Staffrider Vol.6 No.2 1985 - DISA

NEW BOOKSFROM RAVANHis second autobiography, Afrika My Music, is set amidstthe tumultuous years of his return to South Africa after1976. 'Bantu Education' — the system which had forced himout of teaching and into exile when it was introduced in theFifties — had triggered the Soweto Revolt barely a monthbefore he returned to his native land after twenty years inEurope, Africa and the United States.R7.95¥H1 WOULD OPCANTHEMBAedrfecf by Essop Fate!1M i U!Es'kia MphahleleFATHER COME HOMEby Es'kia MphahleleIt is 1913, the year of the Natives' land Act. Thousands ofblack South Africans are driven off the land. The 'NativeReserves' where they are now supposed to live are mainlyarid, infertile, and overpopulated. Men flock in theirthousands to the mines and the cities in search of work,leaving their wives and children at home.Fourteen year old Maredi Tulamo from the village ofSedibeng faces life without his father, who has left home,as part of the pain and trauma of growing up. Restless and onthe threshold of manhood he sets out on a quest for themissing man. Alone and inexperienced, he is going down adangerous road ....Paperback R7.95 Hardback R11.50THE WORLD OF CAN THEMBAStaff rider Series No 18by Essop PatelCan Themba's understanding of the black townships ofJohannesburg was 'intuitive, complete and magical' in thewords of the publisher of Drum, the magazine in which muchof his work appeared. As the presiding spirit in 'The House ofTruth', as his Sophiatown matchbox was known, he wasunquestionably one of the most important South Africanwriters of the Fifties. The publication in one volume of awider selection of his work than has previously been available— poems, reportage, brief biographies and extendedanecdotes as well as the incomparable stories — is animportant literary milestone.R6.95FOOLS AND OTHER STORIESStaffrider Series No 19by Njabulo S NdebeleAFRIKA MY MUSICAn Authobiography 1957-1983by Es'kia MphahleleEs'kia Mphahlele's first work of autobiography, DownSecond Avenue, is one of the classics of African literature.After that seedtime came the years of exile during which —he was a 'listed' person — none of his works could be read inSouth Africa.'Fools', the title story in this collection, is a tale ofgenerations in the struggle against oppression. Zamani is amiddle-aged teacher who was once respected by thecommunity as a leader or the future. Then he disgracedhimself, and now he's haunted by the impotence of thispresent life. A chance meeting brings him up against Zani, ayoungs student activist whose attempts to kindle the flamesof resistance in Charterston Location are ludicrouslyimpractical. Both affection and hostility bind Zamani andZani together in an intense and unpredictable relationship.Finding each other means finding the common ground oftheir struggle. It also means re-examining their lives — and,notably, their relationships with women.R6.95