I write the yawning void : selected essays of Sindiwe Magona / compiled and edited by Renée Schatteman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Magona, Sindiwe, author.

Contributor:

Schatteman, Renée, compiler, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Magona, Sindiwe--Political and social views.

Magona, Sindiwe.

Magona, Sindiwe--Criticism and interpretation.

Women, Black--South Africa--Social conditions.

Women, Black.

Women authors, Black--South Africa.

Women authors, Black.

South African literature--Black authors--History and criticism.

South African literature.

Apartheid in literature.

Politics in literature.

Genre:

Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection.

Essays.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 215 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Johannesburg : Wits University Press, 2023.

Summary:

"These essays bring to life many facets of Magona's personal history, her deepest convictions, love for her country and belief in her ability to activate change. They are a meaningful supplement to her fictional works, while offering insightful responses to the conditions that inspired them."--Provided by publisher.

"Sindiwe Magona is a celebrated South African writer, storyteller and motivational speaker known mainly for her autobiographies, biographies, novels, short stories, poetry and children's books. I Write the Yawning Void is a collection of essays that highlight her engagement with writing that span the transition from apartheid to the post-apartheid period and addresses themes such as HIV/Aids, language and culture, home and belonging. Magona worked as a teacher, domestic worker and spent two decades working for the United Nations in the United States of America. She has received many awards for her fearless writing 'truth to power'. Her written work is often informed by her lived experience of being a black woman resisting subjugation and poverty. These essays bring to life many facets of Magona's personal history as well as her deepest convictions, her love for her country and despair at the problems that continue to plague it, and her belief in her ability to activate change. They demonstrate Magona's engaging storytelling and mastery of the essay form which serve as meaningful supplements to her fictional works, while simultaneously offering insightful responses to the conditions that inspired them."--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Writing South Africa's Yawning Void

Part I: Coming into Writing

1. The Scars of Umlungu

2. Clawing at Stones

3. Finding My Way Home

4. It is in the Blood: Trauma and Memory in the South African Novel

Part II: Writing about Pressing Issues

5. Address at the Funeral of a Young Woman

6. Do Not Choose Poverty

7. Cry, the Beloved Language

8. We Are All Racists!

Part III: Writing about My Writing

9. Why I Wrote My Autobiographies

10. Why I Wrote Mother to Mother

11. Why I Wrote Beauty's Gift

12. Why I Wrote Chasing the Tails of My Father's Cattle

13. Why I Wrote When the Village Sleeps

14. Why I Write Children's Stories

Conclusion: A Tribute to Those Who Came Before Me

Notes

Selected works

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [206]-208) and index.

ISBN:

9781776148189

1776148185

9781776148196

1776148193

OCLC:

1395071102

Publisher Number:

99994769369