67 woorde vir Mandela-dag 2017: wenner aangekondig | LitNet
67 woorde vir Mandela-dag 2017: wenner aangekondig
LitNet Skryfkompetisies 2017-08-29
Altesaam 140 inskrywings is vir LitNet se skryfkompetisie, “67 woorde vir Mandela-dag”, ontvang. 20 deelnemers het die kortlys gehaal, en een van hulle is die wenner van ’n heerlike boekpakkie.*
Die wenner is Johan van der Merwe met sy kort-kortverhaal "Reënboogfeniks uit die ashoop". Martie Meiring was die beoordelaar. Hier is Johan se inskrywing.
Lees hier ’n onderhoud met Johan van der Merwe.
Hier is Martie Meiring se terugvoer oor die kortlys en die wenner se inskrywing:
Ek het gewroeg. En ek het sommer ook opgewonde geraak oor hierdie opdrag vir kortkuns-skryf.
Jy kan sien hoe hierdie twintigtal die tydsgees so raakgevat het. Daar is soveel ironie, soveel selfondersoek en raaksien. Die twee wat my die moeilikste laat besluit, is ook die twee uiterstes: "Die huishulp" deur Susanne Pike, wat só tekenend is van wat ons as die susters ken; en dan die een van Johan van der Merwe, wat in die huidige woedende idioom skryf (ek het gedink Hannes Visser se “Kas” was besonder sterk kortkuns).
Al hierdie skrywers het ’n besondere moment vasgevang in die Suid-Afrika van hier en nou, en ek dink dit was wraggies ’n baie interessante opdrag wat julle uitgestuur het. Nou is daar ’n magiese soort inhoud in die begrip van 67 minute.
Julle het my nie vir ’n motivering gevra nie, maar ek het gevoel om LitNet geluk te wens met hierdie inisiatief.
Maar dan is Johan van der Merwe se "Reënboogfeniks uit die ashoop" my keuse as wenner vir sy sterk taal, atmosfeer en amper profetiese vasvat van ’n huidige verskynsel.
Johan van der Merwe wen ’n boekpakkie met die volgende boeke wat deur Penguin Random House (Zebra Press), Jonathan Ball, NB-Uitgewers (Tafelberg) en Protea Boekhuis geskenk word:
Nelson Mandela said nothing about his personal religious beliefs in his writings or in his public pronouncements. But those who were close to him know that he held Christian views, and at his request the final part of his funeral followed the Methodist order of service rather than a traditional Xhosa ceremony.
This book traces the spiritual aspect of Mandela’s life, from his youth in a traditional Thembu village, to his education at Wesleyan and Methodist mission schools, to his time as an activist, his period on Robben Island and the years thereafter. It explores the way that he balanced Christianity with traditional African beliefs and with his political views, and how he reconciled his own beliefs with the fact that religion had been used as a tool to oppress his people.
Jan Smuts: Afrikaner sonder grense dien as herinnering vir die moderne leser aan die merkwaardige prestasies van hierdie indrukwekkende soldaat-staatsman. Die skrywer voer aan dat dit noodsaaklik is om Smuts in die hede te betrek; dat daar nog baie te leer is van Smuts se nalatenskap.
Strydom trek verskeie parallelle tussen Smuts en Thabo Mbeki, beide intellektuele figure wat in die buiteland vereer word, maar plaaslik gereeld met wantroue bejeën word.
Hierdie hoogs leesbare verslag ondersoek onder meer Smuts se rol as politieke leier en as raadgewer van wêreldleiers, sy spirituele en intellektuele lewe en sy verhoudings met vroue. Sy unieke bydraes op ŉ verskeidenheid ander terreine, insluitend die plantkunde, bewaring en filosofie, word ook bespreek.
Jan Smuts: Afrikaner sonder grense skram egter nie weg van die paradoksale in Smuts nie. Hoewel hy een van die argitekte van die Verenigde Volke-organisasie (nou die Verenigde Nasies) en ŉ groot kampvegter vir menseregte was, kon hy nie so ver kom om die plaaslike swart meerderheid politieke regte te gun nie.
When Jacob Zuma retires to Nkandla, what will be left behind?
South Africa has been in the grip of the “Zunami” since May 2009: scandal, corruption and allegations of state capture have become synonymous with the Zuma era, leaving the country and its people disheartened.
But Jacob Zuma’s time is running out. Whether he leaves the presidency after the ANC’s national conference in 2017, stays on until 2019, or is forced to retire much sooner, the question is: What impact will his departure have on South Africa and its people and on the ruling party? Can we fix the damage, and if so, how?
Ralph Mathekga answers these questions and more as he puts Zuma’s leadership, and what will come after Zuma, in the spotlight.
Ralph Mathekga is one of South Africa’s leading political analysts. He taught politics at the University of the Western Cape and worked as a senior policy analyst at the National Treasury. He is often quoted by both local and international media houses and comments regularly on television and radio. Ralph is currently completing a PhD in politics.
Iron in the soul: The leaders of the official parliamentary opposition in South Africa, 1910–1993
The lot of the leader of the official opposition is never a happy one. It takes exceptional personal attributes, or “iron in the soul” as Van Zyl Slabbert termed it, to be an effective and efficient official opposition leader.
In terms of the Westminster political system, which formed the basis of the South African parliament between 1910 and 1994, the leader of the biggest opposition party in parliament was an important office-holder of parliament. He or she received a degree of latitude and preference from the Speaker of parliament that was not granted to ordinary parliamentarians.
This group biography investigates the leaders of the official parliamentary opposition before democracy to evaluate how they contributed to the shaping of South Africa’s history. The focus is on those who never became a prime minister or executive president. Prime ministers JBM Hertzog, JC Smuts and DF Malan’s years as opposition leaders have been investigated by historians, while the opposition leaders who failed to win elections are long forgotten, or at most reduced to historical footnotes. The aim of this book is to bring to life the political “losers” – Sir Leander Starr Jameson (1910–1912), Sir Thomas Smartt (1912–1920), JGN Strauss (1950–1956), De Villiers Graaff (1956–1977), Radclyffe Cadman (1977), Colin Eglin (1977–1979 and 1986–1987), Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert (1979–1986) and AP Treurnicht (1987–1993).
2017-08-20 at 05:49
'n Baie diep, dankbare hart klop in my. Wat 'n voorreg en eer. Baie opregte dank vir hierdie prys.
2017-08-21 at 20:45
Dit is 'n besonderse verhaal.
2017-09-02 at 07:52
‘Reënboogfeniks uit die ashoop’ is ‘n pragtige stukkie beeldende en verhalende woordkuns. Ek wapper sommer vir jou ‘n reënboogvlag vandag. Jou liedjies en gedigte is ook wonderskoon. Alles wat mooi is vir jou kuns vorentoe en geniet die pragtige boeke. Veral ‘The spiritual Mandela’ deur Dennis Cruywagen lyk na ‘n diep verrykende leeservaring.