the original.

In any case, as is the case with literature, diversity is important. It is not only what is said that is important, but who it is said by. It is important that there is an abundance of perspectives, and that literature is accessible to, and representative of, all.

If Wilson’s translation allows for the Odyssey to be accessible because of its contemporary language and relevant contextualisation, it is proof that there is much to be found in translation.

Literature Edition 2021

P9 Featured artist: Caitlin Tallack

P10 New SA novels to add to your list

P11 PDBY’s favourite books

P12 Naledi Mashishi on her first novel “Invisible Strings”

From the entertainment editor

H

ello! My name is Dani van der Horst and I am the entertainment editor here at PDBYMedia.

Over the past few weeks, I have had the honour of putting together an amazing entertainment section for our annual literature edition.

In my humble opinion, there is no better way to survive the cold winter months than to cuddle up with a good book.

Reading has always been one of my favourite hobbies but during my undergraduate years I found myself in a bit of a reading slump. I found that I was reading so many academic texts for my degree, I just didn’t have the energy to pick up a book and read for pleasure in my spare time. I’m sure there are many of you who can relate to this frustrating experience! But during that time, I discovered a love for short stories and poetry - a love for reading beautifully crafted collections of words in bite-sized chunks. It was a great way to read without there being any sort of pressure and it helped me find my reading groove once again. To this day I always keep a poetry collection nearby, so that I can flip through it during my work-breaks.

This edition is for anyone and everyone who loves to read.

From the bookworm who gobbles up novels in an instant, to the person with a growing pile of books that they just can’t seem to get to, to the person who is only just discovering the wonders of a good book - I hope that this edition inspires you to keep building your relationship with literature! The PDBY team has worked tirelessly to bring you a jam-packed edition full of book recommendations, book reviews, interviews and so much more. I am so excited to share all of this with you.

Stay safe, stay warm, and enjoy the edition!

Dani

Image: Kayla Thomas

Entertainment | 9

21 June 2021

PDBY Featured Artist: Poetry discussions with Caitlin Tallack Ashleigh Pascoe

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DBY interviewed the University of Pretoria’s own Caitlin Tallack, author of debut poetry collection, A Birthday Card in May. Caitlin gives us insight into self-publishing, being an author, and her unique view of the creative process.

Please explain more about the title of your poetry collection, a Birthday Card in May? I suppose it’s not any profound meaning. I had the idea for the collection and how I wanted to lay it out before I really started. I knew that I wanted to use special holidays throughout the year as prompts, so it was pretty much always guided by this calendarlike format. When the title idea of A Birthday Card in May popped into my head, it kind of fitted in the bigger scheme of how the book would be structured.

My birthday is in May, so the title hints at the autobiographical nature of some of the poems. It just felt right, more than anything.

What influenced you to classify the poems under months, and do the different months have different significance to you?

I think I was looking for a good way to structure a reflection on life so far, and I think because life, in the bigger scheme of things, is structured so chronologically, it relates to time. It made sense to do something time-based. So, having poems structured across the year was just a really nice way to structure that reflection. As for the months meaning something specific, not really. I think that the organic, underlying trends in the way we feel about certain months, comes through.

Maybe we are super optimistic about months such as January, but generally fatigued by months such as July. I think the natural rhythm comes through in some of the poems, but it was not anything intentionally thematic in terms of how the months were split up. If there is a larger narrative, it occurs naturally.

Do you have a favourite “month” of poetry?

Not necessarily.

Not because of the content of the poems, but again, I think there is an affection towards certain months in the real world.

I really

like January because it feels really optimistic, like you could be anyone or do anything. New Years’ resolutions are always fun and helpful. I have an affection towards January in that regard. I think that in December, in terms of the poems and in terms of the general month, there is a lot of closure that comes with the end of the year and I think that came through in the poems of December. I would say that the beginning and the end are my favourites.

When did you start writing poetry and what inspired you to do so?

I started writing poetry when I was eight years old, and I wrote a poem about my Great Dane puppy.

It was probably a terrible poem, but it was the beginning of my attempts to express myself through that medium. Obviously, at eight years old, I did not understand the greater meaning of poetry. I think that I just turned to poetry as a very natural expression of my thoughts. It was not even a conscious decision to write poetry, it was just a very organic means of expression. It is a portion of my identity, and I say a portion because I study Industrial Engineering and that occupies me on a daily basis. Poetry is just as much of a real part of me as my studies are, and it is a vivid part of how I see myself. I guess that poetry is my “creative” side, but I hate separating my poetry side and my engineering side as “binaries”, because I think that is quite reductive. I would say that I am a more structured creative than some of the other creatives I know. My creative process was very structured in the sense that I decided to write every single day, whether or not I was inspired. I had a structure, and a plan laid out that I stuck to, to create my poetry.

On your Instagram, it says that you did not tell anyone about the development of your poetry book because it was something that you were doing for you. How did you decide that it was ready for publishing, without the feedback of those surrounding you?

I read a quote while I was working, and the quote was: “Art is never finished, only abandoned”, and this was said by Leonardo Da Vinci. I got to the point with the book, where it was time to let it go. Even though I do not think I would ever feel like it was totally finished, I just got to the space eventually where I knew that I

was done with the book. Of course, I am very proud of the book and I am very happy with it. I would not have compromised on quality standards, but it was more about a feeling and a sense of finality. My intuition helped me know that it was done. There is always something you feel like you need to change, but the 700th time you have gone through the editing, you look at poems and think “I could probably rewrite this entirely” and you have to draw the line somewhere. You rely on your own intuition on where to know to draw the line.

Are there any authors that inspire your style of writing? If so, who are they?

I first evolved my poetry style watching slam poetry. I watch YouTube Channels that present slam poetry. I was more influenced by slam poetry than any other written work. I’ve never gone out and tried to recreate anyone’s style, it’s more what I’ve assimilated from reading poetry and literature over the years. I developed a style that was comfortable for me.

Please explain the publishing process you had to personally go through to publish A Birthday Card in May. I self-published. There are a couple of reasons that I did that, but in self-publishing, it can be as easy as opening up a Word document and starting to type your poems. At the end of it, you find a printer willing to print the book for you. Very loosely, that’s the process that I followed. In-between that, there is some basic admin you need to do, such as developing your website and getting an ISBN number. Honestly, it really is as easy as opening a document and starting to write. The most exciting part of publishing was having full creative control over my book. This includes the choices of colours, images and layout.

One major benefit of publishing through a publishing house is having a publicist that is very connected in the industry, but I enjoyed getting to decide what image my book would take on and how I wanted it presented to people. I enjoy being very in control of how my book is received. Pros and cons, obviously, but I was never looking to write a huge best seller, so this intimate way of doing things really worked for me.

How long did it take you to write all the poems found in your poetry collection?

Well, some of the poems were written when I was 16. In that regard, you could say it took about 7 years.

A year ago, I decided I wanted to publish within the new year, and I set myself a hard deadline. That is when the Word document was opened, and that’s when it got serious. It depends how you want to define the start and the end of this process. I think it’s wonderful for creatives to point to a time when they started, but it’s difficult because if you are creative, you have probably been creating stuff for a while so there’s no hard line as to where you started.

Is there anything you are currently working on that you would like to share with us?

Honestly, right now, I am just trying to get A Birthday Card in May on its feet, which is exciting, but it takes up a lot of my time. I am writing casually, but I am not working towards a book or anything. My focus is on promoting A Birthday Card in May. You can check Caitlin out on Instagram: @caitlinannetallack or have a look at her website: www.abirthdaycardinmay.com.

Use the code PDBY to get R40 off of your purchase on the website.

Image provided

A Birthday Card in May review Ashleigh Pascoe

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Birthday Card in May is a beautifully structured debut poetry anthology, written by a local University of Pretoria student, Caitlin Tallack. It is a collection that has been created by discipline and creativity alike. The poetry expresses the duality of being, combined with the complexity and rawness of feeling.

Many humans experience the same emotions, and the collection encapsulates how all humans feel these emotions but experience them differently. The universality of this anthology is what makes this collection so relatable.

Some experiences of love may be so familiar to the reader, but themes of hurt or loss may be completely foreign.

The anthology is self-published, and is thus laced with the intimacy of connecting with the audience. Each chapter of the book represents a month of the year, and each month brings about a new experience. Some months, such as January, are light-hearted and free, as a joyful expression of the newness of the year. Other months, such

as July, are slightly more sombre, as they represent the fatigue people often feel around this time of the year. This cycle of highs and lows gives an unfiltered look into the emotions of the human experience. Motifs of love, loss, acceptance and expression spill across the pages, and are accompanied by visuals that complement the flow of the poems.

These visuals are a unique component of the anthology, as the images chosen to represent certain poems guide you in the direction of the author’s intent. The style of the writing is simple, expressive and emphatic.

The raw nature of the poetry stems from the succinct way in which the poet uses words to directly communicate Image provided

African literature through the ages Kayla Thomas

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frican literature is a rich and diverse pool of works, from novels to poetry, film and TV. Contrary to misconceptions that the continent has only recently produced notable literature, this timeline offers an overview of notable moments in Africa’s literary history from the earliest, untraceable oral traditions. A timeline of this nature is inherently limited and can only touch on a few of the most notable moments, and cannot even attempt to fully translate the huge variety of African literature over centuries of history. This timeline, while covering Africa as a whole, focusses particularly on South African literature in the 20th and 21st centuries and important milestones in our literary development.

From 2000, this timeline almost automatically fails to portray the scope of published and released works, and PDBY encourages you to seek out the countless films, TV series, poems and novels published by African and South African authors over the past 20 years. An ongoing research project by Wendy Laura Belcher has contributed to some of the lesser known but noteworthy texts prior to the 1300s, and the lecturers of the English Department have shared many of the texts in this timeline in their lecturers, particularly in their English Honours courses, which has been a great contribution.

Oral literature: Humans have presumably been telling oral stories for as long as we have had spoken language. The rich history of oral literature in Africa spans millennia, and is known to feature fables, educational stories, religious poetry and prose, and praise poems.

These are difficult to preserve, as the stories are adapted and passed on through generations.

In West Africa, Griots are praise singers and historians who are repositories for oral literature, and preserve the stories to continue sharing them. c. 25 000 BCE: The oldest known rock art in Africa and the earliest form of literature on the continent are found in Namibia. Most known rock art in Africa are from about 8000 years ago and are some of the earliest narratives known.

4000 BCE: Egyptian written texts in Hieroglyphs, Hieratic and Demotic. Some of the earliest examples of written text in human history, and the beginning of a rich literary tradition.

2400 BCE: The Osiris and Isis myth in its complete form. One of the most influential texts of Ancient Egypt. c. 1700 BCE: The Book of the Dead was written over centuries by priests and began spreading in popularity. The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funeral text of spells that serve to guide the dead into the afterlife.

800 BCE: Nubian texts, which remain largely undeciphered.

the experience behind the poem. Whether you are interested in this anthology for a light-read or for a heartfelt experience, the presentation of the poems and the ease of expression will make your poetry experience worthwhile.

180 CE: The Golden Ass by Apuleius. Written in Latin, it is the only Ancient Roman novel in Latin that has survived in full. While a Roman novel, Apuleius was born and lived in Algeria, then called Numidia.

350 CE: Ethiopian literature written in the Ge’ez language, predominantly biblical texts, known as Axumite literature. Notably, the only full version of Christianity’s the Book of Enoch is in Ge’ez and from this collection of writings.

400 CE: Coptic literary texts. Belcher describes that “the most famous original literary texts in Coptic may be those by Shenute […], the abbot of a monastery situated between Lower Egypt and Nubia”.

1200s: The Epic of Sundiata. An epic poem told orally by Griots about Sundiata, the founder of the Mali Empire. It was written down multiple times from the 1890s, with the modern version written and translated by Djibril Tamsir Niane.

10 | Entertainment 1322: Kebra Nagast by Is’haq Neburä. This Ethiopian text, written in Ge’ez, is a national epic and takes the form of a debate over more than 100 chapters. The text translates to “Glory of the Kings”, and describes the lives of biblical and Ethiopian kings and queens, including the Queen of Sheba.

1728: Utendi wa Tambuka by Mwengo. One of the earliest and most famous texts written in Swahili, in East Africa. It is an epic poem about religious war between the Byzantine and Muslim people.

1883: The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner. This South African novel is regarded as one of the first feminist novels and is set in the Karoo during the First Boer War. 1907: Jock of the Bushveld, a South African novel by Sir James Percy Fitzpatrick, is published in this year.

1911: The Great Kimberley Diamond Robbery, directed by R.C.E Nissen, is the first South African film.

1914: Ityala Lamawele by Samuel Edward Krune Mqhayi. The first novel published in the Xhosa language.

1920: Mhudi by Sol T. Plaatje. This was the first novel published in English by a black South African and is an epic story of “South African native life” in the 1800s.

1925: Chaka by Thomas Mofolo. This South African/Lesotho novel is one of the most famous versions of Zulu King Shaka’s life and history and was translated from Sesotho.

21 June 2021

New SA novels to add to your list Kayla Thomas

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DBY has put together a collection of exciting new South African novels to add to your reading list this winter. We’ve also included a few titles coming later this year so that you can keep your bookshelf stocked and your local novel itch scratched.

Go Away Birds – Michelle Edwards May 2021 – Modjaji Books This novel follows protagonist Skye as she searches for the ‘normal’.

Grieving and struggling with PTSD, Skye “feels increasingly dislocated” as she tries to ground herself in her world. In Image: Modjaji Books an interview with WriteOnline, Edwards describes Skye as “this quiet woman who was deeply confident in who she was and capable in so many ways except in understanding her own feelings”. On her approach to writing, Edwards tries to “create tension and suspense slowly, ratcheting the pressure up almost imperceptibly until the characters reach breaking point”. Go Away Birds was released in May and can be ordered online.

1932: Bantu World is first published. This was a black newspaper published daily in Johannesburg.

1948: Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton. This acclaimed novel explored the racial tension of 1940s South Africa, as the systems of apartheid were developed.

1951: Drum is first published and the “Drum Generation” begins. The Johannesburg magazine was aimed at urban and contemporary black people, in a world of jazz, shebeens, and American gangster culture. Drum famously published writing by Casey Motsisi, Es’kia Mphahlele, Henry ‘Mr Drum’ Nxumalo, Can Themba, Arthur Maimane and more.

1952: The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola. This Nigerian novel, written in Pidgin English, was the first African novel published in English outside of Africa. It is set deeply in Yoruba folktales and follows a man’s journey to the land of the dead.

1958: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

This acclaimed novel is one of the most famous pieces of African literature in the world, and is widely studied in Africa and internationally. It is followed by two sequels.

1960: “Die kind (wat doodgeskiet is deur soldate by Nyanga) (The child (who was shot dead by soldiers at Nyanga))” by Ingrid Jonker.

This poem about the shooting of a black child by white soldiers is one of Jonker’s most known poems. Nelson Mandela read the English translation of the poem at the opening of the first democratic parliament in 1994.

1962: The Black Hermit by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o.

The first English East African play published.

1964: When the Lion Feeds by Wilbur Smith was the South African author’s first published novel.

1964: Breyten Breytenbach publishes his first collection of poetry.

1966: Black Girl, directed by Ousmane Sembene in Senegal, is released to international recognition as the first feature length black African film.

1966: Efuru by Flora Nwapa is published. This Nigerian novel is the first novel by an African woman published internationally.

Illustration: Kayla Thomas

Image: Booktopia.com

Female Fear Factory – Pumla Dineo Gqola June 2021 – Cassava Republic Press This novel by feminist author and Research Professor at the Centre for Women and Gender Studies at the Nelson Mandela University, Pumla Dineo Gqola,

is described by bookdepository.com as “a sobering account of patriarchal violence in the world”. It explores the diverse and far reaching “sites of female fear” around the world, and how they fit into the machinery of the patriarchy as a “tool of patriarchal subjugation and punishment”.

Prof. Gqola looks at sexual harassment, sexist laws and femicide to draw together the global ties of female fear in this newly released novel, available for order online.

WILL, the Passenger Delaying Flight…– Barbara Adair May 2020 – Modjaji Books On her website, a review by Robyn Sassen describes Adair’s new novel as “unequivocally and omnisciently about the flawed stuff that makes us all human, the doubts and secrets Image: Raru.co.za and odd little embarrassing ideas that creep into our sensibilities, when we least suspect”. The story takes place at an international airport as a German traveller leaves his country to go to Namibia. The airport offers the protagonist the space to people watch and Adair’s experimental writing gives the stage to a plethora of strangers travelling through the airport. From murderers and paedophiles to porn stars, professors, and thieves, Sassen notes that this “criss-crossing of humanity” is “something extraordinary” and “completely unmissable”. The novel is available for order online and in bookstores.

The book nerd corner Ayesha Vania

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hinking about the future, especially a career path, is scary and oftentimes anxiety inducing. This may be the case for someone who is not interested in the classic lawyer, doctor, or accountant route. If you are a lover of books then you are in luck, because there are many jobs for people who simply love words. You have all heard the phrase, “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life”, so here are a few viable options for people who love reading and would like to channel their favourite hobby into a career.

Author If you have a passion for writing as much as reading, get your creative juices flowing and delve into it. A specific degree is not needed to become an author, but of course a mastery of your chosen language would push your writing to the next level. The University of Pretoria has an internationally recognised humanities department, where you can pursue a Bachelor of Arts in English, African Languages, Afrikaans and Ancient and Modern Languages.

Librarian A librarian position is perfect for someone who would like to be surrounded by books all day, every day. However, it is not for the faint hearted and requires more than just organising books and telling people to keep quiet. Librarians are known as information professionals, and their job entails the management of library collections, administration, recommending titles and also often includes social aspects such as hosting book clubs. Librarians are essential parts of society, as they ensure that information is kept free and accessible to the public. The route to become a librarian is either through a Bachelor of Arts degree followed by a postgraduate Higher Diploma in Librarianship, or through a Bachelor of Information Science followed by a Masters degree in Information Technology specialising in Library and Information Science.

Editor An editor’s job is to be the behind the scenes hero who essentially fixes the author’s mistakes and turns a raw piece of writing into a perfectly flowing, grammatically correct masterpiece. There

is a range of editorial positions to choose from, from copy editor to content editor, depending on your area of expertise and interest. Editors also read through manuscripts and promote them to publishing houses, acting as a middleman between the author and the publishing house. The first step to becoming an editor would be to study a Bachelor of Arts degree in Languages or even Journalism, depending on the type of editor you would want to be. The University of Pretoria also offers a Postgraduate Short Course in Editing.

Archivist This is the dream job for anyone who absolutely loves books and wants to preserve their magic.

Archivists typically work in museums, libraries and universities. Their work extends beyond books and into film, photography and so much more.

This career path would appeal to someone who loves the arts and especially the history behind it.

In order to become an archivist, a Bachelor of Arts degree is required, and subjects such as Art History and Anthropology would be beneficial.

Translator If you have a knack for languages and a love for books, there is no better job than being a translator.

Besides the excitement of getting to read the book before anyone else, another added bonus of the job is being the reason that millions of people, separated by language, are able to share in their universal love of reading. A Bachelor of Arts degree in your chosen language is the way to get you started.

Audiobook Narrator Some jobs just sound too good to be true. This is one of them. Imagine being paid to read books aloud, when you’re used to doing that for free!

There isn’t a specific degree needed to become an audiobook narrator, although vocal coaching is encouraged.

These are just a few of the many career paths available for book lovers. Not all of these industries are easy to break into, and require more than just a genuine love for books (sadly).

However, if you couple your passion for books with hard work and grit, any one of these options is achievable. A great way to get your foot in the door is to gain some experience whilst studying, so consider interning at a publishing house or writing for the university newspaper. Apparently PDBY is a fantastic place to start…

Ougat: From A Hoe Into A Housewife And Then Some – Shana Fife July 2021 - Jonathan Ball Publishers Set in the Cape Flats, Ougat is a memoir of social pressures, escaping abuse and surviving amidst trauma and struggle. The protagonist, Image: Raru.co.za Shana, is a Coloured woman who is viewed as, as the blurb describes, a “jintoe, a jezebel, jas” by her family and community, and struggles to escape the pressures of the social conditioning she was raised with. The novel’s publisher describes Fife as a “powerful, fresh and disarming new voice” and the author’s memoir as “unsettlingly honest and brutally blunt”. Fife’s debut novel can be pre-ordered online until the end of June and will be available for sale in July.

An Unusual Grief – Yewande Omotoso October 2021 – Cassava Republic Press Omotoso’s new novel follows the mourning of a mother, Mojisola, after the death of her daughter Yinka.

The protagonist moves into her previously estranged Image: Booksxnaps daughter’s life to learn about Yinka and the life she had built, which leads her on a journey of self-discovery and what Foyles describes as “a bold and unflinching tale of one woman’s unconventional approach to life and loss”.

Omotoso’s career took off with her debut novel Bom Boy, and October’s release will be the South Africa-based author’s third novel.

Library Fun Fact # 1 The oldest sculpture in the Edoardo Villa Museum (in the old Merensky building) is “Bird Catcher” by Anton Van Wouw, which dates back to 1881.

Library Fun Fact # 2 The Merensky II Library, as we know it today, consists of 6 levels and acts as a focal point of the University’s Hatfield Campus.

Society catch-up with The Inklings Thando Dlamini

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DBY recently had the opportunity to catch-up with The Inklings’s Society chairperson, Isak Mostert.

What is the Inklings Society about?

The Inklings Society is a literary and drama society, and our primary aim is to preserve and appreciate the dramatic and artistic talents and abilities of both our members, and the larger UP community as a whole. We believe there is a wonderful capacity for the events we put on, and we always aim to foster creativity and unity among our members.

How can people get involved?

Becoming a member gives you access to all of our official communications, which advertise events and functions. We have an Instagram[account] on which we post everything you could want or need to know (@theinklingstuks). Writing poems and plays, engaging in performances, and being a valued member of the audience are all wonderful ways anyone can contribute to the Inklings. We believe in the duality of the performers and the audience, and our society can only exist if both groups are engaged and excited.

What can we expect from the Inklings this year?

We have a number of events planned for this year.

We are currently undertaking a charity book drive, and we look forward to our annual publication, The Inklinations, as well as an Inklings ball, trivia evenings, and should circumstances allow it, some in-person performances.

What are five words you would use to describe the executive committee?

Passionate. Resilient. Excited. Reachable.

Innovative.

How have the Inklings adjusted to a more online environment?

As a very physical society, the online environment has made things difficult. However, we are conducting more events off-campus to follow guidelines, and we have moved many of our previously only physical publications into the online sphere. We are always reachable via email: thinklings.tuks@gmail.com, and we encourage any inquisitive community members to send us an email if they’d like more info.

Entertainment | 11

21 June 2021

A beginner’s guide to African fiction Kendall Rae Behr

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his is a: ‘If you liked this, you might like this’, like Netflix for African fiction beginners.

If you liked Anne of Green Gables or the Enid Blyton books, you might enjoy…

Nervous Conditions. Want to read a story about a school-girl and her adventures in moving from a rural school to a school in the city?

Our favourite books PDBY Editorial Kayla Thomas: Editor Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe I think this book is on many people’s favourite list, and it’s easy to see why. I found it difficult to narrow my choices down but I finally settled on Things Fall Apart because it was my first experience with African literature and it set me on a path that really defined much of my English studies, both through undergrad and Honours. This novel changed my approach to literature, and it felt like something clicked when I read it. The depth and layers of the story and Achebe’s writing opened my mind to an entire genre that I had largely dismissed before, and this book was the first of many classics of African literature that have enriched and broadened my mind over the last four years. Everyone should read this novel, and I wish I’d read it before university.

Leah Rees: Digital Manager The Magic Treehouse Series - Mary Pope Osborne What a difficult question to answer when you are firstly, indecisive and secondly, really love to read.

Do I go pretty basic and say The Lord of the Rings trilogy or do I talk about my favourite childhood novel The Lost Island of Tamarind?. Or do I want to talk about how much I’m enjoying reading A Game of Thrones or The Fault in Our Stars for the first time?

Although I struggled choosing a favourite book, I settled on the Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne. Although this is the unlikely choice of an adult, I chose this series because it made me fall in love with reading when I was five and thought that that was impossible. This series started my love for adventure and made the highlight of my week going to the library to pick up the next book. A trend I’m happy to say has continued.

Giovanna Janos: Marketing Manager Looking for Alaska - John Green My favourite book is Looking for Alaska by John Green. It is my favourite because it was the first book to make me cry. It made me realise the power that words hold and how impactful they can be. It also made me realise that a good book that lets you feel a rollercoaster of emotions while reading it will always outweigh a good movie or series that does the same.

Kendra Connock: Social Media Manager The Beautiful and the Damned - F Scott Fitzgerald If I had to choose just one favourite book (which is a cruel task to set me) I would have to choose The Beautiful and The Damned by F Scott Fitzgerald. I fell in love with Fitzgerald the way most people do, through The Great Gatsby. I’ve grabbed every copy of his works I could get my hands on over the past few years but The Beautiful and Damned has left a lasting impression. It’s opulent and decadent and over-the-top with Fitzgerald’s signature writing style but the characters are flawed, human, relatable to the reader. Anyone who loves words or wants to fall in love with words should read something by Fitzgerald, anything really, but I’d recommend The Beautiful and Damned.

Nervous Conditions (set in Zimbabwe) by Tsitsi Dangarembga will scratch that itch.

If you like historical fiction like The Book Thief, you might like… Half of a Yellow Sun. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a beautiful fiction account of a family during the Biafran civil war in Nigeria in 1967.

If you like romantic fiction, you might like…

Maru by Bessie Head. Maru is filled with forbidden love, but also looks at sexism, tribalism, and racism in a remote village in Botswana.

If you like YA fantasy like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children you might enjoy…

The Hidden Star by K. Sello Duiker. Set in South Africa, this fantasy story follows a group of children on their quest to find a magical rock and conquer the bad guys.

If you like magical realism like One Hundred Years of Solitude, you’ll love… The Theory of Flight, by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu. Set in Southern Africa,

Kendall Rae- Behr: Head Copy Editor The Theory of Flight – Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu My favourite book is The Theory of Flight by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu because it’s a Southern African bit of historical fiction/magical realism that is full of wonderful, strong female characters, magic, and it has a hopeful ending despite some of the harrowing scenes. I think it’s got something everyone can enjoy, whether you like history, fantasy, drama or just a lovely feel good read.

Kelly-Anne Kong Kam Wa: Head of Layout Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn Gone Girl is a mystery/thriller. Although it’s rather dark, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it’s because it’s different from the typical books that I had read before, but once I started, I was hooked. I could not put the book down at all and ended up pulling an allnighter to finish it. The plot twist was so unexpected and the way it was done was simply ingenious. It forced me to rethink everything I had thought and assumed up until that point.

Bianke Neethling: Features Editor Talking It Over - Julian Barnes This book is about a story that’s been told many times before - a not-so-classic love triangle - presented and written in a completely unique way. Anyone looking for unforgettable characters, beautiful writing, and a new favourite author should read this book.

Dani van der Horst: Entertainment Editor Daisy Jones and the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid It’s fitting that my favourite book centres around music and music journalism (I am highly passionate about my section as you can see). If you love the scandalous groupie culture of the 60s and 70s then this is a book for you. It’s drugs, sex, and rock ‘n roll all neatly packed into 333 pages of interview format. A bold choice if I do say so myself! This book played on my music journalist heart strings and being the massive rock ‘n roll gal that I am, I was immediately obsessed! It follows fictional band “The Six” during their heyday and unpacks the group dynamics that led them to success but also, ultimately, led to their demise. Reid even went so far as to write her own lyrics for her band’s fictional songs! Reid drew a lot of inspiration from the drama that went on in Fleetwood Mac (which happens to be one of my favourite bands of all time). This book had me playing Rumours on repeat for weeks after I read it! I am a huge nerd for music trivia, especially that of good old-fashioned rock ‘n roll. So, getting to read something that played on the idea of this (albeit fictional) was the perfect fit for me. I felt like I was a part of all of it: the scandal; the birthing of anthems that would shape generations; the flirting with fame...

PDBY’s

poets to watch Puno Selesho

Puno is a spoken word artist who is originally from Pretoria. She has a decade’s worth of stories and poems that are meant for both personal and public spaces. You can stream her EP, “Words That Grow” on Apple Music and Spotify. You can also purchase her first poetry collection titled “Love Handles” on her website (www.punoselesho.com).

this book is filled with magical elements like golden children being born from eggs in Sunflower fields, flying people, and most importantly, friendships.

If you like science fiction novels like The War of the Worlds, you’ll enjoy… Lagoon, by Nnedi Okorafor. Set in modern-day Lagos, Nigeria, with aliens coming to land in the sea, Lagoon is filled with strange aliens and even stranger humans and animals.

If you like reading queer fiction, from Will Grayson, Will Grayson to The Colour Purple, you should read… Freshwater. Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi is a coming of age novel about sexuality, spirituality, and family, set in Nigeria and America.

Something for everyone: If you prefer reading short stories, there’s a rich history of short story writing in South Africa.

For more general short stories, you might like Hotel Africa: New Short Fiction from Africa, edited

by Helen Moffett or Soweto, Under the Apricot Tree, by Niq Mhlongo.

For something a little more crime-like, you might enjoy Jozi Noir, edited by Niq Mhlongo.

For queer short stories, you can check out Queer Africa: New and Collected Fiction edited by Karen Martin and Makhosazana Xaba.

I love this book. It made me so proud to be a part of the entertainment industry in my small way. It reminded me of the times I used to watch bands like Fokofpolisiekar perform in my small hometown and catch glimpses of the behind the scenes. It reminded me to nurture the fire that started burning in me the day I found out I could actually be a part of it all.

Nokwanda Kubheka: Deputy News Editor The Lion of Judah: How Jesus completes Biblical Judaism and why Judaism and Christianity separated - Rabbi Kirt A Schneider.

This book was written by someone who is biologically Jewish (ascending from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), grew up Jewish and one day had a vision of Jesus and became a Christian preacher. He asks, if Jesus is a Jew, why is there a wedge between Christianity and Judaism? As someone who sees beauty in the Jewish culture and is Christian, he “squashes” the long running beef between the two religions and basically gives an overview of how Jesus fits into the Old Testament and Jewish books, the Torah, Ketuvim and Nevi’im. He shows how Christianity never calls for the hatred of Jews and rather that there should be more love or appreciation for the Jewish culture since it came from God (in the Christian sense). In some way he calls for unity among these religions and touches on the prejudices that Jewish people face every day. I like it because it touches on the part of Christianity that isn’t much explored. We hear about the Crucifixion and most don’t even know that Christianity comes directly from another religion. It also opened my eyes to the antisemitic attacks Jewish people face around the world, with over 3 billion Christians in the world, we should be doing more to make sure the culture/ religion from which our own ascended from is protected.

Vasalya Moodley: Multimedia Stills Editor The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern This sparkling book is about two rival magicians that raise and train respective prodigies (unbeknownst to them) in the art of magic for a duel till the death to establish who the superior magician is. However, complications arise where these two young magicians in training unexpectedly fall in love and a whirlwind of magical twists ensue. I absolutely love the tension and unexpectedness of each character’s narrative, a sleek and classy game indeed.

Caitlyn Walsh: Sports Editor The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath This book is my favourite because it is super accurate on its commentary of the social roles during that time. It also reflects reality to a point that a variety of readers would understand and empathise with the main themes. It is also super descriptive which brings the novel alive.

Given Illustrative Given was PDBY’s Featured Artist for Issue 4 of this year. He is a Pretoria-based spoken word/ performance poet with an impressive eleven-year career behind him so far and he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. His poetry takes on themes of patriotism and family, and transforms them into artistic works about faith, love, and hope.

Keep an eye on his social media accounts for any updates on anything new that he has been working on (hint, hint).

Instagram: @givenillustrative; Facebook: Given Illustrative; Twitter: @IllustrativeGM.

1967: A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o.

This novel is about the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya and leads up to Kenya’s Independence Day. 1968: The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah. This Ghanaian novel explores life in independent Ghana.

1969: Boesman and Lena by Athol Fugard. This play follows a coloured couple in apartheid South Africa. The play was adapted into a film in 1973 and in 2000, and is widely studied.

1970: Dogter van Jefta by South African poet Antjie Krog. Krog’s first collection of poetry published.

1972: In the Fog of the Seasons’ End by South African writer, Alex la Guma, is published.

1975: Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka. A Nigerian play about Yoruba tradition, based on an incident of tragedy during the colonial era. In 1986, Soyinka won the Nobel Prize in literature, the first postindependence African writer to win it.

1975: Between Two Worlds by Miriam Tlali.

Tlali was the first black woman in South Africa to publish an English novel.

1978: The House of Hunger by Dambudzo Marechera. A Zimbabwean novella set in colonial Rhodesia.

1978: I Write What I Like by Steve Biko.

Apartheid activist Steve Biko’s writings were published after his death in police detention.

1979: A Dry White Season by Andre Brink. This South African novel’s title is from the South African poem “For Don M. – Banned”, by Mongane Wally Serote.

1981: July’s People by Nadine Gordimer. This South African novel is set in a future postapartheid civil war South Africa. Gordimer received the Nobel Prize in literature in 1991. Other notable works include The Conservationist and Burger’s Daughter.

1984: Kringe in ‘n bos by South African author Dalene Matthee. The first of the Forest Novels is published, followed by “Fiela se kind” in 1985.

1986: South African series Shaka Zulu, directed

by William C. Faure, airs starring Henry Cele as the title character.

1988: Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga. The Zimbabwean novel is set in colonial Rhodesia in the 1960s, and is regarded as a Bildungsroman. It is famous for its advocacy of African feminism and anticolonialism.

1991: The Famished Road by Ben Okri.

A Nigerian novel of magic realism that incorporates the spirit world and living world.

1992: Sarafina!, directed by South African Darrell Roodt, is released.

1994: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela is published, documenting his life before democracy.

1998: Butterfly Burning by Yvonne Vera.

This Zimbabwean novel about 1940s colonial Rhodesia is published.

1999: Disgrace by J.M Coetzee. This South African novel won the Booker Prize and is set in post-apartheid South Africa. J.M Coetzee won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2003.

2000: Thirteen Cents by K. Sello Duiker. The South African magic realist novel won the 2001 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book.

2000: The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda. This South African novel alludes to Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” with a reversal of themes.

2003: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Nigerian author Adichie’s debut novel is published.

2004: Charlize Theron wins the Academy Award for Best Actress for the 2003 film Monster, becoming the first South Africa to win in an acting category.

2005: Tsoti, directed by Gavin Hood, is released. The South African film is based on Athol Fugard’s novel of the same name and won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

2005: The first Africa Movie Academy Awards were held in Nigeria.

2006: Hard Ground by Ahmed Yerima. The Nigerian playwright published one of his most famous plays.

2009: District 9, directed by Neil Blomkamp.

This South African sci-fi film is set in a dystopian future where aliens have appeared over Johannesburg, and was nominated for four academic awards.

2010: Pumzi, a Kenyan short film directed by Wanuri Kahiu, is screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

2010: Spud, directed by Donavan Marsh, is released, based on the South African novel published in 2005.

2014: Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor. The Africanfuturist novel in set in Nigeria and is about aliens who land in Lagos.

2019: South African series The Girl from St.Agnes airs on Showmax.

2020: South African series Blood & Water premiers on Netflix, and Dam premiers on Showmax.

2021: My Octopus Teacher, a South African documentary, wins the 2021 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Library fun fact # 3 The UP MakerSpace, housed inside the Merensky II Library, stepped up to help when the COVID-19 pandemic led to a shortage of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers battling the disease. The MakerSpace began producing 3D-printed frames for face shields to be used by healthcare professionals to protect them from the virus.

Library fun fact # 4 The Old Merensky Library was expanded in 1957, but it soon became too small for the growing university. Architecture firm Lou, Marais, Marquard and Kuhn was commissioned to design a new library; construction on this project began in November 1971.

Library fun fact # 5 The library has been embracing the digital revolution in many ways over the years. The most novel of these advancements has been the “employment” of a new staff member named Libby. Libby is a 90cm tall client service robot and the first of its kind known to be in use in any university library in Africa!

Library fun fact # 6 General Jan Smuts laid the cornerstone of the Merensky Library on 11 October 1937 and the building was officially opened on 15 April 1938. The library was named after mining geologist, Dr Hans Merensky who contributed the capital for the construction of the building.

Library fun fact # 7 The Old Merensky Library now houses the Edoardo Villa Museum and was declared a national heritage site in 2012. The museum exhibits a large collection of sculptures by Italian-South African artist Edoardo Villa, as well as works by a number of other artists.

Library fun fact # 8 The Old Merensky Library building was designed by architect Gerhard Moerdyk.

Many consider this building to be his “practice run” for some of the designs he used on the Voortrekker Monument.

Naledi Mashishi on her first novel Invisible Strings Minentle Mndiyata

P

DBY had the pleasure of interviewing the author of Invisible Strings, Naledi Mashishi.

Invisible Strings is Naledi’s debut novel and in this interview, she elaborates on some major concepts covered in the book.

What inspired you to write this book?

When I got the idea for the book, I had read several stories in the news about pastors who were convincing their congregants to do degrading, dangerous things like spray Doom in their faces or drink household cleaning products. Those stories disturbed me, and I wanted to write about it. I was also always interested in the idea of intergenerational trauma. Especially since apartheid had been such a traumatic period for so many people and outside of the TRC that was not really dealt with in any widescale, meaningful way. I became concerned with what we do with that trauma and how people really move on from it.

Why did you decide on the supernatural genre?

I have always been interested in speculative fiction and a lot of my earliest writing was already in the science fiction and fantasy vein. I have read fantasy pretty consistently since I was young, and I knew quite early on that I wanted to write it. But what inspired this book in particular was being introduced to magical realism through reading The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. I decided to try to write it, so I wrote down a number of short story ideas and the idea of a little girl whose powers get used by a pastor was one of them. I realised the idea was too big to fit into a short story format, so I expanded it into a fulllength novel. In retrospect, the end result is probably more fantasy than magical realism.

Religion plays a huge role in some of the characters in the book, can you please elaborate on the concept of religion in context of the book, is it supposed to be a ‘Routine’ like in Solomon’s (one of the characters) old church or is it supposed to be spontaneous?

I did not want to provide any firm answers here but what I wanted to do was contrast the way religion has traditionally been practised versus how more contemporary churches and forms of Christianity practise it. I drew a lot from my experience. If you look at your older denominations like Catholicism and Anglicanism, they tend to be a lot more rooted in fixed routines and traditions, which I suppose stems from when the Roman Catholic Church started integrating pagan practices into Christianity hundreds of years ago. Whereas a lot of new age churches tend to be less about rigid routines and have a less structured vibe with a lot more singing and dancing.

Growing up I tended to find the more rigid traditional approach very boring and harder to connect with. Especially with prayers like the Lord’s Prayer, it never felt like I was actually talking to anyone. Just reciting a bunch of words.

Less traditional churches were more appealing to me because they in my mind focused more on the personal connection aspect of religion. But I think that the lack of structure can also make them easier to bend and exploit for people like Solomon because there are no higher ups like the Vatican or the

Archbishop who can reign people like him in.

Religion and homosexuality are often times at odds, and you seem to comment on this in Chapter 21, where Molefi finds himself being told that he is an abomination by the church just because he is gay.

Could you please elaborate on this?

I use a lot of characters in the book to vent the various frustrations I have had with Christianity (I am now an atheist). I have always hated the way that the church treats the LGBT+ community and Molefi was how I wanted to show that the belief that being gay is an abomination impacts real people.

I also have issues with the way women are treated at various points in the Bible and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is one of the clearest examples for me of women being mistreated. I could never understand how Lot as the hero of the story offered up his own virgin daughters to be raped by a crowd of men in order to save the angels from being raped. And the part of the story that everyone tends to focus on [is] that it’s that the city was filled with sinful people and one of the clearest signs of this was all the gay sex they were having. At least, that’s how the story was taught at my church.

I felt it was important to include Molefi and to include that story as a way of showing that the church’s homophobia is harming people. But also, in a sad twist of irony, the focus on demonising homosexuality can lead people to ignore really horrific things that are happening and that are worth paying attention to, like a father offering up his own kids to be raped.

Throughout the novel, Thato receives different explanations on who and what God is and questions his existence. Could you please elaborate on these explanations?

That was also pulled from my own experiences.

When I was a child, I had similar questions about where God comes from, why he does things, and how people know that something is actually his will.

I also wanted to capture how religious people can sometimes discourage asking these questions like Solomon’s mother and eventually Solomon do and how frustrating these experiences are.

Through Thato’s questioning of God, I wanted to explore how people interpret God rather than provide any answers. [S]omeone like Solomon believes in God deeply but is also able to manipulate the concept of God’s will in order to silence dissent and gain power. With the Straw-Hat Lady, I wanted to highlight how historically God has been used as a weapon during colonial rule in order to exert soft power over black people.

In Chapter 28, Mamokgethi recalls a Psychology lecture she once attended on Ethics in Psychological experiments. In your opinion, what is more important, obeying authority or obeying

Invisible Strings Naledi Mashishi “

“…by severing the strings...

I

If you are looking for an interesting read that is supernatural and controversial, then this novel is a must read. Invisible Strings is Naledi Mashishi’s debut novel. This supernatural story begins with Mamokgethi “...drowning in a vast, darkening sea…” which immediately grabs the reader’s attention. This novel is divided into

one’s conscience?

I definitely think that obeying one’s conscience is more important. But what I also wanted to talk about with Mamokgethi is the idea of complicity. It’s explored both in this chapter and in an earlier chapter from Molefi’s point of view where he and Dineo go to the trial of a man charged with murder under the doctrine of common purpose. The question I wanted to raise was how much blame does Mamokgethi shoulder for everything that happens given that the only reason Solomon is able to do the horrible things he does is because Mamokgethi gives him access to Thato?

According to the doctrine of common purpose, Mamokgethi is just as guilty as Solomon. I don’t necessarily think she is, but I do feel that she does shoulder some blame and it is her responsibility to say no to Solomon even though her circumstances may not Image: Blackbird Books make it easy to do so.

Why do you think there are still men who are threatened by a woman who ‘acts like a man’ like Solomon describes Mamokgethi?

With Solomon I wanted to tap into the way that misogynistic men think. Solomon does not see women as being full human beings in the way men are. He has very little regard for women outside his mother and his sister and objectifies most of the women he comes across. This worsens as he becomes more resolute in his faith to the point where he begins to see women who don’t live according to Christian values with contempt.

With Mamokgethi his attitude towards her is a mixture of Christian conservatism and his tendency to objectify women. Mamokgethi doesn’t behave the way that he thinks women should behave and he resents her for this and for the fact that he is dependent on her. And I based this directly on the attitudes of many misogynistic men I have observed over the years. They don’t see women as full human beings and when women don’t conform to the neat boxes, they want to put them in or directly challenge those boxes. These types of men tend to feel threatened as they perceive these women as a threat to their own masculinity.

I think they still exist because we still live in a society where sexist attitudes are normalised and so they often face no reason to change their way of thinking.

Will you be working on something new soon? A sequel maybe?

I don’t have any plans to work on a sequel. I would like to write more books in future that are unrelated to this story but right now I’m focused on resting and enjoying having reached the milestone of publishing my first novel.

Invisible Strings is available for purchase on the Blackbird Books website.

An interesting read with controversy and supernaturality

Minentle Mndiyata

nvisible Strings is an intriguing read that leaves the reader questioning whether they too have multiple strings pulling them somewhere, to something, or to someone. The novel leaves one questioning whether one will ever truly know fate’s plan.

Entertainment | 12

two parts, and it begins by taking us through the glorious, easy life Mamokgethi lived before her pregnancy with Thato. The storyline then shifts to Thato’s tumultuous journey as she discovers her powers of healing people and animals and speaking to the dead. At this point the reader is introduced Solomon Khumalo’s upbringing in the dusty streets of Alexandra and his journey to becoming a pastor. Taking place in the city of Johannesburg, the novel also brings to light the way people were living during apartheid as Mamokgethi’s

“

21 June 2021

mother recalls the days she used to spend with her long-lost sister Dineo. The novel touches on the controversial concepts of religion, traditionalism, and homosexuality as we witness the dissolution of Molefi’s relationship with his father and the church’s treatment of him because of his sexuality.

This book is challenging to put into words due to its complexity. This book must be read with an open mind as the joining of the spiritual and physical can be very challenging to comprehend.

...you trapped me in this one…”

21 June 2021

Poetry Corner | 13

PDBY Poetry Corner

This is a special extended edition of the Poetry Corner. PDBY publishes poems submitted by UP students. Submissions are not edited. Submissions published do not reflect the views or opinions of PDBY or staff and editors. Submissions to the Poetry Corner can be sent to editor@pdby.co.za.

Dinner at my friend’s house Thato Tshukudu

Josh invites me for dinner at his fancy house and the first thing I notice at the end of the sandalwood table is an antique black bowl shedding from its coat.

No one talks about the grotesque bowl.

No one wants to touch the rusted bowl laying on the corner of the satin-lace-covered dinner table.

No one wants to pour, sip, wash, rinse from the dirty bowl.

We all know what is inside the worthless bowl.

We all know that graveyards may hide the skeleton but the epitaphs engraved on the tombstone is all the autopsy we need to recreate the dead.

I stare at white Josh and down at the pigment of my bony back hand.

No one wants to talk about the fractured bowl.

I also pretend like it’s not there and enjoy dinner.

Until the African Man Ivianashe Nyamutsamba

Until the African man She battles racism She battles sexism She battles religious extremism She battles home and away She is in a constant battle with herself She is in a battle amongst her peers She is in a battle with you, the African man Until the African man respects her Until the African man accords her with what is hers Until the African man sees a friend, an ally, a cadre, she will forever be under him Until the African man learns to respect her Africa will forever be a figment of our imagination An imagination only those who are not tired of dreaming will forever be feeding on like a baby suckling from a worn-out breast All she needs is your respect All she wants is your gratitude All she yearns is your appreciation All she expects from you is to hold her hand and allow her to stand on the podium of progress Until the African man accepts her voice Until the African man listens to her voice Her cries will forever be lost in the waves of time The return of Africa to her children will only be realised, Until the African man allows her to wear her crown with pride and content The ownership of our vast wealth will only be realised Until the African man Respects her Eons have passed whilst she tries to break free from your suppressive thumb Eons have passed as she tries to wriggle free from your trap Eons have passed as she carries forward with her fight for freedom and recognition The epoch is upon us to look at her right in the eye and hold her hand firmly The epoch is upon us to dust her and accord her crown The epoch is upon you and I to give her rightful place in the twenty first century table Until the African man sits down and listen to her tender firm voice He will realise the true meaning of being an African man The identity of being an African man does not lie in standing on podiums and shouting The identity of being an African man lies in respecting her, the African woman Listen carefully my brother Listen adequately my brother Listen to the wind as it brushes your face The direction of the wind has changed The direction of the rivers current has changed The direction of the sun has changed Until the African man understands his own actions His own cancerous action of suppression and exploitation of the African woman Africa will forever be in shambles Africa will forever be a mirage in the desert Africa will forever be a “dark continent” The way you treat the African woman determines the trajectory of Africa The epoch of change is not far from us The epoch of change is upon us Only you, African man holds the key Only you, African man determine the fate of Africa Until the African man

Emancipate my soul to my mental liberation

Primordial Midnight James Breytenbach It was coming close to the twelfth hour; all had melded into the contours of space time as I lay down amongst countless souls. The machine hum sickness came over the night, rolling through the streets, unifying the air embracing all within its vibration. A godawful gutwrenching sickness, my skin convulsed, stomach turned. It is at times like this when one feels the cartesian humdrum most clear. A passive ordinance instilled in all memory, the motion that heeds individuality. The spectacle insidious throughout, that which precedes all thought and action.

The image resides, the claustrum dissipates.

Drifting forth from visions of desolation I came too. Lights pulsating in the depths of the ether, a low bass trembled through my body. Any unaccustomed soul would liken Sp-7 to the rapture, yet those who pass through these doors regularly know that the rapture is all but a gentle fable.

Dust your helmet, pappa!

Jan Koketso Ndlovu If I tell your all my spills and failures, would you call me your son.

About the water I’ve spilled, how I failed to separate water from mud.

Knot your laces, I am going to open my case for you to see this strange face clearly.

I would have known about the bicycles pedals if you were there, but mother put me in her concrete spine and I learnt more about hands, to give more and take less.

Dust your yourself honey, says my dear mother cheering my first game.

Dust your helmet father, you suppose to be the head of this family.

My friends can point their father in jail, after curfew, and graveyard, fortunately they know where their fathers are, mine is somewhere with blinding dust on his back and shoes.

The Beloved’s Eyes Mudassir Ali Sayed I lost my heart to those eyes I wonder what the world has seen in my eyes I hope they see the beloved’s images in my eyes I hope they see my image in the beloved’s eyes Many thought I lost my heart to the locks of the tresses They were wrong I lost my heart to those eyes Yes I daydream, for I do not sleep My sleep was snatched away, by those eyes My heart was shattered when the beloved looked away Do not take away the wine which flows from those eyes I was asked to draw the face of the beloved I failed as I could not draw further than the beloved’s eyes What is this feeling I have for someone’s eyes Oh world you are wrong, it is the soul I see through Those eyes Musassir reveal the name of that beloved who you see with your eyes You shall see the name if you stare into my eyes

The Garden of Mind James Breytenbach

Something in the weight of my fingertips An inward thought poised The expulsion A word flies from the mouth Supplanting itself in thee A word grows within the garden of the mind Subtle, slender saplings Rooted tree’s branches Reaching outwards/ heavenwards.

A mass of writhing body’s drifting in consolation each under the eye of a star somewhere up above in the night sky. A congealed consciousness permeating through barriers of skin held by flesh and bone.

I can feel my thoughts settling, my self begins to precipitate back into place. First the tips of my fingers, they feel cold, then the lids of my eyes. I shut my eyes and draw a deep breath.

Opening them the blue haze of cigarette smoke is sliced by light beams, warmth passes over me, and I’m washed back into the sublime abyss.

My mind opens to a cave, a young man drinks from a bowl. A hyena’s head with human eyes appears from the stone wall. The cave begins to crawl, melting into the sand, as it opens to the skies of oblivion. Angels in blue arrive in a golden light, the sand turns into saffron. He falls onto his back; I am him and he is I. Born from the primordial midnight I awaken to the day.

Did you get scared because my pigment chose mother’s side? just like a pig would jump into mud puddles, or are you scared of commitment to the forbidden relationship (interracial relationship)?

How do I tell strangers where I get these hazel eyes, body of an elephant with long legs like giraffe, and my sense of fatherless?

Don’t you know my taste bud malfunction on birthdays? father’s day feels like a curse, we don’t talk about it ever.

I know you went to fetch work Overalls; I know that from my mother’s prayers, Laat die klein minnares sy oorpak skoon en gewas teruggee (let the little mistress return his overalls clean and washed), and sometimes she forgets to say Amen.

Boys in the village treat me different, O wa mang? (What’s your roots?), I will just run, and fall crying to mother.

Dust yourself, if only you were here to teach me how.

Strong Woman O.L. Ngwenya Pretty face, always smiling and laughing Always ready to here others out and help them.

Just a call away.

Yet, she has been bruised and scared on her heart She seeks no validation of herself She wears a mask that She refuses to let others see her stained face Full of tears and cries She wonders and worries The world is heavy, a burden to carry She lies in bed hoping for a miracle Yet she arises each day, the same A true hero and a true legend Acknowledging the end times she By her faith and resilience never ceases to pray She prays from her spirit as her body wouldn’t always permit Dedicated and diligent She never ceases to hope for the best, for the most precedented outcome of each and everyone’s lives.

Her light illuminates her path and that of others A light out of darkness in the darkness, she is.

She refuses to be weighed down as she stands firmly upon who she is.

A warrior, a victor One born out of the root of conquerors and royalty She refuses to beg for her right to be heard For duties, to do right.

Her walk, as cunning as that of a lion.

Breed of the supernatural she is, she foresees the future!

Hope Nkomo Lost souls seldom find saviours, over and over again I sob silently for my soulful liberation. Philosopher Jean Jacque Rosserau once enlightened my soul in his “man born free but every where he goes is in chains”. It is in my deepest obligation to associate myself to that man seeking refugee, I have enchained my peaceful soul without the intent of enchaining myself however the truth is that I have lost track and keys to my own liberation for temporary pleasures of this generation. Look at I scouting back and forth living by the fear of judgement in my predicament however I keep questioning why these judgements fail to enable my survival, between a rock and a hard place I struggle to choose as my heart has turned into that hard place nonetheless these places are less different from each other, the misery in these places cannot of course be compared but no! I choose to rather acknowledge that little difference because after all it creates variety.

My heart has harboured all the derailing, spiteful and hateful emotions – anger, sadness and confusion as my mind hopefully drowns awaiting for genuine love, opinions come cheap from various perspectives, they eat the sweetness out of my bitter predicament. To these master hidden pretentious manipulators I appear as one enormous traitor but the irony and reality in this is that I am no different to them, it’s factual that I never hid in masks. I forgive those whom did me wrong, those dear to my heart mistaken it for my weakness, I spit nothing but fire in my utterings as a result of hurt and agony from the chains bound by love.

We were once powerfully driven by the flowing velocity of our love emotions until we let our weaknesses let the better of us, no false utterings in this game, will I ever stop being held captive by my own emotions, why is it that my heart always acts contravening to my brain. Am I not sufficiently great to ignite happiness in others? Perhaps am the fire that needs ignition rather than giving more than I am merited consequently my search for true love is about to determine my fate. My aim was never to end up like a beggar for love, no! Not even a fool, I am so sorry but what am I really apologetic for? For loving and investing hope in an unchanging being or for betraying my own flesh and blood for love that has been promised and never delivered in full pieces? Why do I keep hoping? Sometimes my own name “Hope” leaves me hanging by a thread. Over here writes a voice and not a hand that seeks healing, I am a shattered young lady whom died within the deeper insides of my heart long before I even got to live life, salutations to my loving organ that pumps pure love even after it has been stumbled upon by dominion characters.

BreakDown!

Bayanda LS Her tic-stopped. Stomped&Stormed; Struck&broke floodgates – destructed!

Cascades stream down my agitating mountain – Earthquake! I’m shaking– can’t shake off the pain; She’s gone I mourn I’m torn alone Unknown in a taxi in my own earphone Singing ‘Keep Calm’ – I’m trying but I can’t; I’m clacking breaking “No Lord..she..can’t…”

“God almighty please make it stop; it hurts”; Grinder penetrates irritates separates – it cuts!

I see her but I can’t touch her, I’m losing my mind “God find the rewind button, she was kind” I can’t talk I can’t walk – I’m paralyzed; It isn’t sickness, won’t help being hospitalised I’m dying… – a piece of my heart is ascending…

A beautiful life came to an abrupt ending. – Only a –teen and keen to meet her twins – Now quit kicking; just sleeping with their Queen Blessed are those in the afterlife…

Like I was, & all who cheered her life.

14 | Poetry Corner

21 June 2021

PDBY Poetry Corner The marks on my skin Alexa Midnight Just one more cut A string of life Snapped too soon Just one more cut A widowed wife Another get well balloon Just one more cut With my sharp edged knife As I pray up to the moon

Just one more cut A world of rife Singing death’s tune Just one more cut I promise it’s the last Looking back, Into my past Just one more cut The last for sure My face feels slack Not sure I can endure Just one final cut

Coffee Shops & Witches Andrea Blignaut

The best coffee shops are the ones run by witches. They’re always cosier than the othersyour drink will never get cold, and your pastry will never go stale. The mugs are enchanted to surreptitiously vanish back to the kitchen when you’re done with them. You can sit outside when it rains and watch the water slide off invisible domes, and the latte art features sigils for luck and peace and happiness.

They’re also the best places to find other witches.

Women while away the hours there, typing away on laptops next to espressos laced with mugwort, or steadily devouring books while sipping passionflower tea. And while they sit in their own worlds, they also let their eyes flick up, every so often, to watch the other women in the room, exchanging soft smiles and safe in the knowledge that they’re among kindred spirits.

Much of the comfort women take in the occult comes from that same feeling of belonging. A witch, some of the younger ones like to say, is just a woman who’s found her own power.

It’s not a view that Mint fully agrees with. After

all, the coffee shops are there so that they can find each other— it’s not safe to just come out and say you’re a witch. It wasn’t safe in France in 1233, or in Germany for most of the 1500s, or in Salem in 1692.

That’s not to say that it’s impossible—around the mid-1980s, some had gotten it into their heads that non-witches deserved to know about magic, and they’d set Times Square ablaze, only for everyone to walk out of the flames—which had led to a frenzy of policymaking to regulate witches’ movements and actions and spells.

And Mint hates it.

She doesn’t want to hide. She’s not her mother, who loved to work her magic in the shadows and revelled in mens’ confusion when she outpaced them in a world made for them. Mint is ecstatic that she can be a witch in public. But when she comes to open the shop that’s once again been covered in Exodus 22:18, she’s reminded: a woman can ask for protection from every spirit and demon and god she encounters, but sometimes a man’s fear is more powerful than her prayers.

Discernment!

Diiseng Mashogoane When was the last time I spoke to someone every single day for a whole month? Three years ago, I think. That was the last time I was interested enough in someone, and someone was interested enough to speak to me every single day for a whole month. Our chats flow so easily.

Normally I get anxious when I speak to someone for a bit too long because I fear their rejection. I fear that the longer we speak, the more they’ll get to know the parts of me that I am still working on. I fear they won’t be interested, but I have to show those parts of me because if I don’t then they won’t know the real me. With you however, it seems like the more I reveal to you, the more you want to know. The parts of me I still need to work on, you welcome them. They intrigue you. Instead of disqualifying me from being part

of your life because of who I am, you want to know why my mind works the way it does. My intricate, unpredictable and beautiful, yet damaged mind…or at least that’s how you described it.

The problem is you won’t allow me to truly see you. You don’t trust me. You want to, but because of your past, your mind refuses to believe that I won’t judge you or leave you or hurt you in any way. Sometimes you show me little parts of you. Not enough to know you truly, but just enough to keep me hooked. I think you do this on purpose. For how long though? How long will I remain patient? I could give myself a time period, but we all know that emotions are shallow and inconsistent. They will change according to the situation, so I hope my spirit of discernment never leaves me. I hope I know when to leave.

StarStruck Ironies Jacobus van Rooy Mikroskopies, ons verwysingsraamwerk.

Kan ons optog saamwerk?

Jou bevel en my melanien, alles goed wat die oog kan sien.

Maar hoe sal die oog ons nie verlei, Wanneer skerms die oorlog van aandag verdien?

Ikonies soos bo natuurlike Stemme; Tonge van vuur Die mens het haarself laat versier en versuur, Met tonge soos lemme en profesie van plesier.

Die mens het homself laat bewapen, Met spiese beduie en die tydsgees gekneus.

Ons drang na die ewigheid Ons soeke na gees Ons drank, ons begeleiding, ons Ikonies wees.

Die troos antwoord eggo in my verstand: Mense sal rus kry, waneer die tydsgees genees.

Deur Bertus JAman.

Karla Boshoff You are too quick to compare me to the constalations. your world won’t spin around me my eyes cannot shine like the stars I am not as mysterious as the moon.

Please do not get so caught up in your idea of me that you fail to see.

I am but a regular girl with a frail heart, asking you to love me for my normality.

-Dear astronomer please love me for me.

A Gift Sharayi Matizamhuka The gift of the world The sun rises and sets The wind blows from east to west The bird rests in a nest Water flows from one stream to the next The apple falls from the tree.

A life changes as we speak Havoc arises in an instance A decline in another ordinary life.

Yet the Gift of the world.

The sun still rises above existence The sun sets below hidden sufferings The wind still blows from west to east When the mind fails to navigate towards stillness The bird still rests in a nest When the body and mind are restless.

James Breytenbach The day the shadows stopped falling Under the infinite grey expanse Houses, refuge the empty streets A face turns eyes do not meet Beneath the sheets warm embrace Solace all but common place.

run… run around my head. lead me down that path again the one that even light fears the one that loneliness calls home where my secretes can no longer hide for even peace lose its grip here I’m still stuck drinking tea for what is the use of FREEDOM if even the mad man won’t let me out of this rabbit hole run run around my head back down that path again slowly dying, while the rest laugh.

narcissus Themba Nhlapo

Tears like the stream flow from one agony to the next The apple still falls from the tree Regardless of the law of gravity An individual is to stand tall when all is falling.

Ogling without sign of cease.

Though previously just a genuflecting of wonder, now handled me like an object of plunder and brought upon an aura of peace.

The gift of the world It gives without care and takes without care Tomorrow the world continues without care Is living ever fair?

Something about those emerald irises, that evoked images of verdurous meadows with filigree of auroral dew where the stroma grows, and snowy sclera where the ruby red river flees.

Bondage Dimpho Phiri I Look to the stars when I miss you.

Cursed by distance but blessed with the privilege to hold a Celest.

Even though it was for one second.

How do you give a Human a drug and expect them not to crave it the next day?

I stared at the toxicity in her eyes and instead of departing I prayed it would treat me better the next day.

I am a slave.

At the gates of escape but I kept my chains on.

Walked back to my master and asked what my next task was.

Staring at her squarely in the eyes finding what I lack Whilst giving her what she needs for she needed happiness and I was searching for peace.

You turned into a poem I already wrote.

Ripped the pages months ago but when my words came true it made sense as it seemed my heart was preparing me for this storm called a star.

I mean …Who am I to fight the Gods ?

I am no stranger to bondage, nor do I fear it.

However, have you ever felt freedom flow through your fingertips…

Have you danced against the winds current whilst waltzing in the abyss of your soulmate?

She was destructive but a substance I took willingly because my Ancestors danced for her.

They ululated instantly when I lit a match and burnt sage exclaiming.

She is the one.

The star that enslaved my heart but even in Bondage gave me more love than my heart could grasp.

Love Poem 2021/06/01

My Tea Party John Hood

Karla Boshoff I wish I could write a love poem, for you.

About depth, forever and crimson cheeks.

The words however get stuck somewhere unwilling to spill out with the ink.

Some things it seems should only be felt and not be written.

-Sometimes love is more than poetry.

Assay, he did this deed doth ponder, that Nemesis’ incantation his fate crease, and his epoch of color shall start.

Alas, his disenthralment drifted upon yonder.

Like it, the soul of the archaic youth from Greece to Heaven, or to Hades, depart.

Two o’clock Thando Dlamini He sat at the bar drinking a beer, his head was hung low, his shoulders slumped. He was drinking his sorrows away. This I knew because his boyfriend had just died. Something about his mood attracted me to him. I’d wanted to approach him numerous times that night but I couldn’t. Something in me said wait, when the proper time comes you’ll get your chance to strike.

He drank the night away at the bar, retelling stories of his love to whomever would listen. It was two in the morning when he left. Stumbling out the bar. Shirt untucked, forehead sweating.

I followed him out. He walked past a few stores before he realized he went the wrong way to his house. I only knew this because I’d seen him walk that way past the florist on a daily basis. He turned and went back to the bar. He had forgotten his keys and cards. I knew this because I picked them up. The bartender told him his girlfriend had taken the things. He knew it was a lie and had no hope trying to look for his things. Things were stolen and sold quickly in his part of the neighbourhood. Our part of the neighbourhood.

He walked the short walk to his townhouse and knocked on the door, hoping his housemaid was still awake. She definitely was not. He knocked a few times harder and finally tried the handle which opened the front door. He walked in and up his stairs to his housemaid’s room where she sleeps. There he would find Ana sleeping soundlessly. This I knew because she was dead.

He closed her door and went to his. He fell straight into bed not bothering taking off his clothes. He looked at peace. His lips soft and I kissed them. I needed to know what Jason saw in him. Why he left me for him. I pulled the small knife resting on my upper thigh out and let the moon coming through his window reflect on it.

I shook him just once and when his eyes opened and he realized someone was watching him.

I stabbed him in his heart. I wanted to see the suffering. I pulled it out and walked out his room.

Down the stairs and out the front door. Down to the river where Jason also lay dead.

If I couldn’t have Jason. No one else could.

21 June 2021

Sport | 15

Q&A with Sango Xamlashe How did UP-Tuks boot UCT out of the final?

Image: Catherine Kotze

a game.

P rugby captain, Sango Xamlashe, began with the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, was offered a contract with the Blue Bulls in Pretoria and has moved to UP. Since then, he’s become captain of the UP rugby team and led his teammates to a championship win in the 2021 Varsity Cup. After roasting us for never being to the High-Performance Center, Xamlashe and PDBY met for a post-win catch up before he’s back to training for the Curry Cup and Carlton Cup.

How is it different being the captain as opposed to a normal player?

It’s difficult. It’s a different type of pressure. It’s not the same pressure that everyone else would experience. Everybody else’s pressure that they would naturally experience plus the pressure of captaincy. You have to make all the right decisions all the time. If you make the wrong decision, the whole team suffers.

U

How has your experience differed from playing with the Blue Bulls to playing at UP? Playing at [UP] you interact more with your supporters and fan base, which is pretty cool because you have a real feel of the inside, which is us, and the outside which are the supporters and how they see everything. At the Bulls in u/21 you didn’t really have many supporters or spectators, and we didn’t have much of a chance to interact with them. [UP] supporters you go to class with, you see on a daily basis. They always have something to say […], so being able to interact and know how they feel and how much it means to them is really cool and I like that. It also gives us a better reason to play.

Let’s talk about your semi-final victory. Was it extra sweet considering you kicked Maties out of the final?

I was playing against my younger brother. My brother had a game up on me. He beat me in the group stages. I wasn’t sour, I was more happy that he had something to take home, but in my mind I was like don’t worry, let them have it. [...] I wasn’t upset but I was disappointed that we lost to Maties because we played really badly. So it would have been better if we played really well and they still beat us. But that didn’t happen.

So when we beat them in the semi-final I was like yeah, it was coming. [...] So it’s one one. But I have a trophy now, so I get a bonus point.

If I take a break, then I “ won’t get a breakthrough.

Have you been getting a lot of female attention recently?

According to Xamlashe’s roommate and teammate, “the Varsity Cup has definitely boosted his profile with the ladies”.

What is your pre-game ritual?

I have a pre-practice ritual as well. I must be listening to music on arrival. I have a game day playlist. It’s a mix of a lot of things, most of it is hip-hop. And then for game day I do the same thing. I listen to music most of the day, especially the closer it becomes to the game. I have got my ear plugs in. Another ritual is left boot before right [it’s a tradition]. [...] It’s like if you have underwear that you had a really good game in, sometimes people want to wear [them] all the time.

Interviewer: So, is that what you did?

Xamlashe: No, no I don’t wear underwear during

“

So, for all the interested fans out there, are you single? (laughs) Yes, I’m single.

Do you think not playing against UCT in the group stages worked in your favour?

Had we played them in the group stages I think it still would have worked in our favour because then it would have shed some light because [...] there was not much we could have said about them in terms of preparation going into the game. [...]

We were kind of, not blindsided, but we just had to go off of what we saw when they played other teams. […] We didn’t know how they would react to what we would do. Or where they are vulnerable in response to what we’re doing. We had to kind of like go with the whole thing of, well, let’s hope that the things they have been replicating in other games is actually the true image. […] So we did our homework, watched their videos like traditionally and then game day they gave us the picture that we wanted. I think that’s where it went well for us, we weren’t working with something that was completely foreign. It’s difficult playing against a team when you haven’t done your homework, because you don’t know what to do.

Why do you think UCT struggled in the final?

I think part of the reason was that they didn’t have squad depth. They didn’t have any rotation

policy. Barely. Like they played the same players all the time, which was difficult because this year wasn’t the same. We were playing three games in one week. It can’t be the same team, every week [...] the wheels fall off. And we managed our players. [...] We were fortunate to have a huge squad, with really good players, like really good. [...] And the sad part is. There were some guys who never played that could easily [play any] Varsity cup side. It’s tough.

Do you think an essential part of a winning team is that you change it up?

I think an essential part of a winning team is preparation. We started preparing for Varsity Cup in October. We were training from October to the 15th of December. We [went] home for two weeks and then we [came] back but then back then we were still anticipating that Varsity Cup would start in February. [...] Some teams only started training in 2021. So in terms of preparation we were way ahead. Way ahead.

It’s interesting, we all watch rugby on TV but we have no idea the amount of preparation that goes into it.

If the field you’re looking at right now could talk. Joh. You’d see tears. We had this thing called F*** you Friday. It’s like hell in a cell. There’s no rugby ball. It’s not even [...] necessarily like strength training [...] it’s more mental. I wouldn’t say it improves anything besides your mind, [but] it does make us fitter. We would do that for an hour [but] still no rugby balls though. Then we’d go home. You must know its hell on a rugby field […] when sh** hits the fan. When you arrive, there’s no rugby balls and there’s just tackle bags and cones. [...] What was quite interesting was that no one gave up or threw in the towel halfway through the sessions. […] Maybe that’s why some would say we won the Varsity Cup. You never know. Coach Carter would say that’s where we won the Varsity Cup. […] It’s nice playing for a team you know has a good chance of winning.

It would be difficult to play on a team when the chances of winning are really low. [...] At [UP] you have a trophy cabinet.

You know there’s a good chance that you’re going to win. So whatever we’re doing there’s a real cause and real reward. It will be even easier next year to convince people how to win, because we did it last year.

“

October. I need to somehow get a break because my body is broken. I haven’t had a break, I [only] had five days off. So for me it would be nice to have a break, but I also understand that things aren’t the same, things aren’t normal. [...] I [also] don’t want to miss out on opportunities because I need a break.

If I take a break, then I won’t get a breakthrough.

Are you going to play next year?

I’ll cross that bridge when it comes [but] I’d love to play and if I get a chance I’ll play.

Is rugby something you want to make a career out of, what’s the dream?

Yes. Without a doubt. In the near future, I don’t see myself working somewhere. The dream is to play in a World Cup. That’s the dream.

Winning is nice. Although winning is not everything, it’s nice that the thing you’re working towards is possible. I can’t imagine what type of person I would be if we didn’t win then and we didn’t win now. It could be the reason you start to doubt whether playing is a good idea or [if you should go] forward professionally. […] In rugby, your resume says a lot.

So, does champagne out of a trophy taste significantly better than out of a glass?

Definitely. I feel like I could almost taste it coming out of France. I feel like I could taste the origins of it [and] it being harvested in the south of France. When it comes out of a glass, I can’t taste much […] it’s like I can taste it coming out of the distribution center. My rugby jersey [was covered in it]. I didn’t wash it. Still haven’t washed it. I’m not going to wash it. It’s drenched in champagne. It smells like champagne and sweat. And I wore it the whole day. I slept in it as well.

How was the celebration after?

To be honest it wasn’t as huge as I thought it was going to be. We celebrated for two days but after that it wasn’t [...] hectic anymore. We didn’t have students to celebrate with us. […] I’m actually glad it didn’t happen because we would have caused havoc. I would have been at the strip in my jersey. I’d leave my medal at home though. It would have been different to go out and celebrate at the strip. It would have been euphoric. It would have been next level.

My rugby jersey [was covered in champagne].

I didn’t wash it. Still haven’t washed it.

When do you end your year/season?

I don’t think there will be an end until [...]

“

Leah Rees

This means you guys will have to win next year so we can celebrate then.

Ja, we’ll have to win next year now.

Sport PDBY Featured Athlete: Inga Hendrick Kayla Thomas

U

P’s women’s basketball captain, Inga Hendrick, recently led her team to victory in the 2021 Rising Sun Women’s Basketball Tournament. Hendrick spoke to PDBY about her passion for basketball and her career so far.

How would you describe Inga Hendrick to someone hearing about you for the first time?

I would describe myself as [an] introvert that enjoys playing basketball.

How did you get into basketball?

I first got into basketball when I was 14 years old as an extra mural. I remember a few of my friends suggested we should go try it out and we discovered how fast-paced and exciting it was so we decided to keep on playing.

What is your favourite thing about basketball?

My favourite thing about basketball is that it is challenging. Basketball not only requires you to be physically fit but it also requires you to be mentally focused throughout the game, if you lose focus for just one possession you can lose the game. It is such a fast paced game that it requires you to be locked in the entire time.

What are some highlights of your basketball career so far?

I think being able to travel to different provinces and meeting people who are just as passionate about basketball is always exciting.

You and your team recently won the 2021 Rising Sun Women’s Basketball Tournament, how did that feel?

It was an amazing feeling but I think what made it even more exciting is the excitement on my teammates’ faces and how proud our coach was that we were able to pull it off. I was so proud of my team because we pushed ourselves the entire weekend.

Can you walk us through the process of preparing and competing for the tournament?

Our coach during practice told us that our pre-season was over and that it was time for us to start thinking like champions and going to every tournament we participate in with the mind-set to win. I believe that he planted a small seed in each of us that we could win and by the time the tournament came we all started to believe in ourselves.

How has your team’s training been affected during the pandemic?

Other than starting our pre-season training later than usual, the pandemic hasn’t really affected our training sessions.

What are your goals for the future in basketball?

This is not really a personal goal, but my team’s goal for the future is to come back with a medal at the USSA championships this year.

Who has most influenced you in your basketball career?

I would say the coaches I’ve had along my basketball journey have influenced me the most. In my basketball journey I’ve always been blessed with coaches that are dedicated to not only my development as a player but also as an individual. But my high school coach, Letha Zulu, is the one that made me fall in love with the sport and encouraged me to keep playing basketball in university.

What advice would you give aspiring athletes of the sport?

1. Hard work pays off, the time you spend perfecting your layups, your handles and shots eventually shows in the game.

2. Believe in yourself and believe in your TEAM mates.

Images provided

The 438 match Mfundo Masiya

O

n 12 March 2006 at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, the fifth One Day International (ODI) match between the South African (Proteas) and Australian (Aussies) cricket team was played. This five-game series was tied 2-2, with the Proteas winning the first two matches and the Aussies winning the following two. This fifth match was the series decider.

The Aussies won the toss and elected to bat first. In a superb batting performance, the Aussies scored the most runs in an ODI inning at the time, the first over 400. They scored 434 for four of their 50 overs, smashing the previous world record of 398 runs.

Following this world record performance, the Proteas needed to produce a world record performance of their own to win the match and the series. Herschelle Gibbs and former Proteas captain, Graeme Smith, scored 175 runs off 111 balls and 90 runs off 55 balls respectively, leading the chase. Wickets started falling but the Proteas didn’t ease up on looking for boundaries.

When the final over of the match arrived, the Proteas needed seven runs off their remaining six balls to win the match. After

hitting a single and a four the Proteas lost a crucial wicket, putting them on 433 for nine, one wicket away from losing the game and two runs away from winning. Makhaya Ntini stepped up to face the ball. With three balls left and needing just two runs to win, all that was required of Ntini was to get Mark Boucher on strike. Ntini did just that after hitting a single, tying up the match. With two balls left for a single run, Boucher finished the amazing chase by hitting a four. The match commentator Tony Greig referred to the match as “the best one day international ever played”. Media in South Africa and Australia echoed this statement.

This match, which still holds the record for the highest successful run chase, is one of South Africa’s greatest sporting moments. Many of the players who played in this match went on to become South African cricket legends. Avid cricket followers remember the names Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, A. B de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Makhaya Ntini.

These former players are still active in the sport today, either as commentators, consultants or coaches. Smith is the current South African director of cricket and Boucher is the head coach of the Proteas.

Tuks Rowing and the Tokyo Olympics games Boitumelo Kokwe

T

he Summer Olympic Games will commence in July. The commencement of the games will see different sports being played on a global scale. A few of these sports include athletics, swimming, gymnastics and rowing, amongst others.

Rowing South Africa qualified for the upcoming Olympics. This comes after the South African men’s four rowing crew won gold at the Qualification Regatta held at Lucerne, Switzerland from 15 -17 May 2021.

The crew consists of Kyle Schoonbee, Sandro Torrente, John Smith and Lawrence Brittain. The crew also won all the other races they were competing in. Schoonbee from TuksRowing stated that “[They] are obviously going to [Tokyo] for one reason - and that’s to win ”.

This would not be the first time Brittain would be at the Olympic games, either. In 2016 - while still with TuksRowing - he managed to win silver in the males pair.