September – the book feast month for African and feminist authors

The Unisa Library and Information Services, in collaboration with Unisa Press and Unisa Radio, hosted the Books of our Lives Literary Feast in celebration of National Book Week.

Although National Book Week takes place from 6 to 12 September each year, the organisers of the book feast saw it necessary to engage in book discussions and launches throughout September to honour the many authors published by Unisa Press. These include Unisa scholars who are celebrated authors and other African scholars supporting the transformation agenda of the university. The Books of our Lives Literary Feast, which will be an annual feast that celebrates mainly Unisa-published authors, carried three main themes, namely an Africanisation agenda, an African feminist imagination and a diversity agenda. These three themes aim to contribute to the decolonial and Africanisation agenda of the university.

The custodian of the feast, Professor Thenjiwe Meyiwa: Vice-Principal for Research, Postgraduate Studies, Innovation and Commercialisation, stated that “these are spaces we need at the University to think together, to celebrate one another but to also come up for air in our busy schedules.” She added that “everyone at the university should participate in the feast in order to take inspiration from published authors but also to validate authors’ efforts in producing knowledge.”

The event featured heavyweight African feminist scholars and champions such as Professor Pumla Gqola and Professor Edith Phaswana. The two scholars shared their views on their writing practice and some of their favourite books. Literary scholar, Dr Joanne Ruth Davis joined from London to speak about her book Tiyo Soga: a literary history, while Professor Muxe Nkondo spoke about the importance of social memory in the context of economic transformation in the book he edited titled Social Memory as a Force for Social and Economic Transformation (Unisa Press, 2021). “We are nothing without our memories,” he echoed.

As part of the feast, a vibrant and necessary conversation was hosted with LGBTQIA activists and scholars Professor Zethu Matebeni and Dr B Camminga. They discussed a new book they edited titled Beyond the Mountain: Queer life in Africa’s Gay Capital (Unisa Press, 2020). The book is an opportunity for queer people to speak for themselves on their own terms about their lives, joys and struggles. It is a book that puts an important conversation and narratives in the academic discourse. Also, it ensures that queer lives and activism are neither ignored nor misrepresented.

In celebration of Heritage Day, Dr Athambile Masola read IsiXhosa poetry from her debut collection Ilifa. The reading reminded the audience of the beauty of the Xhosa language and the need for more literature in indigenous languages. In addition to indulging the audience in her poetry, Masola also spoke about her research on Charlotte Maxeke, Nontsizi Mqwetho and Noni Jabavu. “These women were writers, poets and journalists who travelled the world when it was neither fashionable nor easy for black women to do so. They, together with the likes of Tiyo Soga, were actively engaged in decolonial work during the colonial period, which demonstrates that decolonial work was happening parallel to colonisation. They were doing this important work of writing and archiving indigenous language literary works and newspapers among other works,” said Masola passionately.

In addition to the many book discussions, the organisers of the feast did not forget about the importance of journals and journal publishing. In an animated conversation with Professor Zethu Cakata and Dr Naomi Nkealah, Unisa-published journals International Journal of African Renaissance Studies (IJARS) and Imbizo: International Journal of African Literary and Comparative Studies were discussed.

The Unisa community is invited to suggest their favourite books and authors to be featured in future Books of our Lives Literary Feast events, which will continue to showcase the beauty and commitment in the African scholarship of transformation and diversity.

* By Natalia Molebatsi, Marketing Coordinator, Unisa Library