Antjie Krog
Antjie Krog was born and grew up in the Free State. She became editor of the Afrikaans current-affairs magazine Die Suid-Afrikaan and later worked as a radio journalist covering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, all the while writing extensively for newspapers and journals.
She has been awarded the Hertzog Prize, and is the author of the acclaimed Country of My Skull, which won the Alan Paton and the Olive Schreiner Award.
But, mainly, she has lived as a poet. Krog’s first volume of poetry was published when she was seventeen years old and she has since released thirteen volumes of poetry.
Country of My Skull
‘This is Antjie Samuel reporting from Ladybrand …’ For more than two years, Antjie Krog worked in acute engagement with the many voices that arose in and around South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. From the legislative genesis of the Commission, through the testimonies of victims of abuse and violence, the revelations from apartheid’s operatives, the appearance of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and former president PW Botha’s courthouse press conference, to the Commission’s meeting with the media on Robben Island early in 1998 – this award-winning poet leads us on an extraordinary odyssey. Country of My Skull captures the complexity of the Truth Commission’s work in a uniquely personal narrative which is harrowing, illuminating and provocative. Krog’s powerful prose lures the reader actively and inventively through a mosaic of insights, impressions and secret themes, taking us beneath the big movements of the Truth Commission – and beyond … into the very heart of what it means to be a South African today.
R 360.00
R 322.00
There was this goat
On 23 April 1996, Notrose Nobomvu Konile lifted her hand and swore to tell the truth to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She was the mother of Zabonke Konile, a young man killed in what has become known as the Gugulethu Seven incident. Antjie Krog, reporting as a journalist at the time, was struck by the seeming incoherence of the testimony and, in 2004, colleagues Nosisi Mpolweni and Kopano Ratele joined Krog in a closer investigation of Mrs Konile’s words. The resulting three-year collaboration, drawing on different disciplinary and social backgrounds, has produced a fascinating account that leaves no detail of Mrs Konile’s narrative unexplored and poses questions about the unacknowledged assumptions that underpin research in this country. In addition, the book sheds light on the larger and highly relevant issues of how black and white South Africans can build bridges towards understanding one another across the cultural, social and economic divides that threaten our democracy.
R 111.00
Begging to Be Black
In 1992, a gang leader was shot dead by a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe in Kroonstad. The murder weapon was then hidden on Antjie Krog's stoep. In Begging to Be Black, Krog begins by exploring her position in this controversial case. From there the book ranges widely in scope, both in time - reaching back to the days of Basotho king Moshoeshoe - and in space - as we follow Krog's experiences as a research fellow in Berlin, far from the Africa that produced her. Begging to Be Black forms the third part of a trilogy that Antjie Krog (unknowingly) began with Country of My Skull and continued with A Change of Tongue. Mixing memoir and history, philosophy and poetry, the book is stylistically experimental and personally courageous. Begging to Be Black is a welcome addition to Krog's own oeuvre and to South African literary non-fiction.
R 322.00
Body Bereft
The taboos within the tidal moods of the menopause are described with an anger and a verbal intensity that are uniquely Krog's. Close relationships are searingly explored, occasionally in a confrontational way, more often searching for resolution. In the final meditative section, Table Mountain, a looming, symbolic and androgynous godhead is contemplated as an abiding presence and witness to the transience of human life. These dramatic, even reckless poems, reaffirm Antjie Krog s status and bring an altogether new and unique energy to South African English-language poetry.Antjie Krog s iconic status as one of South Africa s most popular and critically acclaimed poets began when she was eighteen, with her first collection, Dogter van Jefta (1970). Almost four decades later, this very different collection will confirm her reputation with poems that blur and ravage the boundaries between the lyrical and confessional, the private and public.
R 270.00
Vetplantfeetjies
Hy staan met sy rug na sy opponent toe gedraai. Die rewolwer in sy hand is gelaai en gereed om afgevuur te word. Die Kaap de Goede Hoop. 'n Jong dokter, James Barry, stap aan wal as 'n militere chirurg se assistent. Goewerneur lord Charles Somerset is na 'n paar maande so beindruk met die briljante Barry, dat hy hom as sy huisdokter aanstel. Nie almal deel lord Somerset se entoesiasme nie. Somerset se aide-de-camp, kaptein Josias Cloete, wil weet waarvandaan Barry kom, en James se mediese kennis - hy praat dan selfs van n keisersnee! - ontsenu menige plaaslike arts. Maar selfs nie eens die talentvolste medici van die tyd sou kon weet watter geheim die enigmatiese James in hom dra nie. Francois Loots se roman, gebaseer op die lewe van hierdie aangrypende historiese figuur, wys hoe diep die spore van randfigure in die geskiedenis le.
R 240.00
Mede-wete
In Mede-wete,'n aangrypende nuwe digbundel deur Antjie Krog, word temas soos taal, geheue en gewete met 'n nuwe intensiteit en beleenheid hanteer.
R 282.00
Fynbos Fairies
It is for its fynbos – fine-leaved, shrub-like vegetation – that the southwestern and southern Cape has been named one of the world’s six plant kingdoms: The Cape floral kingdom. At less than 90 000 square kilometres, it is the smallest floral kingdom on earth. Yet it is home to 8 600 plant species, some 5 000 of which occur nowhere else in the world. Fynbos is a mixture of four plant types: Protea shrubs, heath-like ericas, reed-like restios and different bubous plants. The Cape floral kingdom contains 69 of the world’s 112 proteas, 526 of its 740 ericas and, among bubous plants, 96 of the world’s 160 gladiolus species. Table Mountain alone boasts almost 1 500 fynbos species. With Fynbos fairies, Antjie Krog and Fiona Moodie, both of whom regularly walk on the slopes of Table Mountain, pay homage to one of the natural wonders of the world. Inspired by Cicely Mary Barker’s A world of flower fairies, Antjie began the process by writing poems that each featured a plant and at least one imaginary little being. Fiona meticulously researched the features of each plant, insect and little animal depicted in these pages. The fairies and other imaginary beings in these pages are her own creations, but the flowers and creatures she copied from nature.
R 250.00
Vetplant Fairies
Southern Africa has the richest and most diverse grouping of succulents in the world. Vetplant Fairies is a collection of verse for children about indigenous succulents and the imaginary beings who live among them, written by two of our finest poets, Ingrid de Kok and Antjie Krog. The book is beautifully illustrated in full colour by Fiona Moodie in the style of Fynbos Fairies, its hugely successful predecessor. The scientific name for each plant is included in this enchanting new classic.
R 240.00
Skinned: Poems
A co-publication with American publisher Seven Stories Press of a new collection of translations of Antjie Krog's poetry in English, cementing her reputation as one of South Africa's greatest poets. 'Skinned' is a poetic exploration of the different identities, the layers that make the human condition so intricate, fragile and yet resilient.
R 221.00
Mixtape van die liefde
Hierdie bundel gedigte verken die verskillende dimensies van die liefde:Verliefdheid (’n rimpelvel hardloop),Wat is liefde? (my hart het in jou verdwaal),Liefde in gesinsverband (wie is die stil kind?),Liefde en pyn (ek volg net my hartseer),Liefde en woede (ek haat en ek het lief) enLiefde wat verder reik (o’s celebrate).Die hele spraakgemeenskap van Afrikaans is verteenwoordig in die bundel:Van ons ouer digters soos Totius, Boerneef, Eybers, Opperman, Van Wyk Louwtot opwindende nuwe stemme soos Ashwin Arendse, Bibi Slippers, NathanTrantraal, Pieter Odendaal, Lynthia Julies en Ryan Pedro. Ronelda S. Kamferlewer die grootste bydrae met ses gedigte.Vertalings stel lesers nie net bekend aan plaaslike talent in isiZulu-,Setswana-, Xam- en San nie, maar bied ook ’n blik op wêreldliteratuur metgedigte van die Fransman Michel Houellebecq, die Kubaan Nicolás Guillén enLucebert (wie se gedig in Nederlands verskyn).
R 185.00
Met die Oog Op More
Die versdrama met die oog op more gebruik verbeelding om die dinamiese verhouding tussen twee briljante mense te ondersoek: 'n swart koning en sy wit sendeling. Oor 'n tydperk van twintig jaar kom Moshoeshoe 1 en Eugene Casalis te staan voor talle uitdagings vir saamwerk en saamleef met die oog op 'n voorspoedige toekoms. As die koning van vele prysliedere in die neentiende eeu begin om sy vergaderings af te sluit met die woorde "A re shweleng fatshe la rona" (Laat ons sterf, die grond is ons s'n) word daar 'n kreet geskep wat weergalm tot vandag toe, maar so ook woorde oor die wysheid van veelheid en verbondenheid. Met die oog op more skets die vriendskap tussen Moshoeshoe en die Franse sendeling Eugene Casalis in Basoetoland in 1837-1855. Dit gaan oor die verhouding tussen swart en wit, en hoe ons moet leer om met mekaar saam te leef.
R 200.00
Pillage
This new collection, Pillage, is published eight years since Synapse (Mede-wete), which received the Hertzog Prize for Poetry in 2017. In Pillage Krog develops her familiar themes of family, body and land but this time in the harsh light of pillaging, whether being done by nature, humans, or old age. The poems reveal a painful fragility, an exasperation and even at times a blissful celebration trying to determine different ways of dealing with erosions, here and now. Then there is finding comfort, being nourished by remarkable moments of beauty: the delight of an egret in a vlei, watching over a young child who is discovering the world around him, and remembering the raptures of love. Pillage is translated by award winning poet and translator, Karen Press.
R 290.00
'n Vry Vrou
Krog is 'n internasionaal gerekende digter maar ook plaaslik geliefd. Vyftig jaar na haar opspraakwekkende debuut, Dogter van Jefta, verskyn daar 'n splinternuwe versameling waarin meer as honderd gedigte uit haar elf bundels saampraat. Verse oor eerste liefde, oor moederskap, oor die landskap, en oor onreg; oplaas ook oor ouer word. 'n Vry vrou bevat gunstelinge uit Krog se oeuvre maar ook minder bekende dog ewe verrassende verse. Saamgestel deur Karen de Wet, kenner van Krog se oeuvre.
R 345.00
Fynbosfeetjies
Dit is omrede sy fynbos – die smalblaar-, struikagtige plantegroei van die streek – dat die suidwestelike en suid-Kaap benoem is as een van die wêreld se ses planteryke: die Kaapse Blommeryk. Met ’n opervlakte van minder as 90 000 vierkante kilometer is dit die kleinste planteryk ter wêreld. Tog is dit die tuiste van 8 600 plantspesies, waarvan 5 000 nêrens elders voorkom nie. Fynbos is ’n vermenging van vier plantsoorte: protea-struike, heideagtige erikas, rietagtige restio’s en ’n verskeidenheid bolplante. In die Kaapse Blommeryk groei 69 van die wêreld se 112 proteas, 526 van sy 740 erikas en onder sy bolplante word 96 van die wêreld se 160 gladiolusspesies aangetref. Op sy eie spog Tafeberg met byna 1 500 fynbosspesies. Met Fynbosfeetjies bring Antjie Krog en Fiona Moodie, wat albei gereeld op die hange van Tafelberg gaan stap, hulde aan een van die natuurwonders van die wêreld. Antjie, geïnspireer deur Cicely Mary Barker se A World of Flower Fairies, het die bal aan die rol gesit deur verse te skryf oor verskillende blomplante wat deur minstens een denkbeeldige wesentjie bewoon word. Fiona het elke plant, insek en gediertetjie wat in hierdie boek afgebeeld is, nagevors. Die feetjies en ander droomwesentjies is haar eie skepings, maar die blomme, gogas en diertjies het sy by die natuur afgekyk en noukeurig nageteken.
R 240.00
Kleur kom Nooit Alleen Nie
RAU-prys vir skeppende skryfwerk (2001) In 'n paar opsigte verskil hierdie digbundel van Antjie Krog se vorige werk: vir die eerste keer beweeg die verse ook buite Suid-Afrika - elders in Afrika en ook Europa. Die verse staan in die teken van 'n soeke na identiteit op die kontinent en die vind van 'n plek binne die Afrika-bestel. Soos in haar vorige bundels hanteer Krog ook in hierdie bundel die persoonlike, die politiese en die land(skap).
R 250.00
