The Cheeky Natives
The Cheeky Natives is a literary podcast focused on reviewing, curating, and archiving Black literature. It is hosted by Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele and Advocate Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane.
Episodes
Dr Kopano Matlwa: Bosadi
Send us Fan MailMost 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 uncomfortab
Nadia Davids: Cape Fever
Send us Fan MailWe 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
Siphokazi Jonas: Weeping Becomes a River
Send us Fan MailWe 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 r
Zibu Sithole: Love, Zola
Send us Fan MailIn 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
Frank Thabani Sayi: No Safer Kinder Hatred: How Racial Hatred and Ethnic Violence Shaped Zimbabwe
Send us Fan MailFrank 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 grandmothe
Nozipho Tshabalala: After the Fires
Send us Fan MailAs 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 e
Andile Cele: Braids & Migraines
Send us Fan MailIn 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 townsh
Djamila Ribeiro: Where We Stand
Send us Fan Mail“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 pu
Onyi Nwabineli: Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Send us Fan MailIn 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
Obligations to the Wounded: Mubanga Kalimamukwento
Send us Fan MailWe 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 landscap
Abi Daré: And So I Roar
Send us Fan MailIn ‘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 commence
Zukiswa Wanner: Love Marry Kill
Send us Fan MailIn 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 behavio
Iris Mwanza: The Lions’ Den
Send us Fan MailSet 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 a
Aiwanose Odafen: We Were Girls Once
Send us Fan MailWe 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 cons
Professor Barbara Boswell: The Comrade's Wife
Send us Fan MailThe 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 w
Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi: Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions
Send us Fan MailIn 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
Zibu Sithole: I Do ... Don't I?
Send us Fan MailI 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
Damilare Kuku: Only Big Bumbum Matters Tomorrow
Send us Fan MailIn 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
Damilare Kuku: Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad
Send us Fan MailIn 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 hav
Tessa Dooms and Lynsey Ebony Chutel: Coloured: How Classification Became Culture
Send us Fan MailColoured 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 d
Shubnum Khan: The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil
Send us Fan MailIn 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 looki
Busisekile Khumalo: Sunshine & Shadows
Send us Fan MailIn this novel, Busisekile asks what it means to be a young woman asked to make difficult decisions in impossible situations.Centred around Vimbai, a young Zimbabwean woman navigating young adulthood amid an economic crisis. She faces significant childhood trauma and we see its subsequent manifestation in her overachievement, detachment and other relational issues. These issues are
Bolu Babalola: Honey and Spice
Send us Fan MailHoney& 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 seemin
Okechukwu Nzelu: Here Again Now
Send us Fan MailIn 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 for
Arinze Ifeakandu: God's Children Are Little Broken Things
Send us Fan MailIn this enthralling debut collection of short stories by Arinze Ifeakandu God’s Children Are Little Broken Things is a collection of 9 short stories set in Nigeria that examine queer identity, relationships, family and societal isolation.Arinze writes stories with characters whose lives are layered, complicated by youth, love and grief. He asks of them and by extension, the reader;
Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ: Dazzling
Send us Fan MailIn this intriguing debut by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ, we 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 t
Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang: The Daughters of Nandi
Send us Fan MailThis 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 d
Safiya Sinclair: How To Say Babylon
Send us Fan MailIn 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
Diana Anyakwo: My Life As A Chameleon
Send us Fan MailIn 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. Intere
Nadia Owusu: Aftershocks
Send us Fan Mail"1. Unwelcome Reunion Unwelcome ReunionWhen 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 clai
Angela Makholwa: The Reed Dance Stalker
Send us Fan Mail"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
Zibu Sithole: The Thing with Zola
Send us Fan MailIn 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 poli
Wisani Mushwana: A Soft Landing
Send us Fan Mail“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
A Spell Of Good Things A Conversation With Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Send us Fan Mail“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
Nozuko Siyotula: Christopher
Send us Fan MailSet 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 perspec
Warsan Shire: Bless the Daughter Raised by A Voice in Her Head
Send us Fan Mail"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 Sh
Robert Jones Jr: The Prophets
Send us Fan MailAccording 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 bri
Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng: A Guide to Sexual Health and Pleasure
Send us Fan MailDr 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 h
Buki Papillon: An Ordinary Wonder
Send us Fan Mail“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
Carice Anderson: Intelligence isn't Enough
Send us Fan MailCarice 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 forw
Peace Adzo Medie: His Only Wife
Send us Fan Mail“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. EBased in Ghana, the story is centred on the life of Afi Tekple, a young seamstress. We meet her having been co
Sue Nyathi: A Family Affair
Send us Fan MailMeet 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 F
Jamil F. Khan: Khamr: The Makings of a Waterslams
Send us Fan Mail“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
Angela Makholwa: Critical But, Stable
Send us Fan MailLerato 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, M
Terry-Ann Adams: Those Who Live in Cages
Send us Fan Mail‘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 thi
Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda: No Be From Hia
Send us Fan Mail‘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
Brit Bennett: The Vanishing Half
Send us Fan Mail“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 A
Brandon Taylor and Paul Mendez: Real Life and Rainbow Milk
Send us Fan Mail“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 ho
Phumlani Pikoli: The Fatuous State of Severity
Send us Fan Mail"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 healt
Lockdown Edition with Angela Makholwa: The Blessed Girl (Part 2)
Send us Fan MailEven 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 Wid
Lockdown Edition with Angela Makholwa: The Blessed Girl (Part 1)
Send us Fan MailEven 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 Wid
Lockdown Edition with Abi Daré: The Girl with the Louding Voice (Part 2)
Send us Fan MailAbi 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 an
Lockdown Edition with Abi Daré: The Girl with the Louding Voice (Part 1)
Send us Fan MailAbi 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 an
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: Friday Black
Send us Fan MailAt 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 f
Ming Cheau Lin: Yellow and Confused
Send us Fan MailYellow 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,
Morgan Parker: Magical Negro
Send us Fan MailMorgan 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
Mphuthumi Ntabeni: Broken River Tent
Send us Fan MailWritten 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
Sarah Ladipo Manyika: In Dependence
Send us Fan Mail“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 Handbo
Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola: Feminist Rogue
Send us Fan Mail'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 op
Dr Ainehi Edoro-Glines: Brittle Paper
Send us Fan MailAfrican literature is changing’ - Brittle PaperBrittle 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
Nicole Dennis -Benn: Patsy
Send us Fan Mail“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 Ameri
Vanessa Govender: Beaten but not Broken
Send us Fan Mail“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
Desiree-Anne Martin: We don't Talk About it Ever
Send us Fan Mail‘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
Sisonke Msimang: The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela
Send us Fan Mail‘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 PublishingJust 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 pass
Landa Mabenge: Becoming Him: a Trans memoir of Triumph
Send us Fan Mail‘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,
Rekgotsofetse Chikane: Breaking a Rainbow, Building a Nation
Send us Fan Mail“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 con
Sihle Bolani: We Are The Ones We Need
Send us Fan Mail“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
Malebo Sephodi: Miss Behave
Send us Fan Mail‘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 lo
Rosie Motene: Reclaiming The Soil
Send us Fan MailHappy 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 wh
Mohale Mashigo: Intruders
Send us Fan Mail“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
Qarnita Loxton: Being Lily
Send us Fan Mail“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 fi
Haji Mohamed Dawjee: Sorry Not Sorry
Send us Fan Mail‘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, ev
Nthikeng Mohlele: Michael K
Send us Fan Mail“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 si
Pumza Shabangu: Unspoken Truth
Send us Fan Mail“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 intere
Nozizwe Jele : The Ones With Purpose
Send us Fan Mail“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.”
Born To Kwaito Sihle Mthembu and Esinako Ndabeni
Send us Fan Mail“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
Sue Nyathi: The Gold Diggers
Send us Fan Mail“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 wi
Panashe Chigumadzi: These Bones Will Rise Again
Send us Fan Mail“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 nat
Siya Khumalo: You Have to be Gay to Know God
Send us Fan Mail‘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 H
Clinton Chauke: Born in Chains
Send us Fan Mail“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
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