Slide 2:
Native People:
Xhosas, Zulus, Pedis, Sotho, Tswana, Swazi, Vendas, Tsonga, and Ndebeles
Settlers in 1800's: English, Dutch, French, German (plus Indian servant class) - English < 20% population, yet owned 90% of land
- Only eligible landowners could voters
- Elections of 1994 change political and social landscape
- April 2009 Elections coming soon and worth monitoring!
Slide 3:
Children's literature of the 70s & 80s
- Predominantly English and Dutch language books
- Varying treatment of social and political realities
- Treatment of African heritage/beliefs as primative
- Children in fantasy stories coming together
- Early subversion threatened the government => banned
90's brought some change
- Awards in each of the 11 official languages
- Fiction explores history & change in politics & society
- "Rose-colored glasses"
- Racial division persists (from blantant to subtle)
The current political & social scene continues to challenge the literary world.
Slide 4:
Current Literary Affairs
"Publishing is a funny business, it is not as simple as other businesses - perhaps because it is about making culture." - Colleen Higgs (of Modjaji Books) Publishing practices:
- Smaller companies
- Print to order
- Classroom textbooks
choosen by teachers
- Teachers beginning to use
literature Trends:
- Moving toward publishing
in a "mother language."
- Focus on literature that
sells
- Reading for pleasure is a
growing notion Writers & poets are aiming to make their works artistically and morally right.
Slide 5:
Featured Authors & Illustrators:
Joan Rankin
Reviva Schermbrucker
Wendy Hartmann
Dianne Stewart
Jude Daly
Niki Daly
Ingrid Mennen
(More at CLRU) Books of Interest:
100 Representative South African Books for Children and Young People
(IBBY Resources)
Slide 6:
Publishers:
List of large printing houses at IBBY
Sample Independent Publishers
Bakame Editions
Electric Books
Slide 7:
Articles of Interest:
Inggs, J. (2001). Bringing the strands of history together: myth and legend in contemporary South African English children's literature. South African Journal of Library & Information Science, 67(1), 1. Retrieved March 27, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
Posada, M. C. (2006). IBBY and Africa in 2006: Life afer Cape Town. Birdbok. 44(1), 54-6. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
Warren, C. (2008). South Africa. The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, 43(1), 183-217. Retrieved March 15, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.