Zakes Mda
Sometimes There Is A Void is a remarkable record of the life of awardwinning novelist and playwright Zakes Mda.,Eminently readable, Mda weaves past and present together to give us an intensely personal story of the writerâ€™s development in life, in love and in learning. Forced to follow his father, PAC â€˜founding spiritâ€™ A P Mda, into exile in Lesotho (then still Basutoland) at the age of fourteen, Zakes Mda finds freedom from close parental discipline irresistible and becomes a frequenter of shebeens and an exponent of fast living at an early age, although he is,eventually drawn back to wanting a good education above all other things. After many twists and turns, and a few false starts, we follow his journey to Athens, Ohio, where he is now professor of creative writing. Forthright almost to a fault, it is a vigorous and colourful story enriched by Mdaâ€™s dry humour,and his ability to engage with his reader on a very personal level.,Always outspoken, Mda has in the past voiced his disappointment in, and been critical of, what he sees as â€˜crony capitalismâ€™ and the â€˜patronage systemâ€™ in the â€˜newâ€™ South Africa â€“ a lot of which was highlighted in his,last novel Black Diamond â€“ and finds that he has been side-lined in many aspects of South African culture where he feels he could make a significant contribution. Because he â€˜resisted the centreâ€™ and â€˜stayed on the peripheryâ€™,,he regards himself as an outsiderâ€™ â€“ hence the bookâ€™s subtitle. Admirers of Mdaâ€™s fiction will enjoy getting to know more about the man.
Biography,Nonfiction,Cultural,Africa,Autobiography,Memoir,Southern Africa,South Africa,Politics
Sometimes there is a Void â€“ Memoirs of an Outsider