Race, Nation, Translation ― South African Essays, 1990-2013

The first collection of nonfiction critical writings by one of the leading literary figures of post-apartheid South Africa

The most significant nonfiction writings of Zoë Wicomb, one of South Africa’s leading authors and intellectuals, are collected here for the first time in a single volume. This compilation features critical essays on the works of such prominent South African writers as Bessie Head, Nadine Gordimer, Njabulo Ndebele, and J. M. Coetzee, as well as writings on gender politics, race, identity, visual art, sexuality, and a wide range of other cultural and political topics. Also included are a reflection on Nelson Mandela and a revealing interview with Wicomb.

In these essays, written between 1990 and 2013, Wicomb offers insight on her nation’s history, policies, and people. In a world in which nationalist rhetoric is on the rise and diversity and pluralism are the declared enemies of right-wing populist movements, her essays speak powerfully to a wide range of international issues.

Zoë Wicomb is emeritus professor of English at the University of Strathclyde and was an inaugural recipient of the Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prize. Her acclaimed works include the novels October, Playing in the Light, and David’s Story and the short story collections You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town and The One That Got Away. Andrew van der Vlies is professor of contemporary literature and postcolonial studies at Queen Mary University of London and extraordinary associate professor at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa.