The Cheeky Natives: Recent Episodes
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Most women endure silence and sacrifice because of societal expectations — but what if that silence is a form of violence?
Dr. Kopano Matlwa, acclaimed author and public health physician, unpacks the hidden costs of womanhood, the trauma of Gender Based Violence, and the myth of the perfect family in her powerful novel Bosadi. This conversation challenges us to confront uncomfortable truths and rethink the narratives we’ve inherited about gender, resilience, and survival.
You’ll discover how Bosadi explores the architecture of sacrifice and the emotional toll of living in a society that normalises misogyny and violence. Dr. Matlwa shares her insights on the complex relationships between mothers and daughters, the silent wounds of migrant domestic workers, and the dangerous ways community complicity enables abuse.
We break down the importance of naming, the symbolism behind her titles, and her deliberate choice to speak uncomfortable truths through storytelling.
We delve into the themes of faith and endurance that often silence women, revealing how religious and cultural pressures can act as tools of gaslighting and control.
Perfect for readers, activists, and anyone committed to ending Gender Based Violence, Bosadi is a mirror held up to society—demanding reflection and action. If you're ready to challenge the status quo and empower women’s voices, this episode will inspire you to start conversations that matter.
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We sat down with Nadia Davis, author of Cape Fever, to honour the quiet strength and resilience that hidden stories bring to our lives.
In a beautifully tender conversation, we explored themes of silent resistance, personal empowerment, and the power of internal archives.
We explored narratives that challenge conventional tales of survival and authentic connection.
Nadia reflected on her journey—from a storyteller navigating silencing systems to an author embracing her agency and unique voice.
Much of the conversation was an excavation of hidden knowledge, unspoken histories, and the ongoing process of reclaiming agency.
We discussed why personal narratives remain incomplete without meaningful introspection and genuine growth.
This powerful episode, is an invitation to you, our listener, to reconsider what personal empowerment means in a world marked by silence, erasure, and resilience.
Join us as we invoke the journey into stories of hidden strength and the ways we reclaim our narratives in 2026. Because sometimes, the most powerful stories are those where people choose their agency—and each other—on their own terms.
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We sat down with Siphokazi Jonas, author of "Weeping Becomes a River," to honour the wisdom and relatability that poetry brings to our lives.
Together, we explored themes of cultural reclamation, personal transformation, and linguistic identity. Our conversation journeyed through narratives that challenge traditional tales of resilience and genuine connection. Siphokazi reflected on her evolution—from a poet navigating discordant worlds to a storyteller embracing her heritage and authentic voice.
We delved deeper into themes of grief, unspoken histories, and the ongoing process of redefining belonging. We discussed why cultural narratives remain incomplete without meaningful dialogue and real growth. In this episode, we invite you, our listener, to reconsider what cultural healing means in a world marked by chaos, disillusionment, and disenchantment.
Join us as we explore stories of identity and the ways we make meaning in 2026. Because sometimes, the most powerful stories are those where people choose their heritage—and each other—on their own terms.
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In the final installation of the acclaimed trilogy, Zibu Sithole, the acclaimed author of the beloved Zola series, reveals why she’s choosing to tell stories of gentle, soft Black love. We journeyed with characters who challenged the traditional narratives of suffering and resilience by prioritising self-love and genuine connection.
In a heartfelt conversation, Zibu reflects on Zola’s incredible evolution from a self-centred dreamer to a woman embracing her independence and true happiness. We explored the themes of forgiveness, unspoken hurts, and redefining happiness, examining why love isn’t enough without effective communication and real growth.
In an all -encompassing conversation, Zibu shared her insights on why fiction is such a powerful vessel for social change, especially when addressing complex relationships: fathers and sons navigating absence, women reclaiming their narratives, and generational shifts in codes of commitment.
This episode is an invitation for you as a reader to redefine what a happy ending means in a world full of chaos, disillusionment and disenchantment.
Join us as we explore how stories about love can, and should, look different in 2026. Because sometimes, the most powerful love stories are the ones where people choose themselves, and each other, on their own terms.
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Frank Sayi grew up in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, in the 1970s. His childhood straddled two very significant periods in his country's history, both of which heavily influenced his memoir. The first was the war of liberation (1975-1979), closely followed by the post-independence internecine war (1981-1987).
Frank and his two older sisters, Thoko and Gift, lived with their grandmother, a stern, wise, mercurial matriarch, capable of intimidating severity, and her son Uncle Sami while Frank's mother, the main breadwinner, lived in the city.
Through the connection of the narratives of these two major wars, Frank offers a comprehensive view of a turbulent history with the ongoing consequences of his country’s political violence. Gukurahundi and it’s unacknowledged history is explored, reflecting on what it means to be a people who’s pain has been ignored and erased.
The memoir is intricately woven around the lives of the members of Frank's immediate family, whom he uses to foreground the tragic lives of a people caught within the web of war.
He walks us through the disconnection between memory and reality especially in the aftermath of war, displacement and personal loss. Grief permeates throughout the book, anticipatory and rituals around it as we witness the emotional toll of expecting loss prior to its occurrence.
Written at the intersection of love and abuse, Frank’s memoir explores how these dynamic shape relationships and identities. Frank writes tenderly about the struggle to find belonging in fractured families and communities
In this episode we engage in a profound conversation with Frank Sayi. The discussion delves into the complexities of identity, home, and the lingering effects of colonialism in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Frank shares his personal experiences of displacement and the struggle to reconcile his past with his present, emphasising the theme of returning home to a place that feels both familiar and alien. He articulates the idea that the language of violence and colonialism has shaped the narratives surrounding black identity, complicating the relationship between self and memory.
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As a high-performing, excellence-driven, successful black woman, being in control of everything in her life was crucial to her survival and success for Nozipho Tshabalala. For much of her life, it had always served her well until it no longer did.
The book begins with her receiving the news of her mother’s passing while she stood on the biggest stage of her career. This formative event sends her into a spiral which asks her to reevaluate her ideas of success and the price of these achievements.
We sat down in conversation with Nozipho Tshabalala about her story of burning, of breaking, of becoming. Having described the writing this memoir as an act of deep vulnerability — a labour of love, we were interested in the process of unbecoming and breaking open the things held tightly to for so long.
We explored the journey of soul-searching and discovering new and old but also one of truth- for ourselves and our loved ones. Much of the book centres around confrontation, of self, of narrative and of hidden pain with a journey towards healing made possible by this.
Nozipho like so many of us, stands at the crossroads between certainty and trust, between holding on and finally releasing what no longer serves you, and invites us with truth and vulnerability to come along.
Beyond the things she has let go of, After the Fires is an exploration of the things we find within ourselves, our loved ones and our journeys to becoming. It honours the complexity of womanhood while celebrating the possibility of becoming exactly who you were meant to be, even when that person looks nothing like what you imagined.
In a beautiful, tender conversation, we sojourn with Nozipho to the other side, after the fires finding freedom, clarity, and a reclamation of voice and self. Nozipho demonstrates how surrender becomes not an act of defeat but a pathway to freedom.
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In the captivating 100th episode, we engaged in a profound conversation with Andile Cele, the author of the compelling debut novel Braids and Migraines.
This enlightening discussion delved into a rich exploration of identity, mental health, and the complexity of human relationships.
Braids and Migraines chronicles the journey of a young girl navigating life in a post-apartheid township while battling personal and societal challenges.
Despite the promise of a post-racial South Africa, the protagonist experiences the violence of racism, misogynoir and microagressions at school with white women at the centre of this violence.
The episode concludes with a hopeful reflection on the book's potential impact, emphasizing the power of literature to heal and initiate change.
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“Part theory, part manifesto, part history” – this book sparked a black feminist movement in Brazil. Patricia Hill Collins writes: “Where We Stand boldly claims a space for Black feminism in Brazil. This long-awaited translation offers new audiences a rare opportunity to encounter the rich ideas of an emerging generation of Black women academics and activists who are fearless in pushing for social change.”
Djamila Ribeiro is an activist, writer and coordinator of the Plural Feminisms initiative. She is a university professor who has worked at several institutions, such as the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo and New York University. Ribeiro is the curator of the Feminismos Plurais Collection and the author of books on Black feminism, anti-racism, and her own life story. Her works, translated into several languages, have sold over 1 million copies.
In a society shaped by the legacies of enslavement, white supremacy, and sexism, who has the right to a voice? In this book, Djamila Ribeiro brings forth a powerful disruption into conversations on the intersection between race, power and identity: the concept of “speaking place.”
With a particular focus on her native Brazil, Ribeiro uses the speaking place to introduce the the idea that everyone has a social position in the world and that what we can say, and how it is received by others, depends on it. Ribeiro chronicles the evolution of Black feminist, exploring the ways that Black women have been silenced, ignored, and punished for speaking.
Building on feminist standpoint theory, and in conversation with the works of Sojourner Truth, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and others, Ribeiro joins the Cheeky Natives to invite all of us to recognise where we stand, to imagine geographies different from those we’ve inherited, and to speak a more humane world into being.
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In a world where the lines between privacy and exposure blur increasingly, Onyi Nwabineli's latest novel, "Allow Me to Introduce Myself," offers a profound exploration of identity, familial bonds, and the often untidy experiences of coming of age.
The novel centers around the complex world of Anuri, a child raised in the public eye as the offspring of a popular mommy blogger. It is with this backdrop that discussions about identity, the cost of lost privacy, and the pursuit of autonomy in an increasingly digital world percolate. Onyi keenly addresses these issues, weaving them intricately into Anuri's journey. Throughout the book, grief and identity are ever present.
Onyi also challenges traditional narratives of coming of age, highlighting that identity formation doesn't stop when one reaches adulthood. Onyi highlights the privilege and importance in the luxury to make mistakes away from the limelight.
Onyi writes so tenderly on the significance of chosen family, showing them as a refuge and a source of unconditional love. The novel beautifully portrays the support Anuri receives from her friends and her aunt illustrating the undervalued contribution of friendship to one's life.
One of the novels standout moments is Onyi's use of language as a tool to discuss the importance of cultural identity. In an ode to a long and rich cultural tradition, her characters names are deliberately thought out and decided, accompanied by a decision not to include a glossary for non-English terms, encouraging readers to engage actively and seek understanding, much like how English language dominance often keeps its terms undefined.
In the podcast, Onyi reflects on the 'untidy' ending of the book, mirroring real life's unpredictability.
In a thought provoking conversation, Onyi invites readers to embrace complexity and imperfection in life's narratives.
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We sat down for a candid and vulnerable discussion on rebellion, compliance and the intricacies of language and place with Mubanga Kalimamukwento, author of the prize winning Obligations to the Wounded.
The collection transcends physical spaces and time with Mubanga navigating the interplay of memory and geographical place. Her stories, woven in rich narratives, explore the landscapes and lives of Zambian women.
In an ode to a rich oratory history we explored literary devices and cultural references within her stories.Central to her collection is the theme of rebellious women—those who defy societal norms. Mubanga explores what it means to reimagine the futures of such women, asking readers to contemplate the costs of rebellion and compliance.
Mubanga offers a unique narrative lens in her writing, showing a child's perspective. She draws on her own childhood experiences with grief and loss to blend childlike observation with adult articulation. In this juxtaposition, there is the contrast of the raw, unfiltered view of a child alongside the nuanced understanding of an adult.
In a wide ranging collection covering themes of identity, loss and becoming, Mubanga writes tenderly and vulnerably, often leaving the reader to ponder.
We sat down with to reflect on the meaning of community, obligation and writing in the in between spaces.
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In ‘The Girl With The Louding Voice’, the book ends with Adunni winning the scholarship and her dream of school seems close to fruition.
In this triumphant book that breaks the curse of the sophomore novel, Adunni and Ms Tia are back. This story unfolds over the course of 24 hours, with Adunni being forced to return to her home village just hours before the new school year commences.
As Adunni returns to Ikati, she meets other young women and girls who are similarly forced to account for the crimes: essentially being women and so forced to bear the brunt of society’s blame and anger.
In a testament to the power of female friendship, we see the relationship between Adunni and Tia evolve, from saviour-rescuee to friends. Despite their differences, these two forge a friendship which sustains the other, providing comfort during some of the most difficult moments in their lives.
In this novel, Tia is forced to confront her history and the estrangement from her family as a result. Adunni’s own complicated family relationships are brought to the fore.
An additional layer is the climate crisis and the disproportionate ways in which women are affected. This book offers a searing commentary on climate change and social injustices which arise.
Abi Daré won the inaugural Climate fiction prize for her novel And So I Roar.
Tackling themes of patriarchy, tragedy and justice, Abi Dare is at her best in this sophomore novel.
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In Zukiswa Wanner’s latest novel, we are confronted with couples battling secrets, betrayals and endings. This book is a meditation on the weight of betrayal, difficult choices and navigating moral quandaries. The characters are flawed, making bad choices and yet still remain relatable.
This page turner deftly manages to deal with a wealth of topics including gendered social behaviour, infidelity and difficult choices. We meet Akani and Owami, who are battling interpersonal and communal pressures while trying to navigate black life. Cultural attitudes and the explanations we give to ourselves and others are the subject of a nuanced critique in this book.
Zukiswa asks what becomes of a society where men have license to behave unaccountably and what this does to society’s fabric. Interestingly, the women in this book are themselves portrayed to be flawed, human and multifaceted.
Additionally, Zukiswa explores contemporary and relevant topics such as gender-based violence, the grooming, and sexual abuse. Despite the heavy themes,
Zukiswa’s writing ensures that the reader never feels preached to.
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Set in Zambia, this novel introduces us to a young lawyer, named Grace and her client Wilbess (Bessy).
After a string of unfortunate events, Bessy has been arrested for having sex with another man. A crime according to Zambian laws which prohibit same sex relations.
Following Grace’s initial visit, Bessy disappears from custody without a trace.
Thus begins Grace’s fight for justice and reform of a system which subjects the most vulnerable individuals to systemic violence and corruption.
Grace is tenacious, having grown up in a village and almost being the victim of gendered violence, she is moved by this case. Despite being well-intentioned, her temper often gets in the way of her quest for justice. She is also subjected to sexism and other forms of discrimination because of her age and background.
This fight takes place against the backdrop of the HIV epidemic in Zambia and the stigmatisation of people living with HIV. The author avoids prevailing stereotypes around this disease and humanizes the experiences of those affected without passing moral judgements.
This is a fast paced legal thriller which engages with the themes of queerphobia, interpersonal and state sanctioned violence and family-chosen and biological.
Although humorous and entertaining in many parts, the book is ultimately heartbreaking as readers are forced to confront the violence of queerphobia and what it means to have your humantity at the mercy of people’s morality and judgement.
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We Were Girls Once is the sequel to Tomorrow I Become a Woman, honing in on the lives of Ego, Zina, and Eriife, the daughters of Uju, Chinelo, and Adaugo from the first book. It explores their journey of they transition from being girls to women.
Ego, who moves to the United Kingdom to further her studies but despite experiencing relative success while working in a firm, she is constantly haunted by past: familial and institutional violence and its ripple effects. Ego is a woman robbed of the joy of becoming.
Zina is also a prisoner of the past, stuck in a tense relationship with her mother. Despite this, she is a renowned actress who is famous and publicly admired.
Eriife whom we encounter last in consumed by the realm of political life in Nigeria. There is a loss she mourns in her personal life, which she compensates for with the pursuit of influence, power and wealth. Despite this bubble that these things afford her, Nigeria still deals with her as harshly as it does to those far less wealthy and privileged.
This is a profound tale of the beauty of women’s friendship, as a conduit for growth, healing and justice. Zina helps Ego confront a serious injustice in the past and in doing so find closure. Despite their differences and disappointments, they come together for Eriife in her hour of need.
Odafen explores the themes of family, politics, community, class dynamics and religion in this book.
Odafen’s, We Were Girls Once is an ode to the timeless strength and beauty of female friendship.
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The Comrade’s Wife follows a turbulent marriage between a rising politician and an academic, told through her life and lens.
The novel features a whirlwind romance between a charming rapscallion and a maiden fair who has been wronged in her past. With deliciously crafted sentences, Boswell's prose is thought-provoking and emotionally impactful.
Anita is not only a victim of workplace injustice and discrimination due to race and gender, but has her own unfortunate experience with gender-based violence, as well. There are those who would say that it sounds contrived that so much can go so wrong for one person but this is a reality that many women face.
We sat with Barbara Boswell to talk about this novel.
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In this collection of interconnected stories, we are introduced to four women: Solape, Remi, Nonso and Aisha whose lives trajectories are bound by friendship, loss and the business of life.
Spanning diverse geographical locations and time period, this collection traverses the past and looks to the future.
In an ode to globalisation and the rapidly shrinking nature of the world, the story begins in Nigeria and ends in the United States.
Interestingly, each story explores a different character and allows us to look into their interior lives.
In all these stories, Ogunyemi explores the ways in which women grow, change and come to a place of peace in differing and often difficult situations.
Ogunyemi explores the themes of friendship, racism, family and evolving political structures in this collection.
The titular story forms the bedrock for this exploration, at once espousing grief, loss and the myriads of ways in which this continent and its leaders can break your heart.
Food is central point of this book and Ogunyemi uses it as an ode to the various locations covered in this book.
Using beautiful, evocative language Ogunyemi writes a layered, articulate account of kinship, love and grief.
We sat down with Omolola Ogunyemi to discuss the timely collection of short stories.
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I Do… Don’t I? is the eagerly awaited sequel to the The Thing with Zola. In it there is a continuation of the love story between Zola and Mbali, traversing the unique location of Kigali and Johannesburg while navigating the complications of a long-distance relationship and the underlying question of commitment.
Will they say I do?
Zola's teenage sister adds to the drama as we encounter her in the midst of a cannon life event.
Okuhle is not exempt from the drama of the book as she faces her own demons in love and family.
Additionally, the elders in this book serve their own dramatic lessons in this book.
We sat with Zibu Sithole to discuss her sophomore novel, writing black love and flawed characters. In this conversation we discuss explored the themes of love, humour and family in the South African context.
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In Only Big Bum Bum Matters Tomorrow, Damilare Kuku introduces a protagonist, Témì with big plans for a drastic change to her appearance in the form of a BBL.
In her debut novel, Damilare examines familial relationships, beauty standards and the quest for desirability in modern day Nigeria.
Témì is a young university student, grappling with her body image all while navigating loss and complex family dynamics including her older sister’s sudden disappearance prior.
Her journey towards the BBL unravels a slew of other issues including the weight of physical beauty, the desire to be attractive and what it means to reach for unattainable beauty standards.
The women in this book are deeply flawed but incredibly relatable, a testament to the authors skill. They live full and interesting lives while making challenging decisions in a life full of difficulties.
Once again, Damilare disarms the reading by infusing humour in writing these challenging themes.
Deeply observant and thought-provoking, Damilare scratches beyond the surface of what it means to be a woman striving for beauty and by extension a sense of self, in contemporary Nigeria.
We sat down with Damilare Kuku to discuss self identification, beauty standards and the quest for beauty while navigating familial relationships
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In a collection of 12 short stories, Damilare Kuku demonstrates the almost Sisyphean task that is navigating love, relationships and life in Lagos.
Damilare deftly uses humour and wit to explore the difficult themes of love, loss, friendship and romance, often catching the reader unaware.
As a testament to the universality of these stories, as reader you or someone you know may have encountered one of the mad men Damilare has written about.
Of course the women are not exempt from the afflictions of humanity, many of them being difficult and somewhat exhausting in a node to the realities of the women we do know in our daily life.
Most striking is the depiction of sex and agency displayed by these women particularly in the face of misogyny and patriarchy.
Damilare draws the reader in, using both humour and sensitivity as she explores what it means to live and love in a place like Lagos.
We sat down with Damilare to discuss her break out collection.
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Coloured as an ethnicity and racial demographic is intertwined with the creation of today’s South Africa. Yet often coloured communities are disdained as people with no clear heritage or culture – as not "black enough" or "white enough".
Coloured by Tessa Dooms and Lynsey Ebony Chutel, challenges this notion and presents a different angle to that narrative. It delves into the history of coloured people as descendants of indigenous Africans and a people whose identity was shaped by colonisation, slavery and apartheid.
Coloured as an ethnicity was again in the spotlight following Tyla’s brilliant rise to fame on both side of the Atlantic this year. In South Africa, there has been a problematic discourse that disparages the Coloured identity as inherently lacking, in culture, heritage and ultimately place in our democracy.
Tessa Dooms and Lynsey Ebony Chutel, challenge this prevailing idea and bring forth a different way to view this incredibly varied and rich community. In a powerful exposition, Tessa and Lynsey delve into the history of people shaped by colonisation, slavery and apartheid.
Spurred by the death of Nathaniel Julies, a young Coloured boy following a shooting by the police. #ColouredLivesMatter began to circulate on social media in response to this violence.
Tessa and Lynsey sought to address the cultural alienation that young Coloured people continue to experience in South Africa by looking deeply into the history of Coloured history, ancestry and political placement in South Africa. In working through the conundrum of Coloured identity, it becomes clear that it cannot be distilled in racial classification.
We sat down with Tessa and Lynsey to discuss the complexities of Coloured identity beyond the tropes and stereotypes. We spoke about the work of understanding the realities of Coloured identities, experiences and setting.
Written as a mirror to both reader and subject matter, this book is a love letter to Coloured people.
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In a once majestic but now decaying mansion, itself a potent metaphor for the current state of Durban where it’s set, we meet the characters of Shubnum Khan’s latest novel.
Originally developed as an ode to beauty, culture and heritage by its owner Akbar Ali Khan, who came to make his fortune in South Africa.
In its current incarnation, the mansion has been converted to weary looking apartments with an assortment of residents each haunted by their own tragedies and pasts.
With the latest edition being Bilal and his teenage daughter, Sana.
In a mix of teenage angst and curiosity, Sana stumbles upon some of the houses supernatural inhabitants. In a novel that confronts the ghosts of the past and present, Shubnum weaves a magical tale of loss and becoming.
We sat down with her to discuss the magic of things lost and forgotten, the gift of memory and archiving and what it means to make amends.
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Honey& Spice is a sweet, evocative and humorous coming of age debut novel from Bolu Babalola. We first encountered Bolu in the short story collection “Love in Colour.”
In her debut novel set in a PWI in the UK, we are introduced to a cast of characters so relatable that you will find yourself or your friends in at least one of these individuals.
The protagonist, Kiki is a seemingly self-controlled and focused young woman who is adept at playing the romance long game and seems to be content with the fleeting nature of these modern day dating interactions. This continues until the introduction of a new student, Malakai who is incredibly good-looking, intelligent and lovely. On paper, this combination is perfect, however the reality of life dictates that the seas of love are not smooth sailing at all.
There a series of events where we witness Kiki and Malakai fake date and pass through the enemies to lover pipeline with a few complications in between.
As the book unfolds, the themes of friendship, kinship and family come to the fore. We watch the characters navigate the realities of past romantic traumas, the veneer of unavailability and parental disappointments as best as they are equipped to.
Bolu’s characters ask us to think widely of love and friendship in the contexts of youth and self -discovery; what does it mean to find love in broken places and people. On first look, this is a fun, coming of age story set in a British university but a deeper inspection reveals a contemplation on trauma, familial influence and chosen family.
We sat with Bolu Babalola to discuss these themes and ideas in this engaging conversation
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In this immaculate study of father-son relationships and the black masculinity, Okechukwu introduces to two Black, gay British-Nigerian men. Achike and Ekene find themselves wading through the existential phenomena of being alive, Black and gay while navigating life, ambitions and family.
The story begins with these two but then traces back to the fathers of these men, and their forefathers, in doing so examines a lineage of brokenness, unavailability and abuse.
Who is man and how much of what he is, is a result of what has become and was undone before him?
Okechukwu uses recurrence to emphasise the cyclical nature of life in this novel while exploring Igbo mythology and concepts of life, death and rebirth.
The characters are struck by a tragedy almost a halfway into the book which forces the reader and the characters to participate in the exposition of love and life lost and intimacy unfulfilled. These complexities are compounded by grief and the cruelty of loss as we watch these characters attempt to make sense of iniquity of tragedy.
We sat with Okechukwu to discuss his hauntingly beautiful trans-generational novel on fathers, sons, love and grief.
There Are No Gays In Montana
Coming out can be hard, especially in rural America. There Are No Gays In Montana is...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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In this enthralling debut collection of short stories by Arinze Ifeakandu, we explore stories of queer intimacy brim with simmering secrecy, ecstasy, loneliness and love in their depictions of what it means to be gay in contemporary Nigeria.
God's Children Are Little Broken Things won the 2023 Dylan Thomas Prize, as well as the inaugural Republic of Consciousness Prize. It has also been shortlisted for other literary awards.
Ifeakandu creates an emotive world. in this world, we see a man revisits the university campus where he lost his first love, aware now of what he couldn't understand then. we experience a daughter returns home to Lagos after the death of her father, where she must face her past - and future - relationship with his longtime partner. A young musician rises to fame at the risk of losing himself, and the man who loves him.
In this episode, we explore familial conflict, we talk about the ownership of grief, the weight of secrecy and the sweetness of love.
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In this intriguing debut by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụwe are introduced to two young girls Ozoemena and Treasure, whose coming of age takes place in a boarding school in Nigeria. Their meeting is set against the backdrop of familial loss and tragedy.
We watch them try to navigate the realities of coming of age and into themselves in a society that doesn’t always give them space to do that.
Treasure has experienced the violence of patriarchy and the institutions which support it and has to make difficult decisions when approached by a dark spirit.
Ozoemena has to contend with a different spiritual identity when her uncle dies.
In this novel, filled with Igbo mythology and fascinating metaphysical occurrences, African oral histories are brought to the forefront.
We sat with Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ as we explored what it means to write a genre bending coming of age novel as a debut.
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This book begins with a curse put on the house of Zulu and her family, the Mhlongos, by Nandi Mhlongo, mother of Shaka ka Senzangakhona for the disrespect she endured from them.Weaving through the lives of three women living in different historical ages who in their own ways attempt to get restitution for Nandi.
Through the eyes of three female protagonists, each who experiences a different loss and heartbreak, Dr Mazibuko-Msimang explores African spirituality, disappointment and familial relationships.
This novel is an ode to the power of historical fiction, well-researched with a focus on some of the most important historical periods in South Africa. From the Frontier wars, Apartheid and Fees Must Fall, each of the protagonists reveal a powerful, feminist centred gaze.
Dr Mazibuko-Msimang sat down with us to discuss her debut novel. In this eye opening conversation, we discussed the themes of generational trauma, cellular memory, restorative justice and how those with no institutional power get justice.
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In this beautiful memoir, Safiya Sinclair writes about her childhood and adolescence in Jamaica with parents in the Rastafari faith. In an act of personal excavation, she brings forth the hidden histories of a people pushed to the margins by colonisation, oppression, and religious intolerance, all exacerbated by patriarchy.
Raised in difficult socio-economic conditions by a father who increasingly becomes more militant in his practice of Rastafari, Safiya and her siblings find refuge in her mother’s creativity and love for literature.
We are drawn to the discovery of Safiya as a scholar and poet while navigating her intimate relationship with her family, the first site of turmoil and conflict between the author and the people she loves. Truthful but graceful, we embark on the journey to humanise her parents in the face of the difficult upbringing that she has.
The beauty of Safiya’s writing is the tenderness with which she handles the contradictions of an upbringing that cuts its children’s joys and ambitions small but also finds love and joy in many of these moments.
All of this take place with the ever foreboding threat of Babylon, encroaching in their personal lives and their relationship with the outside world. We are struck by the ways in which even the most vehement opposers of Babylon, accede to its rules in the world of work and life – a metaphor for the ways in which people survive.
National Book Critics Circle Award Winner
A New York Times Notable Book
A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
A Best Book of 2023 by the New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, Vulture, Shelf Awareness, Goodreads, Esquire, The Atlantic, NPR, and Barack Obama
The 2024 OCM BOCAS PRIZE non-fiction winner
Shortlisted for the non-fiction prize for the women's prize.
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In My Life as a Chameleon, Diana Anyakwo explores the themes of identity, family and memory with a tender hand. Centred around the experiences of Lily, a teenager of mixed race background growing up in Nigeria and England.
Lily’s experience is further complicated by her birth order as the youngest of four children with a significant age difference between her and the others. Interestingly, the novel is written in a diary like format flitting between different time periods with no strict adherence to chronology.
We watch Lily experience bereavement and the subsequent pain of grief as young child whose experience is often dismissed. Prior to this loss, Lily experiences the confusion of a loved one’s mental illness and her family’s inability to confront or adequately acknowledge the fissures and chasms that this causes.
We sat down in this delightful conversation with Diana to discuss what it means to write characters who navigate complex social contexts and identities while grieving a past unknown and an uncertain future.
My Life as a Chameleon has been longlisted for the Jhalak Children's and Young Adult Prize 2024 and shortlisted for the KMPG Ireland Children's Books Ireland Awards
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"1. Unwelcome Reunion Unwelcome Reunion
When I was twenty-eight, my stepmother Anabel came to New York on vacation. She was living, at the time, in Pakistan, where she worked for a UN agency. At a restaurant a few blocks from my Chinatown apartment, we ate noodle soup and drank red wine. That night, Anabel told me my father did not die of cancer as I believed. He died, she claimed, of AIDS."
Aftershocks are smaller earthquakes that occur in the same general area during the days to years following a larger event or "mainshock."
In her memoir of the same title, Nadia Ouwusu explores what it means to be a nomad, a childhood characterised by loss and distance. We travel with Nadia in a life characterised by contrasts, having no mother and two mothers, having strong roots and none at the same time.
Thematically inspired by the activity an earthquake, Owusu weaves between different chronological events culminating in a week long reckoning with self and history at age 28.
In a powerfully tender conversation, Owusu sat with us to discuss her memoir. A reflection on belonging, grief and reckoning.
Filled with honesty, grace and the joy of recollection, this was one of our favourite conversations this year.
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"And in breaking news, convicted serial killer and rapist, Napoleon Dingiswayo, escaped from Pretoria’s C-Max Prison at twelve-fifteen this afternoon, along with serial rapist and armed robber Andries Mathe, and heist kingpin Sifiso Khumalo.’ The voice of the newsreader rings crisp and cool while announcing the earth-shattering news."Angela Makholwa is one of South Africa’s more eminent crime writers. In Red Ink, we were introduced to the characters of Lucy Khambule and Napoleon Dingiswayo and left on the edge as we wondered what happened next. In her latest novel, Makholwa revisits the chapters we thought were long closed. The book opens with Napoleon’s escape from prison and Lucy’s subsequent terror begins. We sat down with Makholwa to discuss what it means to write crime fiction in South Africa, Lucy Khambule and how our preoccupations drive us towards the truth. We laughed, we introspected and walked away with a newfound appreciation for the art of crime fiction writing.Support the Show.
In this refreshing tale about Black love and the self-discovery, we are introduced to Zola, a young woman in her 20’s thrashing out what it means to reckon with disappointment. We meet her as a new arrival in South Africa, following an extended stint in Germany which ultimately falls apart. In the face of the disappointment of a dream shattered, she also has to navigate family politics and a complicated love life.This is when Mbali enters the story, a gorgeous man from the right side of town who is irresistible on paper but is deeply flawed and complex as most people are. The ensuing chaos between these two with a third unlikely character as Okuhle, who is her boss.The Cheeky Natives sat down with Zibu to discuss the nuanced nature of Black lives, the disappointments of dreams deferred and the search for one’s self in the face of complicated romantic and familial relationships.Zibu who is is no stranger to writing romance offered us the unique perspective of writing on Black love, life on the periphery and the navigations of class and education, especially between the haves and the have nots. More importantly, she asks important questions around the act of choosing yourself and your dreams even at great cost.Support the Show.
“In Violet’s bedroom, most of the furniture had been moved, except for the bed whose mattress lay on the floor and carried the weight of an unconscious Violet. The wardrobe had been moved to the corner of the room and the table that had been near the window moved to the sitting room. There was a small mound where the table had occupied space, a small grave where Violet’s baby would be laid to rest. Uncle Sontaga had dug the grave with the help of Andzani and Neo. He had used his leg to determine its depth, and when it got to his knee, he’d resolved it was deep enough.” A Soft Landing is a novel that explores the implications of a past not decisively dealt with. Wisani’s characters live lives that are mired in the questions and complexities that characterise Black life. A Soft Landing is more than a coming-of-age tale; it is a poignant study of grief in its myriad of guises. Every one of the central characters in this novel has a precarious relationship to loss. This is an examination on the weight of grief, past and present in all its manifestations. In this episode, we chat to Wisani Mushwana about his debut. We traverse topics such as homosexuality being unAfrican, weaponising shame, the cost of a human life, mental health, the implications of not dealing with trauma. We also delve into tender moments in the book, which include love, healing and hope.
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“He stared back at her, unconcerned. She had always marvelled at his calm assurance that everything good in his life would either remain the same or get better. He took good fortune for granted. As though it were impossible that it would abide only for a spell. She had never been able to shake the sense that life was war, a series of battles with the occasional spell of good things.” - Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀A dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession and political corruption.We sat down with Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ discuss her latest book A Spell of Good Things, which has been longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize.Support the Show.
Set over the course of one weekend, Christopher introduces us to Vuyo, one of a long lineage of headstrong January women. Vuyo, pregnant with twins is mourning the death of her Scottish-born husband and has come home to her family home in the rural Eastern Cape.
Paying homage to matrilineal lineage, the January women take centre stage in this book. Written from each of their perspectives, Christopher offers a look at the interior lives of these Black women, their tragedies, relationships, and histories. Tenderly and with a clarity that can only be described as masterful, Siyotula explores what it means to be each of these women.
Healing and reconciliation, and the transformative power of nature are explored in this novel. Aided by the vivid, visual representations of the lush Eastern Cape, water is central theme in this book. The power of water and by extension, nature is a prominent feature of Siyotula’s writing.
Interestingly, Siyotula’s characters are complex and deeply layered. Representative of the deeply labyrinthine nature of family, each of these characters are a reminder that home is indeed the first site of the political.
With unconventional male characters, Siyotula reimagines what equality in relationships may look like, particularly for women whose lives and experiences have always been devalued.
The Cheeky Natives sat down with Nozuku Siyotula to discuss this beautiful novel.
"With her first full-length poetry collection, Warsan Shire introduces us to a young girl, who, in the absence of a nurturing guide, makes her own way toward womanhood. Drawing from her own life, as well as pop culture and news headlines, Shire finds vivid, unique details in the experiences of refugees and immigrants, mothers and daughters, Black women and teenage girls. In Shire’s hands, lives spring into fullness." The Cheeky Natives sat down with Warsan Shire following the release of her much anticipated poetry collection.In a far ranging conversation spanning the both themes of the book and the context in which they exist, this complex and layered life was laid out. These poems are a record of black womanhood, a journey often characterised by a prevailing state of precarity and difficulty.Despite this, Warsan also captures the joy and magic in the essence of our journey into becoming. Warsan’s writing is masterful, each poem so vividly and tenderly written that it unfurls as you read it. For fans of Warsan, (s/o to Tumblr), this collections feels like a meeting of old friends, an encounter where one sees just how much they have changed and grown. In many ways, this book is effulgent. A writing against the abyss of trauma, harm and erasure.
According to the NYT, The Prophets’ is an exploration of Black Love and Memory in a Time of Trauma. What an apt description of this powerful debut by Robert Jones Jr.
In a novel moving across time and space, we are introduced to Samuel and Isaiah, who are two enslaved young men on a plantation named Empty. Despite a betrayal by another one of the enslaved men, their love burns brightly.
Moving back in time, we are introduced to the Kosongo people and meet Kosii and Elewa who are spiritual predecessors to Samuel and Isaiah.
There are a multitude of other characters who we meet in this traversing of time and place, Amos, Ruth, Paul and Tim.
The Cheeky Natives sat down with Robert Jones Jr to discuss this radical book of queer love that moves in courage and history.
Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng aka Dr T, is a globally renowned doctor and human rights defender and a bestselling author of “Dr T: A Guide to Sexual Health and Pleasure”. Born in Qwaqwa in the Free State, she credits her success to the guidance and nurturing that her mother continues to give her.
Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng is an advocate for sexual and reproductive health rights (including adolescent health, transgender affirming health, abortions) with experience in legislative reform, policy, healthcare provision, and health communication.
Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng was recently named one of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Goalkeepers Advisory group.
The Cheeky Natives sat in conversation with Dr T to talk about her book, its genesis, her work as a medical doctor and her role as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health. The conversation touched on the way Dr T approaches her advocacy and activism. It was a delightful conversation with an important figure in our global imagination
“See, if you act like your uniqueness is a great thing and you couldn’t care less about their opinion, they eventually give up. And that feels so good that you do it again and again until you truly believe it.”
An Ordinary Wonder is a coming of age story about Oto — the main protagonist. Oto is a twin, who is born intersex and socialised as a boy and who experiences hardship in the family home because of her desire to live as a girl
The book is filled with rich imagery, art, proverbs and folk tales. The writing is stunning, often lyrically.
Oto leaves for boarding school with one plan: excel and escape his cruel home. Falling in love with his roommate was certainly not on the agenda, but fear and shame force him to hide his love and true self.
Back home, weighed down by the expectations of their wealthy and powerful family, the love of Oto's twin sister wavers and, as their world begins to crumble around them, Oto must make drastic choices that will alter the family's lives for ever.
The Cheeky Natives sat down with Buki Papillion to speak about this debut. The conversation is heart-rending. We speak about a debut that will steal your heart
Carice Anderson author of Intelligence isn’t enough is a professional development manager and coach with over 17 years’ experience at top companies.
Having noticed that Black professionals are often the ones who struggle the most with the transition to corporate life and as a result become frustrated and demotivated very early on in their professional lives.
Anderson looks both forward and to the past as she addresses cultural differences and legacies that often burden first generation black professionals.
Anderson set out to write a guide looking at the domains which one needs to flourish in any corporate setting. These are IQ, Mental Attitude, People Matters, Cultural Intelligence, Personal Branding and Communication. The book masterfully sets to uncover why each of these are so pivotal for professional success in the corporate world.
Anderson addresses the questions of excelling in challenging job assignments and experiences which shape your learning in the work environment. She looks at maximising relationships and experiences in the working environment.
She presents the case for developing yourself not only as a career professional in your chosen field but also for working on yourself as a brand.
She presents the case for developing yourself not only as a career professional in your chosen field but also for working on yourself as a brand.
She asks readers to examine how they spend their time and the time spent is setting them up for greatness.
Cognisant on the many factors that are out of our control in the workplace, Anderson implores the reader to focus on what is in their control as an empowering way to shape your experience.
In this conversation Anderson sat down with the Cheeky Natives to look at just why Intelligence isn’t enough and what you can do about it.
“Elikem married me in absentia; he did not come to our wedding."is how Peace Adzo Medie introduces us to Afi and Elikem in her acclaimed debut His Only Wife.
A Reese Witherspoon and Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick. This book os also a New York Notable Book of the year. E
Based in Ghana, the story is centred on the life of Afi Tekple, a young seamstress. We meet her having been convinced by her family to marry a man she does not know. She knows of him since he is a wealthy businessman whose mother has chosen her as a way to end his ill relationship with a woman his family deems unsuitable.
Afi is an intelligent and tenacious young woman and despite all of these qualities still feels that she has to endure a difficult and unhappy marriage in order to ‘secure the bag’
In this deceptively simple novel, Medie challenges us to explore the difficulties of modern life for a young woman traversing social and financial inequalities, patriarchal norms and the innate desire for companionship.
Peace Adzo Medie sat with us in this delightful conversation exploring Ati’s world and all those who live in it.
Meet the Mafus, a close-knit, traditional family with three daughters. As leaders of their church, The Kingdom of God, Pastor Abraham and his wife Phumla are guiding the community of Bulawayo in faith, while trying to keep the different branches of their family intact.’
Although, the podcast was recorded a year ago, we are cheekily release it now because the paperback edition of A Family Affair is out.
In this conversation, Sue Nyathi explores the journeys of family. What does is it mean to be family in a time of tumultuous changes, challenges and complications.
We explore the different personalities of the members of this family, Xoliswa in all her feistiness, Zandile and her marital bliss always complicated by Yandisa who considered is the ‘black sheep’ of the family.
There are interesting, painful and heartbreaking moments as we explore what happens to women when life happens.
So much of the conversation is centred around what it means to hold space for family when you don’t approve of each other’s choices.
Sue challenges the reader as we navigate the difficult themes of grief, loss and Gender-Based Violence. We spoke to these themes and more.
This was a powerful conversation between the Cheeky Natives and Sue Nyathi.
“This is not a story for the romanticisation of pain and perseverance, although it tells of overcoming many difficulties. It is a critique of secret violence in faith communities and families, and the hypocrisy that has damaged so many people still looking for a place and way to voice their trauma. This is a critique of the value placed on ritual and culture at the expense of human life and well-being, and the far-reaching consequences of systems of oppression dressed up as tradition.”
Jamil F. Khan is a critical diversity scholar, columnist and author. They are currently enrolled for a PhD in Critical Diversity Studies at the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies. Their work explores multiple axes of difference including race, gender, sexuality and class. As a columnist, their analysis of socio-political events shaping the South African landscape pulls no punches in speaking truth to power. Their published work includes a socio-political memoir, Khamr: The Makings of a Waterslams – winner of best biography at the 2021 Humanities and Social Sciences Awards, book chapters in Intersections of ageing, gender and sexualities (Polity Press, 2019), They Called Me Queer (Kwela, 2019) and Touch (Kwela, 2021) and scholarly articles on the subject of queer ageing in academic journals Sexualities and Agenda.
In their memoir which details their experiences from childhood to early adulthood, Khan writes with tenderness and vulnerability, the complicated realities of living in a so-called middle-class Coloured home in the Northern suburbs of Cape Town.
The detail of these memories is both jarring and reassuring as we watch Khan and examine the intersections of race, Islam and homophobia while they works through self discovery.
There is a deep examination of generational trauma and what pain is left as an inheritance in an environment of abuse and trauma.
Extending grace while holding their loved ones accountable is a theme which runs throughout the book and both challenges and comforts the reader in their own confrontation of the traumas of racism and homophobia.
In this episode, The Cheeky Natives sat with the talented Jamil F Khan to discuss what it means to memorialise your self and journey in memoir.
Lerato never wanted to join her sister's stupid social club. All those pretentious people spending hours showing off their wealth. To what end? What was the point of it all? She'd been disappointed that her husband had fallen for Solomzi's charms and finally acceded to the invitation to join the group."
In her latest novel chronicling the lives of four couples, Makholwa reveals the price of ‘perfect’. In a social media world obsessed with love lives here and Black love, Makholwa challenges readers to look beyond the veneer.
These very successful women who form the backbone of this story are each battling their own demons in their marriages and even work life.
The discovery of the body of unidentified woman in the beginning of the book is the source of much mystery and tension.
Exploring the themes of financial crisis, toxic relationships, religion and sexual frustration, critical but. stable is a feat.
Makholwa calls on us to rethink what capitalism means for Black love and existence.
‘Everybody lives in a cage. Whether they know it or not is the question. I think that knowing that you in live in a cage is what ultimately sets you free, But even if you don’t know that you live in a cage, you know that there must be more to life than this.’ – Terry-Ann Adams
Women are often not the protagonists of their own stories. Terry- Ann Adams in her debut novel reputes this, Those Who Live in Cages captures the interior lives of five women in Eldorado Park, a Coloured township in the South of Johannesburg.
It is through Bertha, Kaylynn Laverne, Janice and Raquel that we experience the everyday life of Eldos and surviving in ‘the Park’. Their lives enables us go think through living as a Black women in this country.
The book does not shy away from difficult issues that plague these women, such as alcoholism, domestic violence, gender-based violence, teen pregnancy. Through all this, these women try to exercise some agency.
The book also has soft moments in the familial context, in the friendship and in many ways how these women find themselves in the world that was not created to benefit them.
We sat with Terry-Adams to reflect on the inspiration between the novel and to reflect more deeply on the issues that are excavated in the story. This debut is a poignantly beautiful offering that adds to the canon about an often forgotten community.
‘My book was inspired by my multicultural background - Zambian, Nigerian, Jamaican and British. I wrote it at a time when I was processing the loss of both sets of grandparents, whom I had visited in Nigeria and in my Zambian village, Chinsali.’ Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda
In a search for identity, love and acceptance two ordinary girls travel from London to Lusaka to Lagos in order to save their family and discover their identity.
Maggie Ayomide and Bupe Kombe are cousins on either side of the world who couldn't be more different. Zambian-Nigerian and Zambian-Jamaican, both yearn for their disbanded family to reunite.
The Cheeky Natives sat in conversation with Natasha to mediate on No Bia from Hia. We spoke about Migration, mother and daughter relationship, the sisterhood, men who harm and hurt and a meditation on loss and grief.
“The only difference between lying and acting was whether your audience was in on it, but it was all a performance just the same.”
Born and raised in Southern California, Brit Bennett graduated from Stanford University and later earned her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan, where she won a Hopwood Award in Graduate Short Fiction. In 2014, she received the Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers. She is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, and her debut novel The Mothers was a New York Times bestseller. Her second novel The Vanishing Half was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Her essays have been featured in The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, and Jezebel.
The Mother’s was a best selling debut and her sophomore release was named one of the best books of 2020.
The Cheeky Natives sat down to discuss The Vanishing Half with her. A book exploring the lives of two identical sisters, Desiree and Stella Vignes. This book is a multi generational exploration of the wide ranging impacts of the choices people make in difficult circumstances.
In a beautifully written page turner, Bennett asks the reader to imagine what difficulties lie at the intersection of grief, family and race. Bennett is a tour de force.
“It was a cool evening in late summer when Wallace, his father dead for several weeks, decided that he would meet his friends at the pier after all.” – Brandon Taylor
“Jesse’s alarm went off at seven, but he’d barely slept. He was excited, if nervous; he’d been scared of London all his life but he was a man now and after a few months saving up, he was ready to do it. He’d found a hostel on the Internet, in Earl’s Court, for twelve pounds a night. He had three hundred pounds in his bank account and no responsibilities to anyone; he packed only what he absolutely needed – his best clothes, some under- wear, ten or so CDs, his Discman, the James Baldwin novel Another Country. He left his key and bible on his pillow” - Paul Mendez
Shortlisted for 2020 Booker Prize, Real Life is Brandon Taylor’s debut. It explores the life of Wallace, a Black queer PhD student in a white institution. The novel takes place over a weekend. Hauntingly intimate, it puts a spotlight on violence - physically, emotional and structurally. In doing so, it enables us to question (toxic) masculinity.
Rainbow Milk is an intersectional coming-of-age story, following nineteen-year-old Jesse McCarthy as he grapples with his racial and sexual identities against the backdrop of a Jehovah's Witness upbringing and the legacies of the Windrush generation. It allows us to imagine what freedom may look like for Black queer people.
This episode is in search of tenderness for Black queer people. In this conversation, the writers speak about the place of location in their novels, how location is used as a literary device – a break from a past. It touches on the shame that is often experienced by Black queer people and how it influences the way that they date. The writers also touches on the pervasiveness of religion and how it adds to the self-loathing.
In many ways, this episode is a gathering of Black queer people around the world holding space for each other to live more fuller. It is a conversation that pulls at the heart strings.
"The Fatuous State of Severity - a mouthful for most - was a state of mind I had learned to occupy while recuperating from a depressive episode at a psychiatric clinic.” - Phumlani Pikoli
The Fatuous State of Severity is a debut collection of short stories written by Pikoli while he was recovering from depression in a psychiatric clinic. The book has stories about mental health and its effect on our lives, both directly and indirectly. The stories also explore themes surrounding the experiences of a generation of young, urban South Africans coping with the tensions of social media, language insecurities and relationships of various kinds.
Intense and provocative, this new edition of the book, which was first self-published in 2016, features six additional stories as well as an introductory essay on Phumlani Pikoli’s publishing journey.
This episode happened at the beginning of the year where Phumlani had his first exhibition at the Tomorrow Gallery. In the episode, we speak about mental health, social media, male intimacy in a familial context, relationship and suicide ideations. We also spoke about the exhibition and how it came to life and what conversations it will generate. We also touch on writers that inspire Pikoli.
Even as a young child, Angela Makholwa wanted to be a storyteller. Her first story was published at 13 and from then on a lifetime relationship with words was established. After graduating with a journalism degree, Angela worked as a journalist prior to establishing her own PR and events management company.
She has written several novels including Red Ink, 30th Candle and Black Widow Society.
Her most recent novel “The Blessed Girl “ published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury, was shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print (CWIP) prize.
She spoke to The Cheeky Natives about her literary journey and influences and what it’s meant to write about the interior lives of Black womxn.
Angela is working on her fifth title “Critical but stable” and shared a few exciting tidbits from this story.
Even as a young child, Angela Makholwa wanted to be a storyteller. Her first story was published at 13 and from then on a lifetime relationship with words was established. After graduating with a journalism degree, Angela worked as a journalist prior to establishing her own PR and events management company.
She has written several novels including Red Ink, 30th Candle and Black Widow Society.
Her most recent novel “The Blessed Girl “ published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury, was shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print (CWIP) prize.
She spoke to The Cheeky Natives about her literary journey and influences and what it’s meant to write about the interior lives of Black womxn.
Angela is working on her fifth title “Critical but stable” and shared a few exciting tidbits from this story.
Abi Daré grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and has lived in the UK for eighteen years. She studied law at the University of Wolverhampton and has an M.Sc. in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University as well as an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck University of London. The Girl with the Louding Voice won The Bath Novel Award for unpublished manuscripts in 2018 and was also selected as a finalist in 2018 The Literary Consultancy Pen Factor competition. Abi lives in Essex with her husband and two daughters, who inspired her to write her debut novel.
In this special episode that took place on Instagram Live, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele spoke to Abi about her debut novel thinking about patriarchy, class politics, child marriage and the hardship of Black womxnhood.
Abi Daré grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and has lived in the UK for eighteen years. She studied law at the University of Wolverhampton and has an M.Sc. in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University as well as an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck University of London. The Girl with the Louding Voice won The Bath Novel Award for unpublished manuscripts in 2018 and was also selected as a finalist in 2018 The Literary Consultancy Pen Factor competition. Abi lives in Essex with her husband and two daughters, who inspired her to write her debut novel.
In this special episode that took place on Instagram Live, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele spoke to Abi about her debut novel thinking about patriarchy, class politics, child marriage and the hardship of Black womxnhood.
At the Open Book Festival, held in Cape Town in 2019, The Cheeky Natives sat down with Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah to discuss his debut collection of short stories, Friday Black. This New York Times’ Best seller explores the violence, injustice, and painful absurdities of life in the US.
These stories tackle urgent instances of racism and cultural unrest, and explore the many ways we fight for humanity in an unforgiving world. In “The Finkelstein Five,” Adjei-Brenyah gives us an unforgettable reckoning of the brutal prejudice of our justice system. In “Zimmer Land,” we see a far-too-easy-to-believe imagining of racism as sport. And “Friday Black” and “How to Sell a Jacket as Told by Ice King” show the horrors of consumerism and the toll it takes on us all.
The stories in this debut collection won him a spot on the National Book Foundation's 5 under 35 List this year.
In this conversation with The Cheeky Natives, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah sat down to unpack the every day realities of race, writing and teaching.
We delved deeper into the exploration of these stories that bring to the fore our darkest but also most true realities without the cover of euphemism.
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah looks our collective soul in the face of race, violence and massive disparities in wealth.
This is an even more timely conversation in the setting of a global pandemic.
Nana is a writer for our times with his finger on the pulse but his writing always looking forward.
Yellow And Confused released in 2019 is the latest offering from cookbook author, blogger and storyteller Ming-Cheau Lin.
Yellow and Confused is a memoir that looks into her life as a third culture immigrant in South Africa. In 2018, she released a cook book, Just Add Rice, a book focused on Taiwanese food interspersed with stories from her childhood and growing up. In many ways, she continues this conversation started in the cook book in her memoir.
Ming-Cheau Lin’s family emigrated to South Africa from Tainan, Taiwan when she was just three years old and stayed in Bloemfontein with a small East Asian community. Seen as an outsider, she struggled to understand her identity as a minority and immigrant and faced harsh realities of being ‘yellow’ in the western world in addition to the legacy of South Africa’s history.
After assimilating to the surrounding society, she is deemed ‘not Asian enough’ when she is unable to conform to the rules of first-generation Asian elders, yet too Asian for everyone else. Taiwanese or South African, teenager or rebel, creative or disappointment.. she shares her story and journeys to uncover the reasons why yellow people are treated the way they are in a space that doesn’t recognise them as part of the population.
Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane sat down with Ming in a deeply moving conversation about this memoir. The conversation spoke about Ming’s upbringing, her experiences of racism. In the conversation, we explored the idea of a 'model minority' and how that negatively impacts East Asians child and scars them into their adulthood. We spoke about sisterhood and how feminism has shaped her life. Some parts were hard to revisit such as sexual harassment and sexism.
We ended the conversation on a happier talking about her marriage and the addition of their lovely child. This conversation is one that holds both trauma and healing side by side.
You can follow ming on social media
Twitter: @mingcheau Instagram: @mingcheau Facebook: Ming-cheau Lin
Morgan Parker is American poet, novelist, and editor and the author of the poetry collections Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night (2015), There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce (2017), and Magical Negro (2019), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award poetry prize. Alongside poet Angel Nafis, she runs The Other Black Girl Collective, an internationally touring Black Feminist poetry duo.
She sat down with The Cheeky Natives in an extensive conversation to discuss her poetry collection Magical Negro. The conversation took place during the Open Book Festival in Cape Town, in Parker’s first visit to South Africa.
In what may only be described as a sermon, lecture and a hallelujah moment, Parker took us to church while reading from this collection. The New York Times describes this collection as, “a work that explores the gap between black experience and the white imagination’s version of it”. What an apt description, if only lacking in a description of the vividness and clarity with which Parker captures the chasm between the lived experience of Blackness and the mirage created by privilege.
The title is a popular reference to the trope of a Black character who appears to almost always assist a white character using strange, sometimes supernatural wisdom. However, what Parker does in using these characters to challenge white supremacy’s multiple violence against black womxnhood and its limited imagining of Blackness.
Straddling the contemporary and classic, in ways mirroring that of the Black experience, where one lives in multiple ages affected by the issues of their predecessors. In her poem “Now More Than Ever, “defining the title phrase as something whites say “to express their surprise / and disapproval of social or political conditions which, / to the Negro, are devastatingly usual.” In the age of diversity and inclusivity, Parker’s poem is an ode to the eye roll all black people have done at white liberal catchphrases such as this.
A recurring theme is the invisibility and hypervisibility of Black women, as with “Magical Negro #3: The Strong Black Woman,” whose title character is sexualised to the point that the speaker suggests assaulting her, then says, “She / won’t feel nothing.” A powerful commentary on the assault on the humanity of black women contained in statements like “The Strong Black Woman”
Morgan Parker is prodigious. This podcast may be the beginning of a powerful conversation about the work and words of Black people.
Written about the life and times of Maqoma, the Xhosa chief who was at the forefront of fighting British colonialism in the Eastern Cape during the nineteenth century. The story is told through the eyes of a young South African, Phila, who suffers from what he calls triple ‘N’ condition – neurasthenia, narcolepsy and cultural ne plus ultra. It is touted as an entrancing novel that marries imagination with history in a foray into the rapidly growing genre of historical fiction.
Phila, who returns from his architectural studies in Germany has to learn to rediscover home. This is done through Maqoma’s historical telling, as they both visit places of biographical relevance to both their lives. It is told in a sequence of interconnected events. As a book of historical literature, it flirts between the borders of fact and fiction, even rattles a historical cage or two.
This layered story traverses multiple locations and time periods, flitting from the Eastern Cape, Robben Island and contemporary South Africa. Using the voice of a people traditionally marginalised, it offers a historical perspective from those deeply affected by the Frontier Wars while battling with modern-day legacies stemming from this hosiery of subjugation.
Mputhumi Ntabeni has previously claimed not to be a writer in terms of a career, but his extensive work in writing The Broken River Tent is evidence to contrary.
Although difficult and flawed, the two characters easily generate empathy. Phila is well educated, sophisticated but emotionally immature while Maqoma comes from beyond the grave as the ancestor to bring historical perspective and wisdom.
Exploring themes of mental health, religion and estrangement. Mphuthumi is at his finest demonstrating why this book is a national award winner.
He sat down for a long-awaited conversation with Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele to discuss the book, the themes and all the characters. The conversation is filled with deep reflection of the importance of historical fiction.
Follow him on social media Twitter: @mphushntabeni Instagram: mphuthumi
“Today, she’d brought him daffodils to brighten the room. ‘Women can bring men flowers too, you know.’ She smiled, sensing his hesitation as she arranged them in an empty milk bottle. Already, the buds were opening and adding a bright splash of buttery yellow to his room. She placed them next to the neat stack of books and papers and then picked up the one that was marked: A Handbook for Students from Overseas. She studied what he’d underlined and smiled as she read aloud from the section on Habits and Customs. ‘It says here that when two people meet and they wish to save themselves from the embarrassment of silence, they usually talk about the weather. Did we talk about the weather when we first met?’” - Sarah Ladipo Manyika
Sarah Ladipo Manyika was raised in Nigeria and has lived in Kenya, France, and England. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and taught literature at San Francisco State University. Sarah currently serves on the boards of Hedgebrook and the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco.
Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane sat in conversation with Sarah to discuss her first novel In Dependence. The book has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. Man Booker winner Bernardine Evaristo describes this debut as ‘A beautiful and ambitious novel’. The novel spans over several decades starting in the early sixties, where we meet Tayo Ajayi in Nigeria on his way to England to study at Oxford University on a scholarship. While at Oxford he discovers a whole generation excited about a new and better world. He meets a number of young womxn but he is fascinated by Vanessa Richardson, a daughter of a former colonial officer. Their love story, which spans over four decades, is a bittersweet tale of many twists and turns, and the universal desire to fall truly, madly and deeply in love.
This debut novel is stunning. The storytelling sublime. The writing is ‘clean as bone’. The characters are written in a delicate and complex manner. Sarah tells the history and its nuances with skill and care.
This conversation explores the love story between Tayo and Vanessa, through the decades, across continents and with opposing forces. The love story allows us to reminisce about the music throughout the decades as well as the political conversations of that moment. In the conversation, we discuss interracial dating, race and the politics of geography. We talk to the complexities of contemporary Africa, patriarchy, feminism and culture. We speak about Sarah’s literary influences including the great Toni Morrison. We take a short pause to discuss her sophomore novel Like a Mule Bringing Ice-cream to the Sun’
This conversation, like the book, was delicious, rich and filled with lightbulb moments.
Follow Sarah on facebook: Sarah Ladipo Manyika
'While there are many feminist strands, which is to say different kinds of feminism, there are also many core principles. The commitment to actively oppose and end patriarchy is one. The recognition that patriarchy works like other systems of oppression, like racism and capitalism, to value some people and brutalise others is another area of agreement. Like other systems of oppression, it also requires the support of many members of the groups it oppresses.'― Pumla Dineo Gqola, Reflecting Rogue: Inside the Mind of a Feminist
Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola is currently the Dean of Research at the University of Fort Hare. Prof Gqola’s illustrious career spans full-time academic and research positions at several South African universities and other institutions, she started off as a junior lecturer and rose to the rank of senior lecturer at the University of Free State before she joined Human Science Research Council as a Chief Research Specialist. She then joined Meraka institute at the council for Scientific and industrial research.
As a gender activist, award-winning author and full professor, Pumla Dineo Gqola has written extensively for both local and international academic journals. She is the author of four books including the seminal work “Rape: A South African Nightmare”.
In an impromptu podcast recording, Prof Gqola sat down with the Cheeky Natives to discuss her work as a gender activist, scholar and black feminist. This episode was particularly moving as it was recorded in Cape Town in the week of Uyinene Mrwetyana’s harrowing assault and murder among that of numerous South African womxn and children. In a frank and powerful conversation, the Cheeky Natives and Prof Gqola sat down to discuss what it means to be a country in crisis, the racialised nature of violence and the nightmare in which South African womxn are trapped in.
In a wide-ranging discussion regarding her scholarship and impressive publication history, we explored what it means to be a renegade and pioneer and yet belong so deeply to one’s self. The politics of self-ownership for Black womxn who are feminist activists is an entire thesis.
Follow her on Twitter @feminist_rogue
African literature is changing’ - Brittle Paper
Brittle Paper is your go-to site for African writing and literary culture. Brittle Paper brings you all the latest news and juicy updates on publications, authors, events, prizes, and lifestyle. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@brittlepaper) and sign up for our "I love African Literature" newsletter.
Brittle Paper states that ‘the current generation of African readers are driven more by their tastes and passions than by allegiance to some abstract political idea. They are young, open, and unconventional in their interests. They are social media savvy and dependent on mobile technology for media consumption. This has led to the popularity of shorter writings—flash fiction, online story series, and digital imprints of mass-market novellas. The obsession with realist fiction that defined older generations has given way to an avid interest in speculative writing—fantasy, science fiction— but also in experimental narratives, pulp-fiction, and other offbeat genres.’
And as a result, Brittle Paper became a literary project designed to adapt African literary culture that is dynamic and adaptable.
Dr Ainehi Edoro-Glines is the founder and Editor of Brittle Paper, a leading online platform dedicated to African writing and literary culture. She is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she teaches and researches on African literature, political theory, and literature in social media. She was named by OkayAfrica as one of its top women in African literature 2018. While in the stunning Madison, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele connected with Dr Edoro-Glines and discussed her life goals of bringing African literature to the front and what it means to build our own platforms for critical engagement with African literature.
Of course, the discussion would’ve been incomplete without delving into “that” essay. Her current book project is titled “Forest Imaginaries: How African Novels Think.” She also writes essays and commentaries about contemporary African literary culture in mainstream publications such as The Guardian and Africa is a Country. Dr Edoro-Glines is profoundly influenced by the literary icon, Chinua Achebe. Her life goal has been to bring African literature to the forefront, and more specifically to bring a fresh perspective to the study of the late Nigerian novelist's work. Her article on Things Fall Apart is forthcoming in The Cambridge Journal of Postcolonial Literary Enquiry.
Follow Brittle Paper on Twitter and Instagram (@brittlepaper) and you can also visit their website www. brittlepaper.com
“Just two years shy of thirty, Patsy has nothing to show for it besides the flimsy brown envelope that she uses to shade herself from the white-hot glare of the sun. the envelope contains all her papers — from birth certificate to vaccination records. But most importantly, it carries her dream, a dream every Jamaican of a certain social ranking shares: boarding an airplane to America. For the destination, and for the ability to fly.” – Nicole Dennis-Benn
Patsy is a book that chronicles the life of the protagonist Patsy, who leaves Jamaica to chase the America dream. Her leaving for ‘green pastures’ means leaving her daughter behind. This shock is a wonderful plot device as it forces readers to examine their socialised understanding of motherhood and what ideal mothering looks like. Throughout the story, we were taken on a haunting journey that both answers and asks questions about those who make the pilgrimage for a better life and those who stay. This is an immigrant story but not for the western gaze.
In a true reflection of her prodigious talent, Nicole confronts difficult themes with grace and humanity asking the readers to push themselves beyond their ideas of what it takes to make a difficult decision.
In a poignant, thoughtful and exciting podcast, The Cheeky Natives sat with the brilliant Nicole Dennis-Benn to explore the themes of isolation, abandonment, immigration, the ‘American dream’, racism, homophobia and the challenges of being Black, alive and queer in any space.
In some parts, this conversation was an exploration of the weight it takes to be a difficult woman making selfish decisions and in many other parts, it was excavation on the intersection of race, sexuality, immigration and the weight of becoming.
Nicole Dennis-Benn is a brilliant writer giving voice and documenting the untold stories of the ‘undocumented’. In this conversation, The Cheeky Natives excavated her politics, writing and what it means to hold the weight of an entire community’s expectation.
Her previous debut was ‘Here comes the sun’ which was heralded as exploitation of racism, sexuality and other difficult themes. She continues to do the important work in her sophomore novel. Fresh off her second visit to Open Book Festival in Cape Town, The Cheeky Natives were thrilled to have this conversation before the launch of her latest work in Johannesburg.
A review in the New York Times affirms that “You’ll come to know Nicole Dennis-Benn’s characters as intimately as you would a lover. They are refined in their humanity and depth.”
“This is my story. This happened to me. Who he is, is irrelevant. He could be the boy next door, a street sweeper or your son – he could be anyone. I refuse to make this story about him or who he is. He is no different from any abusive man. His name is irrelevant. What he did though, is relevant. What he did to me – over and over again – is very relevant.” – Vanessa Govender
Beaten but not Broken by Vanessa Govender is a harrowing story. In recent weeks, we have seen the resurfacing of conversation about Gender-Based Violence following the deaths of a number of womxn, killed by men. Gender-Based Violence in South Africa is alarmingly high. It is reported that a womxn dies every 3 hours. In this memoir, Vanessa recounts her own experience. Vanessa writes: “This is South Africa. My story is one of hundreds of thousands of women, many of whom are silent and don’t have the courage to speak out because they are simply too afraid. I know their fear. I’ve known it, lived with it all these years, following me, hanging over my shoulders, filling my head.”
Vanessa Govender grew up in a conservative Indian community. This community ostracised Vanessa because she was dark-skinned. The colour of Vanessa’s skin meant that she was the victim of childhood bullying and often low self-esteem issues that followed her into her adult life.
Vanessa gives us a glimpse of the brutally that took place while she was in a relationship with a colleague in her years as a journalist. She recounts the beating, the sexual assaults and the rape that took place.
In this story, Vanessa brings to light that class and fame does not necessarily protect you from the brutality of intimate partner violence. The story retells the dark years of the violence and how often many people were complacent in assisting Vanessa.
The memoir allows tells a story of healing, of love and hope. We challenge Vanessa on the idea of nonracialism and ask her how it works in the world, where race has polarised almost every fabric of society.
This conversation was challenging and heart-breaking in many parts but also very necessary to bring to light the horror of Gender-Based Violence.
‘But I am done with deceit. Lies no longer hold any allure for me. Now I seek true words that will, somehow, begin to heal that which has broken.’ – Desiree – Anne Martin (@believe_deeply).
‘We Don't Talk About It. Ever' is Desiree-Anne Martin’s powerful, harrowing, and poignant portrayal of her journey from an addict to an author. Heart-breaking in some parts but also so inspiring, she takes us through this journey in an intimate and honest revelation of the road to destruction and the journey to redemption.
In a powerful but quiet way, Desiree-Anne shows just how the wounds of childhood translate into adult traumas.
But in a wonderful homage to the power of healing, Desiree-Anne’s journey is also one of hope.
She sat with The Cheeky Natives to discuss her book ‘We don’t talk about it. Ever’ And what it means to journey through the most hopeless of situations from substance abuse to toxic relationships. Desiree-Anne’s book is a triumphant journey.
‘With razor-sharp insight, Msimang writes in a reflective tone that contains both heartbreak and humour, as she navigates some often-overlooked complexities surrounding race, womanhood and class.’ – Cher Tan, Books and Publishing
Just some of the words that come to mind when thinking of Sisonke Msimang’s second book ‘The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela’
Written in response to her passing of Winnie Mandela, Sisonke’s book is haunting and inspiring.
In answering the question of redemption as it comes to iconic, powerful Black womxn, Sisonke is also asking the reader questions on our morality.
The book written in the second person contextualises Winnie Mandela’s life from before she was born to when she died. Sisonke skillfully and poetically converses with Winnie by reclaiming her and celebrating her. She writes about how Winnie encounter powerful womxn upon arriving in Joburg dispelling the myth that Winnie became political because of Nelson. She writes about the moment Winnie saw Nelson, their love - showing us that theirs was a deep, profound love.
Further, in the book, she writes about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and how Winnie was treated at this Commission, this allows us to question the true nature of the TRC and whether it was about truth. In the same breath, she holds Winnie to account by writing about the deaths of the 18 boys that Winnie may have been involved in. In this, she demands of us to hold Winnie to account for these deaths and to take some ownership in the passing of these boys. She writes about the mothers of these children and how they came head to head with Winnie demanding the truth.
In this book, Sisonke encourages us to use Winnie’s life to think about nation-building and Blackwomxnhood. It’s a powerful conversation about reclaiming our heroes.
‘But humility is a work of progress and there are times when I need to work on practising tolerance. Whenever individuals question my ‘genitals’ I am reminded of how blinkered and obsessed with labels we humans are. Whatever lies between my legs, whether I sit or stand when I pee, my genitals are what they are and they serve their purpose. Whatever the shape, size or name of them, and whether I have chosen to surgically align my body to my identity or not, I remain the man I have always been.’ - Landa Mabenge
In his memoir, ‘Becoming Him’, Landa Mabenge details his journey as the first transgender man to have his surgical transition paid for by his medical aid.
From childhood, Landa knew that how he looked on the outside was not aligned with how he felt on the inside. These feelings were particularly exacerbated in puberty. He recalls the confusion and trauma that came with all these changes and the inability to vocalise how he felt.
His childhood was not an easy one either. A childhood characterised by abandonment, separation, and constant, unending abuse meant that these changes were only exacerbated.
In a deeply personal account, Landa also takes us through his time at UCT, highlighting the toll on his mental health that the journey of self-discovery took. There is a powerful commentary on themes of abuse, self-discovery and uncomfortable change, both inside and outside.
This dynamic of change is highlighted in Landa’s relationship with his loved ones, in those who choose to support and those who do not. The question of what it means to have to reckon with toxicity from those closest to us is a painful topic that Landa explores with poise.
Landa’s story represents so many of the facets of what is good about the human experience. Tenacity, resilience and the courage it takes to become.
Groundbreaking. Poignant and inspirational.
“Whiteness seeks to remove us from its embrace because we threaten it. We place its position at the centre at risk when we dare to usurp it rather than simply remain constant in relation to it. Exerting my identity undermines the identity of whiteness. Yet exerting my identity calls into question my commitment to follow this feeling of emancipation from whiteness to its natural conclusion. It challenges whether or not I am willing to dismantle the system in which I exist to place myself in the centre at the expense of whiteness and the social leverage it has afforded me. This uncertainty of the coconut’s commitment begs the question: as a coconut, are you willing to slide down the snake to join those who have been excluded from the born-free ladder and assist them in the revolution, the chimurenga?’ - Rekgotsofetse Chikane
These words end the first chapter of Rekgotsofetse Chikane’s Breaking a Rainbow, Building a Nation: #The Politics behind #MustFallMovements
Rekgotsofetse Chikane found his passion in the field of youth development and politics since 2009. He is a University of Oxford graduate with a Master’s in Public Policy.
This book is a first-hand account of the university protests that gripped South Africa between 2015 and 2017, widely known as #FeesMustFall. In this book, Rekgotsofetse delves into what he calls the politics behind #MustFall movements. He explores – through a musical and biblical language –themes around fighting the perpetual sense of survival, challenging the score and setting of the stage for #RhodesMustFall, identities in the movements from Black radical thought to Black Radical Feminism and ends the book with the question “Should Coconuts be Trusted with the Revolution?”
In this podcast, we sat and dive deep into the work that Rekgotsofetse puts into the book. We speak about double consciousness, his relationship with his father, party politics, and who has the right to tell the story of #FeesMustFall. We also challenge him on certain framings in the book that could be read as further marginalising certain voices that uplifted the movement.
This conversation reminds us of the richness that comes from telling our own stories and creating our own narratives. As youth month ends, we thought to share with you some reflections on youth politics.
“But I’ve had time now to really think about the issue of racism, abuse, and discrimination against black professionals in the workplace, as a system, because that’s exactly what it is. A system. Designed to maintain the status quo, this system ensures that power imbalance remains unchanged.” – Sihle Bolani
Sihle Bolani invited us into her life in a deeply personal way. She tells a story about her time in corporate. Her book written in the first person, in a journal/diary-like way, a method she intentionally chooses. She delves into the challenges faced by her and what she believes many Black professionals in South Africa’s corporate environment experience as well.
Her book focuses on themes that include structural racism in organisations; the role executives play in sustaining discriminatory practices; pay discrimination; the emotional and psychological trauma suffered by Black professionals as a result of corporate abuse and the suppression of black talent, especially Black womxn.
In this podcast, we sat down with Sihle to speak about her book. We spoke about the method of writing the book, white womxn in corporate, bullying, constructive dismissal, racism, sexism. We spoke about the role of Black executives and their complicity in perpetuating inequality. Sihle also offers us her way forward, a call to action. We spoke about some elements of the call to action. She believes that these actions can go a long way to dismantle systems of oppression.
A deeply insightful, personal conversation filled with ‘aha’ moments. This episode continues conversations about racism, sexism and the workplace and how we can continue to fight to dismantle them.
‘Well-behaved women seldom make history.’
-@malebosephodi writes deeply on the way this quote by Laurel Thatcher has influenced her life and writing.
The Cheeky Natives sat down with the magical Malebo Sephodi, author of Miss Behave. Miss Behave is an award-winning text on a Black feminist journey to consciousness.
Graceful and so relatable, Miss Behave is in part a journal and a love letter to black womxn of all ages. Far too often, in the age of wokeness, there’s been almost an absence of acknowledgement of the stages of awakening that even our most woke favourites have gone through. Miss Behave is an excellent example of these different stages.
With sensitivity and awareness that only someone who's encountered the full depth of what Ntozake Shange describes as the metaphysical experience that is being a Black womxn, Malebo writes on the far-reaching themes of patriarchy, misogynoir and navigating relationships in the bodies Black womxn inhabit. This book has womxn, young and old snapping their fingers in formation at so many of the micro-aggressions detailed. There’s a gold mine of ‘aha’ moments in Miss Behave.
Miss Behave is so much more than just a book. It’s a movement, having generated powerful conversations everywhere in its wake following its release.
What was particularly striking about this book is the use of accessible language to explain academic concepts such as patriarchy and body shaming, proving that the academy doesn’t always have to be inaccessible.
In a live podcast, Malebo sat with the Cheeky Natives as we waxed lyrical on the themes of patriarchy, corporate racism and the difficulties of navigating this world in bodies such as ours. Fun, challenging and thought-provoking.
Happy 2019!!!!!!
The first live recording of The Cheeky Natives features Rosie Motene talking about her memoir ‘Reclaiming the Soil: A Black Girl's Struggle to Find Her African Self’. This book tells the story of a young girl born to the Bafokeng nation during the apartheid era in South Africa. At the time, Rosie's mother worked for a white Jewish family in Johannesburg who offered to raise her as their own. This generous gesture by the family created many opportunities for Rosie but also a trail of sacrifices for her parents. As she grew, Rosie struggled to find her true identity. She had access to the best of everything but as a black girl, she floundered without her own culture or language. This book describes Rosie's journey through her fog of alienation to the belated dawning of her self-discovery as an African.
In this episode, The Cheeky Natives alongside Rosie Motene tackle the important themes that emerge from her book. The conversation covers intricate dimensions of interracial adoption, her time on Generations, the notions of family, the pervasiveness of whiteness, the exceptionalism of blackness, erasure of Blackwomxnhood, domestic abuse, family feuds, mental health and starting over and reuniting with her Black family.
This conversation reminds us that Black lives are not monolithic. Rosie through this conversation reminds us that Black womxn have a face, a voice and a history. She reminds us of the importance of writing as healing and the power of womxn taking up positions to fight the scourge of Gender-Based Violence. An intense conversation interspersed by light-hearted moments that give us hope for a better tomorrow.
Follow us: @cheekynatives and follow Rosie @RosieMotene
“A collection of stories about nobodies who discover that they matter.” This is how Mohale Mashigo described her latest offering, Intruders, in one newspaper interview.
While this is true, Intruders is also an ode to the stories that coloured many of our childhoods, like the Veras we were all warned about as children late at night.
Mohale has rejected the label of Afrofuturism and aptly demonstrated why not only in these 12 brilliant short stories but also in the recording of this podcast. These stories are powerful with so much suspense created that even on social media there have been persistent calls for the standalone version of a few of them. (We see Y'all).
The short story as a gesture is often not applauded for the dexterity and technical skill that is actually required but throughout this book, we see an apt demonstration of this. There’s a resurgent interest in the art of the short story and the Intruders is one such example.
Following the incredible success of The Yearning, readers everywhere have been hounding Mohale for a second book, true to form. She didn’t disappoint. The Intruders is the sophomore book we deserved.
Brave, rooted both in the past and present and gives such a glimpse of the future, it is a commentary on the ills which plague society as it holds a mirror through the urban legends we’ve accumulated but seen through new eyes.
The Cheeky Natives sat down with Mohale Mashigo to discuss her latest book in a live podcast that is both serious and thought-provoking while equally humorous and joyful.
There was an air of nostalgia as Mohale took us back to our childhoods in ways we’d previously not thought of. This discussion was one for the ages.
“This time especially, she was absolutely right, down to the last word. It was still only beginning.”
These words end Qarnita Loxton’s sophomore novel Being Lily. We first encountered Lily in Qarnita’s debut novel Being Kari, which was longlisted for the 2018 9mobile Prize for Literature and shortlisted for the 2018 Herman Charles Bosman Prize. The second book is a sequel to the first book. This book focuses on the life of Lily. Dr. Lily De Angelo is a successful doctor who is going to get married to her fiancé, Owen. The novel invites us into Lily life which has many dimensions. In the book, we get to see Lily and the relationship she shares with her parents, one filled with many dynamics of love, care, and sometimes hatred and resentment. Lily’s life is also drastically changed with Owen’s gorgeous ex finds herself in the picture, with the ex comes the possibility of fatherhood. The ex and the child move in with Lily and Owen and this living dynamic soon causes havoc in the home and their relationship. The addition of Owen's ex introduces us to Lily’s closest friends including Kari, who comes back to celebrate her friend.
In this episode of the podcast, we spoke to Quarnita about her legal career and when and how her writing career began. We spoke about some of the underlying themes that animate form the book around relationships, family, womanhood, and friendships. We also spoke about the white story and how Black writers can authentically write about white people, but white people cannot do that for Black people.
This novel touches on important topics in a light heart, fun manner. In certain moments you will be frustrated with Lily and her attitude, but in other moments you will empathises with her and her friends. The characters felt familiar like those you could be having coffee with in your everyday life. It’s a story with equal amounts of humour and depth, exploring what it means to live, love and commit in changing times.
Quarnita: @Qled CheekyNatives: @cheeynatives
‘No one owns their stories and the telling of them like white male writers. They are given endless opportunities for it. They can write about anything. They can pen rants about white-men problems and white-men wealth. They can wax lyrical about cars and boats and spaceships. They can have reams and reams of motivational articles published about being ‘bosses’. Without, mind you, ever having to refer to sexual harassment, unequal opportunities, discrimination or unequal pay. But the cherry on the vanilla cake is that they also get to write about the soft, sensitive, soulful stuff. You know?’ – Haji Mohamed Dawjee
South Africa has been proliferated by conversation about race. We have heard the likes of Koleka Putuma tackle the issue of race through her spoken word and her debut collection of poetry Collective Amnesia.
The history of slavery, colonialism and apartheid has shaped the psyche of the nation of South Africa. In the early years of South Africa as a democracy, we were known as the Rainbow nation. Many have disputed this description and offered an account of the South Africa they have lived in. Haji Mohamed Dawjee adds to the choirs of voices in her collections of essays called ‘Sorry, not sorry: experiences of a brown woman in a white South Africa’. A timely book written by a brown womxn, speaking truth to power.
Haji was the first social media editor in a newsroom at the Mail & Guardian, where she went on to work as deputy digital editor and a disruptor of the peace through a weekly column. She recalls one of those articles that caused still waters to be unsettled in her book.
In this episode, we sat down with the gorgeous Haji to speak about her book. The conversation, held at our favourite bookstore ‘Bridgebook,’ was filled with a diverse audience who had travelled near and far to listen to Haji. Our conversation canvassed whiteness and literature and why she writes what she likes. Throughout the conversation we returned to one theme, which is interracial marriage, inquiring why she did not spend some time in her book sharing her thoughts about interracial dating and marriage, owing to the fact that she was married a white man and now is married to a white womxn. We spend some time talking about intersectional feminism and what it looks like for her. The conversation led us to talk about representation and the power of Serena Williams, who she greatly adores. We laughed a lot while revisiting her essay ‘Begging to be White’, this essay had some in stitches. We spoke about the value of whiteness and how costly and taxing it can become. The conversation covered so much more themes that emerged in her book. This conversation was challenging, necessary and ripe for the moment.
follow Haji on Twitter: @sage_of_absurd
“Although this, of course, was not strictly true: I so desired Maureen that at times I temporarily lost my mind, any sense of restraint. That I imagined, with a sudden swell of emotions and enlightenment, how desperately I craved Greek salad: cucumbers. Lettuce, onion rings and baby tomatoes, only dressed with her springs, her womanly eruptions resultant from our imagined carnal sieges.” – Nthikeng Mohlele, Micheal K: a novel
This month Nthikeng Mohlele will publish his sixth Novel llumination, which he describes as “…an exploration of the nature and pitfalls of an artistic life. The backbone of the narrative is essentially a love story, but also how the charges and passions inherent in art, particularly music, interface and become transformed when fused with passions and anxieties of a more personal and discreet kind”
Bearing this great milestone in mind, we are cheekily releasing this conversation, where Dr-Alma-Nalisha sat in conversation with the award-winning author. Nthikeng published his first book The Scent of Bliss in 2008 and he has also written other acclaimed novels including Pleasure, a novel that won various awards including the 2017 University of Johannesburg Prize for the K. Sello Duiker Memorial Prize.
His fifth novel, – Micheal K - is a response to JM Coetzee’s 1983 Man Booker prize winner Life and Times of Micheal K. The novel explores the weight of history and of conscience. Zakes Mda describes the writing in this book as “a work of reflective intensity, re-imagining character from JM Coetzee’s world of stark and sparse prose”.
During this enlightening conversation, Nthikeng described the writing process and the inspiration of the book, which would’ve intimidated a perhaps lesser writer. Further to this, he shared his thoughts about how pivotal it is for readers and writers to read their contemporary writers. He spoke about some of his favourite writers including the likes of Zukiswa Wanner, Yewende Omotoso, Sue Nyathi and Niq Mhlongo. He also blesses us with a list of 5 books to read which include the works of the late Professor Kgositsile.
Bold, brave and inspiring. This podcast is a master class in literature and re-imagining.
Twitter: @nthikengmohlele
“As I lifted my eyes, they landed on some deep chocolate eyes with long eyelashes right across me. Our eyes locked for a few seconds longer than normal. That was awkward, I thought and looked away.” – Pumza Shabangu
With the massive success of the fifty shades trilogy, there’s been a renewed interest in literary erotica. Of course, as The Cheeky Natives, we were particularly interested in literary erotica we could relate to outside of the vanilla world mentioned earlier.
This is where Pumza Shabangu’s novel ‘Unspoken truths’ is a welcomed breath of fresh air. This novel is centered around the lives of picture-perfect couple, Thando and Bongani, whose lives are changed by events no one could’ve foreseen. There is a narrative of love lost and gained but of far greater interest is the love lives of these characters. The sex scenes in this book are what some of your favourite erotica writers wish they could do. In this book, we can see that Black characters live multidimensional lives, with interesting and often complex love lives. In this novel, Pumza covers a variety of relationships, both heterosexual and queer with the depth and respect they require. She allows the reader to question some deeply held beliefs about love, sexuality and culture and the intersection of all this. Pumza explores relatively uncharted waters in black South African literary erotica and in writing this book.
At one of our possibly most fun events, packed to the rafters with lovers of the book and erotica, Pumza Shabangu sat down to go into depth about the themes of love, culture, relationships and of course sex.
Twitter: @cheekynatives :@Pumza_Shabangu
“I imagined a dying person’s last breath as something resembling an exclamation mark, distinct and hanging mid-air like an interrupted thought. My older sister Fikile’s last breath before she dies is nothing of the sort. There is no rattling noise at the back of her throat. No relentless twitching. No clinging to life. Fikile dies with no more fuss than a switch of a light bulb.” — Nozizwe Jele
Nozizwe Jele first caught our attention with her debut novel “Happiness is a four letter word” and the subsequent movie, which both garnered massive acclaim. This was followed by an eight-year hiatus where we patiently waited for more.
Nozizwe did not disappoint. In our first podcast for the year, The Cheeky Natives sat down to discuss her latest novel “The Ones with Purpose.” A novel dealing with heartbreaking themes of grief, illness, mortality, family, rape culture, patriarchy and the ways in which substance abuse has far reaching effects on families.
The novel begins with the death of the oldest daughter, Fikile from cancer and captures the journey her younger sister Anele must undergo as the family’s bona fide caretaker. Their youngest sibling Mbuso has long distanced himself from his family, a swift exit that only patriarchy would facilitate while the rest of the family has to deal with Fikile’s death and Ma’s previously messy past. There are many difficult questions posed by this book, questions of reconciliation and forgiveness.
Although the book is centred around the women in this book, Jele doesn’t exempt the men. From the philandering husband to the younger brother lost to his rage, there is something poignantly relatable to the storytelling in this book.
The Cheeky Natives sat down to discuss the themes of the book but also to have a broader conversation regarding the art of writing difficult themes and what it means to craft stories that sit with readers long after they’ve finished reading your book. In a conversation filled with many laughs, sadness but also as our beloved aunty Oprah would put it “lightbulb moments”.
Twitter: @cheekynatives Twitter: @JeleCynthia
“By unflinchingly depicting people in a township getting on with the everyday business of being themselves without the overarching gaze of whiteness, Yizo Yizo showcased that we were and are not as integrated as those Castle adverts had been leading us to believe. To say that Yizo Yizo is the greatest TV series of all time would sound hyperbolic to some, but what is certain is that in South Africa, the show provided a much-needed departure from the drib-drab, pedestrian television that had taken over in the ‘reconciliation’-fuelled 1990s. It served as a marquee for teaching audiences how entertaining self-reflection could be. A marquee that was later occupied by the likes of Gazlam, Tsha-Tsha, and, to a lesser extent, The Lab and Home Affairs." – Sihle Mthembu
Born to Kwaito is the first of its kind. This book is written by young Black South Africans reflecting on Kwaito as a uniquely South African created culture. The book is not only about the music, it is also about the people, the style that emerged and all the politics that it represents.
Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele and Letlhogonolo Mokgoorane sat down to have a conversation with the wonderful Sihle Mthembu as we discussed the debut collection of essays he and Esinako Ndabeni wrote using Kwaito as a lens for the exploration of such a powerful moment in South Africa.
The juxtaposition between the anthropological insights and musical history of some of the music that formed the soundtrack of young Black South Africans is a marvel.
There is a beautiful contrast between Sihle and Esinako’s views bringing to the fore a trans-generational view of a genre that shaped the musical lives of so many young Black South Africans.
The Cheeky Natives sat in a wonderful conversation with Sihle to discuss what it means for a ‘genre to die’. The conversation would be incomplete if we didn’t discuss the humanity and challenges of some of the genre’s biggest artist. As Esinako said at Abanu Book Festival: “I feel uncomfortable when we talk about the death of genres because how can we kill something that still exists? I have a Kwaito playlist on my phone.”
“Every morning Portia paraded down Pritchard Street to the offices where she worked on the corner of Market Street and Von Brandis Street. Even though her shoes squashed her corns and made her feet swell she bit down the pain and soldiered on. She practiced walking in her heels diligently in her apartment. Many times before she had fallen flat on her face leaving her son reeling with laughter. However, Portia was determined to master the art of walking in high heels like her work colleagues at Hulisani, Hirsch, Hlomani and Associates” - Sue Nyathi
Sue Nyathi was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and resides in Johannesburg. She is debut novel The Polygamist was self-published in 2012, which will be adapted into a film in 2019.
The year 2008 was an important for both Zimbabwe and South Africa. This year saw Zimbabwe in a crisis, the economic meltdown caused havoc in Zimbabwe. This led to a surge of moves from Zimbabwe to South Africa. The Gold Diggers, Sue’s second novel, explores the effect of the economic meltdown in Zimbabwe.
This meltdown introduces us to a group of people huddled in a taxi journeying into the city of Gold: Johannesburg. The book narrates the story of Portia, Dumisani, Chamunorwa, Chenai, Nkosi, a mother and her son and Gugulethu. These characters feel so similar that they become your friends and their lives become yours. This book skillfully tells the lives of this various people in a humane and respectful, it provides a powerful narrative about the effect of migration and starting over.
This episode commences with Sue reading from the book, then immediately we delve into various themes that emerge of the telling of the various people’s story. We talk about tribalism and later xenophobic in South Africa. Sue explains the process of writing the book and how it converged with her own move to South Africa. We discuss privilege and education and how these locations allow people to navigate the precarious Johannesburg. We also talk about the power of language in dehumanizing people and how patriarchy remains harmful.
“To imagine these women is to face their questions. They are difficult. They are painful. They are necessary. We cannot turn away even as we know in our hearts that we collectively fear facing these women because they will demand that their questions be answered. We know that their questions will release a torrent of granite boulders that will destroy the versions of us and the nation that we hold dear even when they harm us in ways untold. The force of their questions will surely crush the old certainties cast in Zimbabwe’s great house of stone. And then, what will become of us? Who will we be?” - Panashe Chigumadzi
Panashe Chigumadzi is a Zimbabwean born writer. She was raised in South Africa. Panashe is an award-winning author. Her debut novel Sweet Medicine, published by Blackbird Books in 2015, won the K Sello Duiker Memorial Literary Award. Her sophomore book, a long reflective essay, These Bones Will Rise Again recently won Best Author at the fifth Zimbabwe International Women’s Award.
These Bones Will Rise Again is a reflective long essay on the ‘coup that was not a coup’ in Zimbabwe. This reflection is done through the telling of history through the eyes of various womxn in her own family and the history of Zimbabwe. She writes about the history of chimurenga and the role of womxn in the liberation project in Zimbabwe. In this episode, we sat down with the prodigious Panashe pondering on her latest offering. The conversation was filled with musings on the erasure of Black womxn in history. We spoke about Mbuya Nehanda and the meaning of the ‘Big C AND small c’ chimurenga. The conversation led us to topics about the Big men in Zimbabwe, the role of music in Zimbabwe’s liberation project. In many ways, the conversation was a journey in Panashe’s own history. Throughout the conversation, we encountered various parts of Panashe – the granddaughter, the historian, the Zimbabwean, the born free, the outsider and the writer. We spend moments being ruminative about Robert Mugabe and Grace Mugabe as key figures in Zimbabwe. The conversation highlighted the various ways in which womxn and men are reported in history, through respectability politics and taking up of space. We spoke about the meaning of language in knowing and telling histories and other musings about spirituality, a theme prevalent in both Panashe’s books. The conversation touched on a number of other important topics such as the future of Zimbabwe under the new leadership. We also asked Panashe about her favourite writers, and her prestigious PhD undertaking at Harvard University.
Panashe’s book is archiving Black womxn and their stories, it can be received as academic text about reimagining Black womxnhood and the telling of histories.
Twitter: @PanasheChig Twitter: @cheekynatives
‘History dooms us to condemn the guiltless (and ourselves with them) when we don’t choose mercy over sacrifice. Homophobia in God’s name is horseshit. The blasphemer who condemns gays in the name of God loves neither gays nor God. No one who hates his brother, whom he has seen, can claim to love God, whom he has not seen, for all we know, God could be lesbian’ – Siya Khumalo, You Have to be Gay to Know God.
This paragraph ends Siya’s timely and poignant memoir ‘You have to be Gay to Know God’. Siya describes himself as someone who enjoys writing on religion, politics and sex. He calls it the trifecta of religion. His memoir allows us to journey with him through various stages of his life and evolve with him as he grows. It sheds some light on his life with family, both immediate and distant. It touches on his first boy crush and the lengths he went through to achieve this crush. It tells the story of him joining the military and then later deciding to leave it because of his sexuality. He also allows us to know intimate details about his life, in particular his sex life. He uses the telling of his story to provide social commentary about the politics of South Africa and how they can be used to subjugate people in the LBGT community. He powerfully critiques the Constitution and the way people have interpreted the Bible to exclude and shame people who identity as being part of the LBGT community. He also talks about love, coming out and the beauty of being gay.
In this episode of the podcast, Letlhogonolo sat with Siya to discuss this book. They conversed about love, family, religion and social issues. A deeply personal conversation about being gay and Christian. This book adds to the cannon on African queer literature. As Letlhogonolo once described it in an interview: “It is not a queer book, it is a book about prejudice”.
Twitter: @SKhumalo1987 Twitter: @Cheekynatives
“I studied for the whole year without paying the university, so I was in debt. I was hungry for success. But, during that year, I was physically hungry, too. It was difficult to study and do well when you had an empty stomach and, added to that, were not going to see your results at the end of the semester. I knew that I was paying the price of fitting into previously white spaces that had suddenly become accessible ‘for all’.” — Clinton Chauke, Born in Chains: The Diary of an Angry ‘Born-Free’
This episode features Clinton Chauke. He is the youngest author we have had on our podcast. This is the first podcast recorded we recorded since Letlhogonolo’s return from the US.
Clinton writes a poignant memoir that chronicles life as an angry Born-Free. He starts his memoir by recounting the lives of many South African in “post”- apartheid who are still saddled with the shackles of poverty. He then proceeds to highlight the influx of transient movement that often plagues poor people, moving between the city and the homeland. Clinton grapples with a lot of issues in the telling of his story. He speaks about family dynamics, the erasure of the role of Black women in our lives, the toxic manifestation of fragile masculinity. He speaks frankly about the disparities of public education both inside and outside the classroom. He laments that the state of the township and how it is not conducive to excelling in high school, and that those who excel aren’t the norm but the exception. He then continues to explore how religion was a crutch that held him together but later become something that he hated. He speaks about his journey with higher education and how difficult that was. He also touches on varsity love and the complexities that comes with wanting to date. He also found himself as one of the students burdened by the high cost of higher education and taking a stance against the system by being part of the #FeesMustFall movement. He also explores issues around racism, tribalism, colourism, and xenophobic.
This book is a reminder that democracy did not come to change the lives of many South Africans, it reminds us that freedom is far from coming. It is a sober, hauntingly beautiful account of life as a ‘Born-Free’ in South Africa. As Clinton writes: “my fellow South Africans should read my story because I believe that, in it, we can call see ourselves. Its central message is to reject the ‘born-free’ label, which many people love to romanticise, forgetting its implications.”
' "Why don’t we do that now? Paint?” Grace tried. And Mary would exhale the wordless sigh of a woman who had surrendered her dreams to the world too soon.' -Grace, a novel by Barbara Boswell
Dr Barbara Boswell(@BobbiBoswell) is an African feminist, writer, lecturer and mother whose novel “Grace” is the subject of our last edition of our Women in Literature series for the month of August.
Grace is a deeply reflective account of a family living with the terror of domestic violence. Perhaps what makes this living reality even more frightening is the common knowledge of this reality held by the community in silence. Grace follows the life of a young girl in this family from childhood to adult life and paints a vivid picture of the lasting effects of having been a witness and victim to such intimately personal violence. The novel explores both the complicity of communities in which these victims live and the beliefs that allow a culture of abuse to flourish. In a year in which so much more attention has been paid to the crisis of Gender-Based Violence we continue to find ourselves in as a country, this podcast is timeous.
What began as random scribbles as a form of catharsis for Dr Boswell, herself an adult survivor of childhood marred by domestic violence is a powerful account of the seen and unseen effects of this experience long after it has occurred in the confines what should have been a safe space. There are moments of deep grief, tragedy and pain in what is a fictional account but in many ways could be the written account of a survivor of this violence.
In reading Grace, one is forced to sit deeply with the themes of silence, complicity and generational trauma. There is a beautiful complexity in the exploration of mother-daughter relationships, both biological and not. There are powerful questions of redemption posed for both victim and perpetrator for readers to grapple with.
Dr Barbara Boswell holds a Ph.D. in Women's Studies from the University of Maryland. She is currently a Professor in the department of English Literature at the University of Cape Town.
Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele (@alma_nalisha) sat down with her to discuss her compelling novel, “Grace” along with many of the themes mentioned earlier. In her own quietly reflective way Dr Boswell reveals some wonderful meditations on grief and loss.
'Motherhood is not for me, because what if - like heart disease and haemophila - the ability to abandon one's own children is hereditary? it's not a risk I'm prepared to take.' - Sara-Jayne King
Sara-Jayne King is British South African journalist and writer who has travelled the world in her quest for identity while working as a renowned journalist. Her memoir “Killing Karoline” is both heart-breaking and inspiring about a child born out an illegal relationship in the 1980’s who existence is effectively denied out of embarrassment and prejudices not confronted.
What becomes of a child whose existence is defined by shame? What does the reclamation of self look like when a pivotal figure in that self relegates your very existence to the annals of their deepest regrets?
These and some more poignant themes are covered in this powerful memoir. The themes of race, transracial adoptions, relationships and the subsequent traumas feature quite prominently in this memoir.
Sara-Jayne King writes honestly about the painful realities behind the “Kumbaya” moments associated with transracial adoption. In many ways Killing Karoline is a coming of age and identity as we watch Sara-Jayne grapple with micro-aggressions that so many Black women can relate to.
Sara-Jayne courageously writes about her struggles with her mental health in ways that feel honest but without dishonouring her truth.
We watch her confront her demons and in the process learn that sometimes healing is in the work.
On the first anniversary of her poignant memoir, “Killing Karoline.” Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele sat down with the ineffable Sara-Jayne King to discuss her memoir and the transcendental journey it has travelled near and far. This conversation is marked with an authenticity and honesty that is echoed throughout her memoir, the conversation was equal parts illuminating, humorous and thought-provoking. Killing Karoline is a powerful introspection on identity, reclamation of self and the questioning of things we hold true.
‘She comes to me in snatches - I remember pieces of her laugh, the look she gave when she was upset. Sometimes I sniff the bottle of perfume of hers that I saved, but it doesn't come close to the robustness of her smell. It is her, flattened.
This is what it's really like to lose. It is complete and irreversible.
How pernicious these little things called memories are. They barbed me once, but now that I no longer have many of them, I am devastated.’ — Zinzi Clemmons, What We Lose
Zinzi Clemmons was raised in Philadelphia by a South African mother and an American father. Her debut novel, What We Lose is about a young woman coming of age while navigating loss, difficult relationships and self identity. Written as auto fiction in both emotional and poignant prose.
In this episode, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele sat down with Zinzi to discuss her novel. Zinzi recalls talking a creative writing class in college and how that sparks her writing journey.
Alma-Nalisha and Zinzi have a frank conversation about writing, literature and her book which Alma-Nalisha describes as ‘a deeply personal meditation on loss is and how we deal with grief’.
The discussion touches of a myriad of topics such as grief, identity, relationships, mental health, displacement, sex, race, mortality and other musings. Both lighthearted and but deeply reflective. This is a powerful conversation on our interaction with loss, grief and relationships.
“The rage shifts from the oppressors in our presidential palaces to the oppressors on our streets and in our homes —unless we topple the Mubaraks in our mind, in our bedrooms, and on our street corners — our revolution has not yet begun.”
This quote ends the first chapter of Mona Eltahawy’s Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution. Mona Eltahawy is an award-winning Egyptian American feminist. She has written for establishments like The New York Times and the Washington Post. She spends her time between Cairo and New York. Mona is a strong proponent of “FUCK THE PATRIARCHY”.
In this episode, Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane sat down with Mona to discuss her much acclaimed book. Mona shares stories about how the book came about. It initially started as an essay titled “Why They Hate Us”, then the essay blossomed into a necessary book. The book tells the story of Muslim womxn and how they are subjugated under the gaze of faith and culture. Mona describes the thesis of the book as the trifecta of misogyny, which is the State, Street and home together oppressing girls and womxn.
The conversation also touches on our how institutions like religion are used as conduits of patriarchy. Letlhogonolo and Mona spoke on a range of interesting topics, such as identity, (Black) feminism, consent, queerness and some of her favorite writers. At the time of recording Black Panther was a huge point of discussion, so they spoke about North Africa and the anti-blackness that exists in that part of the region.
Mona believes in the autonomy of womxn and upholds the proclamation: “I own my body”. This conversation is both illuminating as it is incendiary. At the end of the podcast, she also reveals that she is working on a new book.
Dr Danai Mupotsa is a lecturer in the field of African Literature. As a scholar and a writer she is committed to feminist, queer and anti-racist praxis. At the time of the recording of the podcast, the final touches were being put to Danai’s first collection of poetry titled ‘feeling and ugly.’ Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele sat down with the quietly brilliant Dr Danai Mupotsa to discuss the practical application of her politics in both academic and lived practices as both a writer and academic. The conversation touched on motherhood and the interesting ways it has changed her feminism in both lighthearted and poignant ways that may resonate with many of our listeners. Of course, the interview would be incomplete if the literary influences of this scholar of African literature were not explored. There are entire reading lists for young Black readers contained in this podcast. At the time of release, Dr Danai Mupotsa’s collection of poetry had just launched to great acclaim. This podcast in many ways serves as a great prologue to her work, a recommendation of the highest order. “We are the ones we have been waiting for” - June Jordan The works of Danai Mupotsa are proof of just that.
Lidudumalingani first caught our attention with his 2016 Caine Prize winning short story, “Memories we lost”, which discusses mental illness and issues of access in an often forgotten rural context, it was poignant and powerful giving a voice to a population often ignored. Lidudumalingani is a master of many trades as a writer, photographer and filmmaker. After the success of winning the Caine Prize, Lidudumalingani went on to win the Marshall Scholarship for his manuscript of his eagerly anticipated debut. Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele sat down with the prodigious Lidudumalingani to discuss photography, mental health and Black literature. In under hour, The Cheeky Natives held an eye opening and heart warming conversation on the state of literature in South Africa, decolonisation and his hopes for writing. 'We seek a world in which there is room for many worlds’- Sunil Yapa in her beautiful novel "Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist”. An apt quote for the conversation in today’s episode.
“You learnt it was human not womanly to cry.” ― Tapiwa Mugabe
Tapiwa Mugabe is the author of a poetry collection called Zimbabwe. This book tackles topics around masculinity, immigration, love and family relations. In this episode, Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane conversed with Tapiwa about when he started writing, books, life in the UK and his future projects. Tapiwa also speaks about his friendship with poets such as Nayyirah Waheed and Yrsa Daley-Ward. The conversation is a heartfelt conversation between African men about love, masculinity and books.
Follow @cheekynatives for more updates and as well as follow @tapiwamugabe1 to get more of his work.
Migritude is a term coined by the ineffable Shailja Patel which denotes the migrant attitude.
In her book, Migritude, Shailja tells the story of migrant attitude through prose, poetry and short stories. Shailja is an internationally acclaimed Kenyan poet, playwright, theatre artist, and political activist.
In this episode of the podcast, Patel sat and spoke to Dr Alma-Nalisha about her book, migration, politics, Kenya and identity. This is a conversation filled with musings about migration, womanhood and identity.
‘If we aren’t intersectional, some of us, the most vulnerable, are going to fall through the cracks.’ - Kimberlé Crenshaw
Intersectionality has been a buzzword for some time now. The term was coined by Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989. In this episode, Letlhogonolo sat down with Profesor Kimberlé Crenshaw to speak about intersectionality, Critical Race Theory, race relations in South Africa and the #SAYHERNAME movement. This episode is filled with insights about the womxn behind the scholarship.
In the latest episode of the Cheeky Natives, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele sat with the incomparable Zukiswa Wanner to discuss books, life and almost everything in between. Over the course of an afternoon, there was a wealth of mics dropped and wisdom shared.
In this hilarious and heartwarming episode with Zukiswa Wanner who is a daughter of the soil in the most true sense of the word. Zambian born to South African and Zimbabwean parents and now living in Kenya where she is a writer and full time slayer.
At the time of the podcast, Zukiswa was celebrating a 12 years since the publishing of her highly acclaimed first novel, ‘The Madams’ which was a game changer at the time. With the release of her latest work ‘Hardly Working’, a travel memoir of sorts, she continues to redefine the boundaries.
A visionary, ahead of the time. It was an absolute delight to host the ineffable Zukiswa Wanner on the latest episode of the Cheeky Natives.
'But look how she dances when she thinks no one is watching. Look at the balm oozing from her bones she is my pomegranate promise in this land of the living' -Ashlee Haze
Ashlee Haze is a poet and spoken word artist who has performed at the Apollo Theater. Her collection of poetry 'Land of the living' is a must have. In many ways, the book is an ode to Black womxn. A song to Black Lives, it lifts the voices of our mothers. In this episode of the podcast, Letlhogonolo is in communion with Ashlee discussing topics around grief, the predicament of Black mother and womanhood to the power of representation, feminism, Beyoncé and Missy Elliot. This episode is filled with authenticity and vulnerability complemented by readings from Land of the Living.
Follow her on social media Facebook: Ashlee Haze Instagram and Twitter: @ashleehaze
You can buy her book her: http://www.ashleehaze.com/product/land-of-the-living/ or https://www.amazon.com/Land-Living-Ashlee-Haze/dp/0997316802/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523205307&sr=81&keywords=ashlee+haze
Follow us on social media: Facebook: The Cheeky Natives Instagram and Twitter: @cheekynatives Itunes: The Cheeky Natives Podcast
‘This poem is about joy. how long it stayed how we remember it in us always’ - Ebony Stewart
These words are the last lines from a poem titled ‘This poem is a joy’ by the prodigious Ebony Stewart.
Ebony was named Champion of the Women of the World Poetry Slam 2017 for her exceptionally crafted poem ‘Common Fatigue’.
She has recently published her first book titled ‘Home. Girl. Hood’ - which is a book that includes poems like ‘This poem is about Joy’, ‘Happy Father’s Day’, ‘Compassionate Fatigue’ and many others.
In this episode of the podcast, Letlhogonolo sat down and spoke to Ebony about her breathtakingly amazing work,absent fathers, trauma, relationships with mothers and feminism.
It is a conversation filled with authenticity about the complexity of human interaction complemented by poetry performed by Ebony.
“because writing is soft and a hard place, all at once.” – Yrsa Daley-Ward
Instagram poetry seems to dominate the modern way of consuming poetry and also in many ways a way to introduce people to amazing poets such as Nayyirah Waheed, Warsan Shire, Upile Chisala and Yrsa-Daley Ward.
This episode features the ever-brilliant, multi-talented, gorgeous model and Insta famous poet, Yrsa- Daley Ward.
Yrsa-Daley Ward self-published her prolific book bone, which has since being republished with a few new poems by Penguin Books. Yrsa Daley-Ward’s bone is described a symphony of breaking and mending. In this episode, Letlhogonolo speaks to Yrsa Daley-Ward about her book bone, mothers, black womxn, her favourite books and what it means to be a black womxn in the world. In this heartfelt conversation, Yrsa speaks about her time in South Africa, Blackness, queerness and love. She also reveals a little about her upcoming memoir, The Terrible, to be released later this year.
"Black Joy is one of the entities that has gotten us through the many trials and tribulations of our existence around the world." -Kleaver Cruz
Kleaver is the creator of The Black Joy Project, a digital and real-world movement to center Black joy as a form of resistance. He loves being Black, Queer, Dominican and the myriad of elements that comprise who he is with the understanding that they are all parts of a whole. He believes in the power of words because they allow him to write what did not exist when he needed it the most.
In this episode of the podcast, Letlhogonolo sat down and spoke to Kleaver about his favorite books, Blackness, queerness and the Black Joy Project. This episode is one that focuses on what it means to archive Black lives outside of the confines of literature in the traditional sense. It is a conversation about creating means to experience joy in a world that tell us that we do not deserve joy.
Hlomu, Zandile and Naledi. Three seemingly random names but whose stories our readers are so invested in, you'd swear they were real.
Dudu Busani-Dube, author of the Hlomu series, new editor and poster girl for the power of self-publishing joins Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele to talk about all things Hlomu: the wife series.
In this frank and heartwarming episode, we reveal the machinations behind the fascinating lives of the Zulu's and the womxn in their lives. Love in a time of social media, family ties and our complicated relationship with our personal history take prime spotlight.
This episode in many ways is a celebration of the excellence that comes with the archiving of black literary stories.
When a self-published story about taxi moguls which has their partner's as protagonists reaches the markets which the Hlomu series has, it speaks to the power of stories about us, told by us for us.
Dudu Busani-Dube was ethereal, reminding us once again just how magical Black womxn and their stories are.
(And finally revealing the release date for the fourth and final book)
"To discover and name what shapes us is to engage in the work of history" -Darnell L. Moore.
On this episode of the podcast, Letlhogonolo speaks to acclaimed writer and Black queer thinker Darnell L. Moore about his upcoming book 'No Ashes in the Fire' to be published in May 2018. This is the first public interview about this book.
bell hooks describes this book as an intense and passionate offering that provide a deep understanding of a gay black male coming of age and open-heartedly claiming his identity.
Cornel West describes it as an inspiring story filled with radical black love.
This conversation is filled with laughter and musings about Blackness, queerness, masculinity, Black womxn and patriarchy.
‘A dose of nectar’ with Upile Chisala.
So begins a conversation that can only be described as a black girl communion of spirit and ideas. Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele sat down with the ineffable Upile Chisala, author of two anthologies of poetry to discuss her role in the archiving of black womxn’s stories.
After her second sold out performance in South Africa, the Cheeky Natives had the special honor of recording a podcast with this phenom.
Upile rose to fame with her powerful poetry on social media, later self publishing her ode to melanin in all its tenderness ‘Soft magic.’
Her second anthology is ‘Nectar’. A celebration of becoming and all the learning accompanying it. In this podcast, we listen to Upile delve into matters of the heart, mind and literature.
Toni Morrison says "If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, you must be the one to write it."
A recent story revealed the tragic news of a Columbia PhD student shot in the head and killed by his boyfriend. Domestic violence is often spoken about in the context of heterosexual relationships but research shows that domestic violence is also prevalent in the LBGTIA+ community.
In this episode of the podcast, we review Chwayita Ngamlana's If I stay right here - which is a book about a lesbian relationship. This first of its kind. It is part fiction and part autobiographical.
The book explores a number of themes such as heteronormativity, rape in relationships, toxic ideas of masculinity and many others themes.
We recommend reading this important story.
What's up Cheeky?
In the latest episode of the podcast we check in with Dr Slay and black boy magic, Letlhogonolo to find out just what's been popping over the past few months.
It's a poignant episode with musings on love, life and grief. There's some wonderful meditations on the power of friendship and even some revelations around romance.
It's just been over 6 months since our first episode and there have been some interesting moments since then. Join us as we check in with the Cheeky Natives. Catching up on love, friendship and life after tragedy. As always, there are musings on books, poetry and all things black literature.
"This book is both personal and political - it is about how I was made by the liberation struggle and how I was broken by its protagonists'."
- Sisonke Msimang
The Cheeky Natives sat down at a beautiful venue to chat to the incomparable #BlackGirlMagic Sisonke Msimang about her memoir 'Always Another Country'. Her book has only been out for more than a week and it's flying off the shelves.
Her memoir about exile and home is a vulnerable and honest account of her years in exile in various countries, her college years, love , friends and her family.
Our conversation is filled with laughs, joy and light.
'Your uncle is a hatchet/i buried in my crotch on purpose' - Ashley Makue
Ntozake Shenge said ' being black, and woman and alive is a metaphysical dilemma I haven't conquered yet.' And this episode of the Cheeky Natives featuring Ashley Makue was just that. the unravelling of the metaphysical dilemma of black queer womxnhood in its full spectrum.
From being CPS National Slam to performing at the Women of the World Poetry Slam, Ashley is a prodigious force. One worth the Cheeky Natives pilgrimage to the Republic of the Western Cape to record this episode with the published author of 'i know how to fix myself.'
This podcast is a meditation on culture, womxnhood and poetry filled with equal parts with joy and introspection.
"If we going to heal let it be glorious" - Warsan Shire
The Cheeky Natives sat down with Lebo Mashile and Khanyisa Buti(Majola) to discuss their album ' Moya' - 12 tracks of music and poetry. It has a variety of sounds and an array of revolution. It tells a beautiful story of Africans - a reclaiming of our stories. Work like ' Moya' is true to the spirit of The Cheeky Natives in providing the platforms for the celebration of black artists.
As literary archivists, we were so honoured to participate in the archiving of such important, powerful work.
'Being black, woman and alive is a metaphysical dilemma, I haven't quite conquered yet' -Ntozake Shange is quoted as saying.
And so as The Cheeky Natives, we sat with the prodigious Koleka Putuma as we discussed the metaphysical dilemmas of being black and woman and alive in the era of melanin magic.
We were honoured by the presence of black girl slay from Vuyelwa Maluleke to Koleka Putuma and the brilliant audience.
Join us for an hour long discussion with the author of 'Collective Amnesia' interspersed with poignant, moving performances from the book that is resonating with audiences countrywide. As a debut anthology, Collective Amnesia has not only been reprinted but is now recommended reading for students in University's across the country. What a special privilege to have sat with a writer for the ages.
"Storytelling - how my people remember. How my people archive. How we inherit the world. " - Koleka Putuma (Collective Amnesia)
"Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form." - Toni Morrison
On this episode the Cheeky Natives sat down and spoke to the Melanin Magic that is the CEO (Thabiso Afurakan Mohare) and the Managing Director (Qhakaza Mthembo) of Word n Sound Live Literature Company - a company that has created a haven for black literature as a rigorous art form.
To creating a legacy of excellence of people who look and sound like us. To black excellence.
'My mother died seven times before she gave birth to me. I am grateful for that corpse that somehow always seemed to resurrect itself. My father is gone now but his smile is alive on my brother's face. There is no life without death; the two rely on each other and we rely on them for both for our purpose.'
So begins the first chapter of Mohale Mashigo's 'The Yearning'. The Cheeky Natives sat down with Mohale Mashigo over a conversation filled with lightbulb moments, realisations and introspections delivered in the casual, easy manner which comes from someone whose magic is inherent.
This is the first episode of the Cheeky Natives with a featured author and there couldn't have been a better choice for the introduction of this feature. In the wise words of Warsan Shire, 'If were going to heal, let it be glorious'
So many books, so little time.” ― Frank Zappa We have read so many books and have had lengthy conversations about the books that we read. A good book, like a great meal hasn't been done justice until it's been throughly savoured, every page consumed and digested. And like a great meal,whose taste is amplified by sharing we thought it would be a great idea to start this podcast and share our literary journey with you. As self proclaimed bibliophiles, our podcast will primarily focus on reviewing books interspersed with podcast or posts about poetry performance or plays or other performance we have seen. And of course since reading is a portal to ourselves in the present, those past and whom we hope to be. We will be sharing many of our own beliefs and options about these books.
Lynne Pann said 'books allowed my imagination to take flight and it hasn't landed yet' We hope you'll enjoy taking flight with us. To literary infinity and beyond