Jah Hills
- Authors: Slasha, Unathi
- Date: 2017
- Language: English , Xhosa
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7157 , vital:21222
- Description: Jah Hills is alone in Kwaf Indoda bush, waiting for elders to come, burn ibhuma and deliver him home. Two weeks before he departs from his initiation period, he is seduced by igqwirha. When he fails to satisfy her appetite, he gets ‘abducted and turned into isithunzela. One night, he narrowly escapes and finds his way back. But the experience at home is gruesome; they drive him away and want his death. My novel is fast paced, accumulating speed as it proceeds. It is formally experimental, drawing on forms that have gone before and trying to usher in a new manner of writing and looking at the world. It is told through the eyes of isithunzela that Jah Hills has become. It makes use of Nguni folklore, reimagined and subverted so it fits the character’s unearthly vision. Certain characters and moments from Nguni folktales are borrowed and appear throughout the text. Stylistically I draw extensively from the work of Sony Lab’ou Tansi, Taban Lo Liyong, Dambudzo Marechera, D.O. Fagunwa and Amos Tutuola.
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On the shop-floor: ten years at Ford
- Authors: Cilibe, Mpumelelo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , South African fiction (English) 21st century , Autobiographical fiction, South African (English) 21st century , Xhosa fiction 21st century , Short stories, Xhosa 21st century
- Language: English , Xhosa
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7257 , vital:21234
- Description: My autobiographical novella covers a period of my life between 1974 and 1984, when I worked at the Ford Motor company Struandale Assembly plant in Port Elizabeth. This period predated the formation of NUMSA (the National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa) and COSATU - it was a time when automobile industry workers broke away from the race- based unions to form MACWUSA (Motor Assemblers and Component Workers Union of SA). Around the same time Rev Leon Sullivan was putting pressure on US companies, including Ford, to move away from apartheid labour practices. As quite an angry young man influenced by the Black Consciousness movement, I got deeply involved in union activities mainly for my own survival, and as a personal reaction to racism in the workplace. The story is told in a realist style, with many anecdotal detours giving the flavour of life in New Brighton in the 1980s. Important influences have been Bloke Modisane's autobiography, Blame Me on History and Studs Terkel's interviews of Ford plant workers and management in his book Working. , Growing up in New Brighton gave me so many stories that had never been written before but that were told person to person by the residents of my neighbourhood. Some of the tales in this collection are based on such stories. Others are stories that are reminiscent of childhood while growing up with an elder brother. I take the inspiration from different books that are in line with the stories that I am writing: collections of Extreme Fiction - Fabulists and Formalists that were edited by Robin Hemley and Michael Martone and The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade edited by Jeremy Robert Johnson and Cameron Pierce. Some stories by L.L. Ngewu and L.S. Ngcangata, and a novellette by P.T. Mtuze, Alitshoni Lingaphumi, also bring much influence as they reveal suffering in the lives of black people who endured forced removals, and other situations that are of interest to build my stories on. , Le ngqokolela yamabali iqulathe amabali asekelwe kumabali endandiweva ebaliswa ebuntwaneni bam ndisakhula. Amanye amabali angeenkumbulo zasebuntwaneni ngethuba ndandikhula nomkhuluwa wam ongasaphiliyo. Ifuthe lokuwaqamba ndilifumene kwiincwadi zababhali abanje ngabo bafumaneka kwiingqokolela ezihlelwe nguRobin Hemley no Michael Martone kwincwadi ethi Extreme Fiction - Fabulists and Formalists, noJeremy Robert Johnson enoCameron Pierce kwingqokolela ethi, The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade. Amanye amabali abenefuthe ndiwafumene kwiincwadi zooP.T. Mtuze, kwinovella yakhe ethi Alitshoni Lingaphumi, nakwezoL.L. Ngewu noL.S. Ngcangatha apho babalisa ngobomi basekuhlaleni ngexesha abantu babedudulwa befuduswa ngetshova ukususwa kwiindawo zabo zokuhlala. , This thesis is presented in two parts: English and isiXhosa
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Red cotton
- Authors: Gantsho, Vangile
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , South African poetry (English) 21st century , South African poetry (English) Black authors , Lesbians, Black Poetry
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7213 , vital:21229
- Description: My collection of poetry is a deeply personal exploration of what it means to be black, queer, and woman in modern-day South Africa. I interrogate being non-conformist in both a traditional-cultural upbringing and a more liberal yet equally-oppressive urban socialisation. I question what we are taught about the body and the feminine sexual space, while also addressing the mother-daughter relationship as the first and most constant reference of womanhood. The collection moves fluidly between the erotic, the uncomfortable and grotesque, what is painful, and what is beautiful and longed-for. Working promiscuously across forms, I employ prose poetry, interspersed with lyrical interludes, in an attempt at a narrative effect similar to what Claudia Rankine achieves in Don't Let Me Be Lonely. I also draw from writers such as Calixthe Beyala (Your Name Shall Be Tanga), and Janice Lee (Damnation), as well as sex guides, women's blogs, and feminist poetry.
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Skeptical erections
- Authors: Sapeta, Mxolisi
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7224 , vital:21230
- Description: This collection of poems is an interrogation of the self - turbulent urban experiences, fear, betrayal, mistrust, unfulfilled sexual desires - made with plain language, truthfulness, subtlety and humour. The poems are reflections of New Brighton township where the poet was born, they mirror his experiences of family life, the streets and the juxtaposed characters he encountered as an artist, drinking partner and lover. These experiences shift between broken family lives, passionate short-lived romances, heated artists' debates during gallery exhibitions, shebeens and dangerous midnight homecomings between cruel thugs and greedy whores and all those who clutter the shebeens and the streets at night. The poems reflect all facets of these experiences - including imagination, emotion, and fantasy. At times grammar and syntax are sacrificed in order to get to the emotion. The collection draws strong inspiration from the Peruvian poet Cesar Vallejo -- with his clear-cut graphic imagery and sincere morbid undertone, he is unquestionably true to his vision of life. This also applies tothe work of Tchicaya U Tam'si, Blas de Otero, Dambuzo Marechera and Roque Dalton, who have all been influences.
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Son of a dog
- Authors: Kolawole, Samuel
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) South Africa , South African fiction (English) 21st century , African fiction (English) 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/7195 , vital:21228
- Description: Son of a Dog is inspired by a real-life figure whose exploits captured the Nigerian public imagination in the 1980s. Famously known as Ovbigbo (“The Law”), Lawrence Anini unleashed a nationwide reign of terror against law and order. Set against the backdrop of the political turmoil following the Nigerian civil war, the novel traces Anini’s formative years in menial jobs to his rise to the leadership of a notorious criminal gang. It fuses the established facts of his short meteoric career with my imagined version of his inner life and the contemporary myths that sprung up around his legend. It finally crosses the boundary between the real and the mythic as Lawrence Anini becomes truly invincible and elusive after a lust-struck encounter with a fantastical character. I draw inspiration from the dark visceral fiction of Michael Cisco and Brian Evenson, AyiKwei Armah’s unflinchingly descriptive prose and E.C. Osondu’s sharp contemporary humour.
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Being civil
- Authors: Matshoba, Zongezile Theophilus
- Date: 2016
- Language: English , Xhosa
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6017 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021237
- Description: My collection of short stories delves into government and governance, democracy, citizenship, civil servants, poverty, corruption and nepotism. My stories draw on the traditions of gritty urban crime fiction uncovering crimes of violence, service delivery, vandalism and corruption. They explore themes of mental cruelty and greed, self- preservation and community in rural areas, farms, townships and cities characterized by wrenching contradictions and inequalities. , This epic dramatic poetic verse delves into government and school governance, labour unions, liberation struggle, parenting and a wide range of school perceptions. It interrogates the roles of parents, teachers, students, department of education officials and that of other stakeholders that make use of schools. Influenced by William Wellington Gqoba’s ‘A great debate on education: a Parable’ wayback, it continues the education debate in the current post-democratic South Africa characterized by wrenching contradictions and inequalities. , This thesis is presented in two parts: English and isiXhosa.
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Between sentences
- Authors: Thesen, Jo-Ann
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6007 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1021215
- Description: My stories explore different forms, including flash fiction. Some use the fairy tale form to combine fiction and non-fiction in order to reach the essence of the story. In this I am influenced by Kate Bernheimer, who speaks of the “flatness, abstraction, intuitive logic and normalized magic” of traditional fairy tales. A number of stories are set in the places I worked as a newspaper reporter. Here I use my old press reports as starting points for the real or imagined story behind the news – often involving miscommunication, dominance, exploitation, the tension between isolation and belonging, and the nuances of family relationships.
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Eye of a needle
- Authors: Fick, Cornelia
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6003 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021210
- Description: Most of my stories are about interpersonal relationships between the sexes, as well as intrapersonal processes, such as growing old. I have a deep connection to such themes because of my background as a general nurse and midwife; meeting too many abused women in hospitals, and the broader community. Because patterns of abuse tend to become invisible, I use experimental forms of storytelling as well as sharp, ironic and dark humour as a way to make this side of life more visible. My reading has shown me how experimental forms can render seemingly timeless or ageless topics in a fresh, vital way.
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Goeie maniere en etiket
- Authors: Van Staden, Antoinique
- Date: 2016
- Language: Afrikaans , English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6011 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021226
- Description: This bilingual collection of short stories combines the fairy tale form and the Bizarro genre to explore the value system ingrained in me at a very early age via my conservative Afrikaans upbringing. To my mind the four characteristics of the fairy tale form as identified by Kate Bernheimer (in her path-breaking essay “Fairy Tale is form, Form is Fairy Tale”) namely flatness, abstraction, intuitive logic and normalized magic, also apply to the Bizarro genre. This intersection is exemplified by some of Bernheimer's own fiction, as well as the fiction of Aimee Bender and Lucy Corin, among others, all of whom have influenced my writing. , Hierdie tweetalige versameling kortverhale kombineer sprokieselemente met die van die Bizarro-genre, om die waardesisteem wat van kleins af deur my konserwatiewe Afrikaanse opvoeding by my ingeprent is, te ondersoek. Die vier eienskappe van die sprokie word deur Kate Bernheimer in haar baanbrekende opstel Fairy tale is form, Form is fairy tale uitgelê as: ’n onbetrokke verteller, abstraksie, instinktiewe logika en genormaliseerde towerkuns. Na my mening is dié vier eienskappe ook op die Bizarro-genre van toepassing. Hierdie oorvleuling is sigbaar in Bernheimer se fiksie en ook onder andere Lucy Corin en Aimee Bender s'n – skrywers wat my werk beïnvloed het. , This thesis is presented in two parts: Afrikaans and English.
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Grace “The story of a wise cat and a cruel man.”
- Authors: Phepheng, Maruping
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6005 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021213
- Description: Morgan, a widower and police detective, is quickly promoted from constable to captain after a series of successful criminal investigations, creating enemies in the process. One of the convicted and incarcerated is Paper, a gang leader with a violent upbringing. After a lucky release from prison, Paper, now Morgan’s fierce foe, plots to hurt him in the worst way possible – by killing his only son. The story is narrated by a cat named Grace, whose presence and companionship comes from another dimension and helps Morgan to keep sane.
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Istraight Lendaba
- Authors: Motsei, Mmatshilo T N
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6015 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021235
- Description: My collection of stories describes the lives of ordinary black people living in post‐apartheid South Africa, especially those living in the margins, and the compromises that poverty forces them to make. In such a world, virtue and vice are flip sides of the same coin. My stories search for hope in an environment which Ayi Kwei Armah describes as “so completely seized with danger and so many different kinds of loss.” My writing is inspired by Mozambican writer Luis Bernardo Honwana, South African writer Joel Matlou whose demotic stories gave voice to everyday life in the townships, and Cameroonian writer Werewere Liking’s as well as Brenda Fassie’s powerful representation of the subversive nature of African women.
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Pitched
- Authors: Du Plessis, Jana
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6002 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021209
- Description: Pitched is a novella made up of short stories. It is about breaking in, breaking down and breaking out of the advertising industry. My protagonist loves and hates this confusing world she lives in. She is tough but also emotional and anxious, often trapped between her strong desires and her strong morality. She finds herself both attracted to and repulsed by the people who inhabit this world - sexy wolf-like men, and prickly female execs alike. I have been inspired by the work of Lidia Yuknavitch, Kate Zambreno, Michelle Tea and Chris Kraus to create a universal woman I can identify with.
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Stripe & dusk: a weekend odyssey
- Authors: Whitehorn, Daniel J
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6018 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021242
- Description: I love to take in and create playful fantasy, tales set in wild and fantastic worlds peopled by wild and fantastic characters - dragons and dinosaurs, knights and robots, stars and penguins. My novella is the story of a quest set in a colourful and wondrous fantasy universe. Along the journey's tumultuous trajectory fantasy tropes and protocols are encountered, subverted, teased at, appropriated, and renovated, in order to create something both original and familiar all at once. I am happy to acknowledge and salute the influences of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Walter Moers and Manuela Draeger.
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The caramel Venus and other stories
- Authors: Terblanche, Tania
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6006 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/1021214
- Description: My collection of stories illustrates the absurdity, the beauty and the pain of being human by depicting experience through fabulation. The intensity of existence comes to light in strange worlds that operate by rules of our inner mechanics, distorted so that only the colours and the shape of our hearts swim underneath. My fiction embodies these realities using the flatness of the fairy tale form while incorporating the humorous, the bizarre and the surreal. Some of the stories build dystopian worlds using the manifestation of the unfamiliar as a mirror of our psyche in an overpopulated and consumer-driven society. Others create contained worlds where the fantastical is fostered only by the narrator being drawn into an inner life. All the stories take us through inner landscapes with the humans, animals and objects around us that can pulse with so much meaning and then none at all.
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The last stop
- Authors: Mofokeng, Thabiso
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64567 , vital:28559
- Description: My novella is set in the taxi industry. Its main characters are a wealthy taxi owner, a poor taxi driver from another African country, and the taxi driver's girlfriend. The story is partly a ghost story and partly crime fiction, it combines gritty realism with magical elements. It shows what happens between people in times of taxi violence. As the plot develops, the driver finds out that his boss is sleeping with his girlfriend. In revenge, the boss bribes some policemen to arrest the driver and beat him, and he dies in the police cells. But it turns out that the detective investigating the driver’s death is not quite impartial, nor is he of this world only.
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Where the body ends
- Authors: Hardy, Stacy
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6004 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1021212
- Description: My collection of stories explores the intersection of the human body and the body of text via the tropes of disease and animality. Drawing on my experience of living with tuberculosis for many years, I attempt to write disease differently – not merely to be survived, overcome, cured, eradicated, but as something to be embraced via the Deleuzian affirmation of being worthy of what happens to us. Taking my cue from Sontag, I use a creaturely approach to writing, “an infinitely varied register of forms and tonalities for transporting the human voice into prose narrative”, emphasising the shared embodiedness of humans and animals so as to challenge the omnipotence of thought that subjugates and colonises the body as exclusively human.
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Sarkaiym
- Authors: Sutherns, Michael Courtney
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Creative writing (Higher education) -- Research -- South Africa , Creative writing -- Fiction , South African fiction (English) -- Study and teaching (Higher) , South African fiction (English) -- 21st century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5976 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012998
- Description: The kingdom of Sansland situated on the Azanian Peninsula has been ruled by Sorricians, the sky people, ever since they landed on terra firma centuries ago. The indigenous population are forced to engage directly in the social and economic perpetuation of their own domination beneath the Sorrician heel. Until revolution flares in the antipodes, and soon, even the gods themselves seem to take an interest in the inevitable course of events. But all is not what it seems. The revolution appears to proceed too rapidly. The kingdom’s trade infrastructure collapses too easily. The Sorrician rulers are inexplicably and unrealistically confident in their ability to repel an attack on the capital. It will take a man of conscience, a regular soldier and a boy priest to restore appearances back to reality.
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The Accidental Prospector
- Authors: De Moor, Irene J
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Uncataloged
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5961 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004214
- Description: While excavating an ant nest in the river gravels of the NW Cape Diamond fields, Amanda de Bruyn, an entomologist studying the aggressive Camponotus fulvopilosus,finds a diamond. She is torn between the necessity of handing it in to the authorities and the dream of making a quick buck. When a stroke of bad luck renders her current research project null and void she is faced with the prospect of losing her career and her research funding. She is forced to consider selling her diamond and embarks on an adventure that will carry herback into South Africa’s dark past and derail her marriage and career.
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The talisman
- Authors: Reed, Graham Conan
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Fiction , Short stories , English , South Africa , Creative writing (Higher education) , Short stories, South African (English) -- 21st century , South African fiction (English) -- 21st century , English language -- Writing
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:5967 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001817
- Description: The Talisman is an adventure story set in a future where much of today's cultural memory and technology has been lost. Following a hunting accident, a young man named Forest survives a life-threatening wound and embarks on a quest for knowledge. Rising sea levels, bands of marauders, wild animals and the perils of survival in the broken world are not the only problems facing the survivors. The nature of the collapse of the society, what triggered it and its subsequent unfolding, bequeaths an existential quandary upon them that only Forest, and a rare text as old as the earth itself, can unravel
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