SOL T. PLAATJE, a life in letters

359pp., illus., hardback, d.w., HiPSA Third Series, No. 2, Cape Town, 2020

Reproduces over 260 surviving letters written by Sol T. Plaatje, the majority of which were written to family and friends. Letters originally written in Setswana are accompanied by an English translation.

Journalist and writer Sol Plaatje (1876-1932) was one of the founders of the ANC, a leading spokesperson for black opinion, and the author of Mafeking Diary, Native Life in South Africa and Mhudi

Brian Willan is Extraordinary Professor at Sol Plaatje University in Kimberely and North West University, and Senior Research Associate at the Institute for the Study of English, Rhodes University. His most recent book, Sol Plaatje: a life of Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje, 1876-1932 (2018), won the award for non-fiction (biography) from the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences in 2020. 

Sabata-mpho Mokae is the author of The Story of Sol T Plaatje (2010) and co-author with Brain Willan of Sol Plaatje's Mhudi: history, criticism, celebration. The author of three Setswana novels, he teaches Creative Writing in African Languages at Sol Plaatje University.