Nadine Botha
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Hot
Off The Press: Substancebooks and deep south invite you to the launch of new books by:
Launch Dates and Venues: Wednesday 6 July:
Wordfest, National Arts Festival, Grahamstown Monday 18 July: The
Independent Armchair Theatre, Cape Town Monday 1 August: The
Spaza Gallery, Johannesburg Nadine
Botha "Dishevelled laundry of noise in your room. Smoke pockets in a non-ventilated space. Skin flecks everywhere. And mess. Collected artefacts - the distilled elements of other spaces. It's an onslaught, negotiated later line by line." Nadine Botha is a
poet who works in forms entirely her own. Her poems
have been published in online magazines (donga, southern
rain poetry, and
sweetmagazine.co.za) and poetry journals (New Coin, Botsotso
and others). Deep South 68 pages R70-00 Paul Wessels My Ghost In The Bush of Lies starts with the arrest and detention of Paulus Nomad, a providential idler, drug addict, whore, terrorist, madman, farmer, philosopher and writer. This sets off a train of events incorporating poetry, drama, philosophy, memoir, cut-up prose and several strands of narrative. Paul Wessels is a former editor of donga.co.za and a founder of deep south publishing. He is editor of sweetmagazine.co.za and owner of the newly launched press substancebooks. Deep South 98 pages R85-00 Joan Metelerkamp In this her sixth book, Joan Metelerkamp accelerates poetics into the stratosphere whilst never surrendering an almost archaic beauty of expression. Carried by a ferociously passionate and non-linear narrative, never ceasing to question the veracity of its force or the circumstances of its existence, the first part of this long-poem shatters the constraints of its subject (matter), tools and methods of presentation, making way for the second part which takes all that is left of destruction and mutilation, places them against a wall of compassion and empathy, and fires. Substancebooks 124 pages R100-00 Lesego Rampolokeng
Written between 1992 and 1997 in dense biting prose, whiteheart is a nightmarish plunge into a 1970s Soweto childhood where violence waits everywhere to make its nest in the child-narrator's mind. "I respect the WORD. People talk about wordplay, I don't play with it...it's one of the most powerful weapons in the world." Lesego Rampolokeng is a poet, playwright, novelist, film script writer, and provocative poetry performer. Deep South 94 pages R85-00 Lionel Shriver wins tenth Orange Prize for Fiction Congratulations to Lionel Shriver who last week was announced as the tenth winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction for her novel We Need to Talk About Kevin at a star studded ceremony in central London. Collecting her award Lionel said: “I’d like to thank all my friends, especially those who put up with my whingeing for years, that I didn’t win the Orange Prize, or anything like it. I’d like to thank my husband, who gives me great reprieve from words as an accomplished jazz drummer, and who promised to love me even if I lost. And, most of all, of course, I’d like to thank the Orange Prize, the judges this year, Jenni Murray. I’m really overwhelmed. This makes a huge difference to me.” Jenni Murray, Chair of Judges, commented: “We Need to Talk About Kevin is a book that acknowledges what many women worry about but never express - the fear of becoming a mother and the terror of what kind of child one might bring into the world. It’s a very courageous book which will resonate with everyone who has had a child or thought about having one.” Lionel Shriver is the author of seven novels including The Female of the Species, Ordinary Decent Criminals, A Perfectly Good Family and Game Control. She was born in the US and has lived in Nairobi, Bangkok and Belfast. Married to a jazz drummer, she currently lives in London and New York. Diana Evans wins first Orange Award for New Writers Congratulations also go to Diana Evans, author of 26a, and winner of the first ever Orange Award for New Writers. Established this year as part of the Orange Prize for Fiction tenth year celebrations, the emphasis of the Orange Award for New Writers is on emerging talent and the evidence of future potential. Diana was presented with a £10,000 bursary from the Arts Council England at the awards ceremony, intended to help the winning writer pursue her work with greater freedom. On
announcing the winner, Kamila Shamsie, Chair of Judges, said: “Although
all three books on the shortlist were wonderful accomplishments,
the judges were unanimous in deciding to award the
Orange Award for New Writers to 26a - a beautifully
written
book packed
with both heartbreak and humour. We were all completely
drawn into
the lives of the characters in the novel, and 26a
was as powerful on a second reading as on the first.” Sam
Binnie wins Harpers & Queen/Orange Short
Story Competition Here is a selection of the coverage highlights
in the media: Dirty Goat Website Literati is delighted to announce the arrival of the website for the annual art journal Dirty Goat. Take a moment to visit www.thedirtygoat.com. We promise it is worth it. THE National Short Story Competition THE National
Short Story Competition run by The Northern Echo has produced
a winner from the region. First, second, and third place winners may be read in this issue's Fiction Vignettes Section. [Return to top] |