Polity SA
‘The problems are structural, they are not individual’ – Mcebisi Jonas discusses his book After Dawn: Hope After State Capture
In October 2015, the Gupta brothers offered Jonas the position of Minister of Finance in exchange for R600-million. Then the Deputy Finance Minister, Jonas turned down the bribe and a period of deep introspection followed for him.
What does it mean to have visions, to be mentally ill within a South African context? Masande Ntshanga discusses his new novel Triangulum
‘I was interested in this idea of exploring mental illness in a way that looked outside of its formulations by the West. What does it mean, actually, to have visions, and what does it mean to be mentally ill within an African context, or even a South African context?’
‘Do you think you funny?’ How Yusuf Daniels got his big break in publishing (his book Living Coloured is now a bestseller)
Yusuf Daniels chats about his new memoir, Living Coloured (Because Black and White were Already Taken).
‘My whiteness saved my life that day’ – Bradley Steyn, author of Undercover with Mandela’s Spies, describes the massacre that changed his life
Bradley D Steyn spoke to Polity SA recently about his book Undercover with Mandela’s Spies: The Story of The Boy Who Crossed the Square.
Mbongiseni Buthelezi discusses the new book Traditional Leaders in a Democracy: Resources, Respect and Resistance
Mbongiseni Buthelezi sat down with Polity SA to discuss his new book Traditional Leaders in a Democracy: Resources, Respect and Resistance.
‘If you are going to tell a story, you must be prepared for criticism’ – Fiona Snyckers discusses her new novel, Lacuna
Fiona Snyckers chatted to Polity SA about her new novel, Lacuna.
‘I want readers to enjoy the book. What message they get is up to them’ – Watch an interview with Zakes Mda on his new book The Zulus of New York
Zakes Mda chatted to Polity SA about his new novel The Zulus of New York.
‘I may have left my abusive partner, but the trauma and shame never left me’ – Vanessa Govender discusses her memoir Beaten But Not Broken
‘I may have walked away, I may have left my abusive partner, but the trauma and the pain and the anguish and the shame have never left me.’
‘The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is very similar to that of apartheid South Africa’ – John Dugard discusses his book Confronting Apartheid
John Dugard discusses his book Confronting Apartheid: A Personal History of South Africa, Namibia and Palestine with Polity SA.
‘It thrills me to trick the reader’ – Beyers de Vos chats about his gripping debut novel, Talion
The novel follows the story of a young student from Pretoria named Freya, who sees her twin brother murdered in front of her.
Watch an interview with Khaya Dlanga chatting about his new book These Things Really Do Happen To Me
In These Things Really Do Happen To Me, Khaya Dlanga shares some of the most embarrassing, joyful and hilarious events of his life, from his childhood until today.
‘Bitcoin has the potential to change the world’ – Mpho Dagada chats about his book Mr Bitcoin: How I Became a Millionaire at 21
‘The world needs to look up and notice that something that has the potential to change the world has risen among us. And that being Bitcoin.’
‘If we don’t write about Fees Must Fall ourselves, someone else will’ – Rekgotsofetse Chikane chats about Breaking a Rainbow, Building a Nation
‘There was a professor at UCT who […] wrote the first Feel Must Fall book. It was a horrible depiction of the movement, completely misled, had no insight on what was happening inside the movement.’
‘There is a stigma when you are dark skinned in this country’ – Clinton Chauke discusses his book Born in Chains: The Diary of an Angry ‘Born-Free’
‘With skin colour and complexion and skin tone, they judge your beauty, they judge your humanness, with the legacy of apartheid. I struggled with that, I got mocked. So that is also one of the “chains” from the title Born in Chains.’
‘He just took over the story’ – Máire Fisher chats about the main character in her new novel The Enumerations
In The Enumerations, Fisher scrupulously explores the effects of mental conditions on a family. She shows the great power of those who hold us as we learn to harness the strength within us.
‘I think anyone could enjoy this book’ – Kate Sidley chats about 100 Mandela Moments
‘It’s meant to be something that anyone can read. Not everyone’s up for a 500-page biography, and the style of it is supposed to be light.’
‘There’s no doubt’ – Liza Smit believes the National Party was involved in her parents’ murders
Liza Smit says she has no doubt that the murders were politically motivated, and executed through the National Party.
Haji Mohamed Dawjee chats about who should be reading her book, Sorry, Not Sorry: Experiences of a Brown Woman in a White South Africa
In Sorry, Not Sorry, Haji Mohamed Dawjee explores the often maddening experience of moving through post-apartheid South Africa as a woman of colour.
Hayden Eastwood explains the inspiration for the title of his new book, Like Sodium in Water
Hayden Eastwood chatted to Polity SA about his new book, Like Sodium in Water, a memoir of post-independence Zimbabwe and an atmosphere of nostalgia that hangs over much of Harare’s remaining white community.
‘No one teaches us how personal finance works’ – Sam Beckbessinger chats about her book, Manage your Money like a F*cking Grown Up
We never get an instruction manual about how money works. We never have to pass a test to get our Money License before we can take a new credit card for a drive. Most of what we learn about money comes from advertising or from other people who know as little as we do.