The South African playwright and director Athol Fugard, whose works included the play Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and the novel Tsotsi, has died at the age of 92. The actor John Kani paid tribute on X on Sunday, saying “I am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend”. The mayor’s office in Cape Town said: “Athol Fugard was not just a luminary in the world of theatre; he was a teller of profound stories of hope and resilience about South Africa.”
A major political dissident playwright of the 20th century, Fugard wrote more than 30 dramas including Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act (in 1972) and “Master Harold” … and the Boys (1982). Both of those drew upon the time in the 1950s when he could only find employment as a clerk in one of the courts where black South Africans were charged (and inevitably convicted) of breaches of the “pass laws”, designed to control the movements of a racially segregated population under the apartheid system. There, he witnessed hourly the dehumanisation of those who had chosen the “wrong” streets or people.
Tag: Africa
Uganda Skateboard Society
Supreme surprised us with a bunch of their branded newest decks. Thanks to the supreme fam for supporting our skate community 🙏 pic.twitter.com/q14DpFKUmM
— Uganda Skateboard Society (@uganda_sk8bding) April 30, 2024
Africa’s 100 Best Books of the 20th Century
Over the last hundred years African writers have written of their lives, experiences, culture, history and myth; they have written in diverse forms, styles and in many languages. They have been published widely on the African continent, in Europe, the Americas and Asia. They have written in English, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili, and in many other indigenous languages. And they have written with extraordinary originality, flair and great integrity. Nonetheless their work as a corpus deriving from the African continent remains largely unknown and uncelebrated.
To mark the beginning of the 21st century, and encouraged by Professor Ali Mazrui, the Zimbabwe International Book Fair launched the international compilation of “Africa’s 100 Best Books.” This project was organized in collaboration with the African Publishers Network (APNET), the Pan-African Booksellers Association (PABA), African writers’ associations, book development councils, and library associations.
Nominations were sought throughout the African continent and internationally. A comprehensive list of all nominations was published at the ZIBF in August 2001 and during the course of the following year regional panels compiled their own short lists of 100 best books. Closing date for nominations was 30 September 2001.
A jury made the final decision from the short list and the final list of “Africa’s 100 Best Books” was announced on February 18, 2002.
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In the table below, ** indicates a top twelve title.
LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN
| Asare, Meshack | Ghana | **Sosu’s Call | Sub-Saharan Publishers |
| Al-Homi, Hayam Abbas | Egypt | Adventures of a Breath | Atfalna |
| Mungoshi, Charles | Zimbabwe | Stories from a Shona Childhood | Baobab Books |
| Tadjo, Veronique | Côte d’Ivoire | Mamy Wata et le monstre | Nouvelles éditions ivoriennes |
CREATIVE WRITING
Continue reading “Africa’s 100 Best Books of the 20th Century”
African Youth Playing Marimba and Drums
African kids jamming on marimba. Pleasantly trippy!
by u/Obascud in nextfuckinglevel
From the comments on reddit:
Shashi2005
Music teacher here. Some very complex rhythms in that piece. Definitely tipping my hat to the teacher behind this performance.
manachronism
Most likely Nigeria by my guess because one of the instruments, the shekere and the clothing style.
obinna2161
The song they are performing is call Common Person by Burnaboy, a Nigerian artist.