SURFACING, on being black and feminist in South Africa
336pp., illus., paperback, Johannesburg, 2021
Contributions include:
"Winnie Mandela and the Archive: reflections on feminist biography" by Sisonke Msimang
"Representing Sara Baartman in the New Millennium" Zoë Wicomb interviewed by Desiree Lewis
"a playful but also very serious love letter to gabrielle goliath" by Pumla Dineo Gqola
"Do I Make You Uncomfortable?’ Writing, Editing and Publishing Black in a White Industry" by Zukiswa Wanner
"Conversations about Photography with Keorapetse Mosimane, Thania Petersen and Tshepiso Mazibuko" by Ingrid Masondo
"The Music of My Orgasm" by Makhosazana Xaba
"Refining Islamic Feminisms: Gender, Subjectivity and the Divine Feminine" by Sa’diyya Shaikh
My Two Husbands" by Grace A. Musila
"Bringing Water to Krotoa’s Gardens: Decolonisation as Direct Action" by Yvette Abrahams
"Decolonial feminism in practice and in its finest representation, this is a much-needed addition to the library of materials on Black Feminism in a global context. Surfacing, on being black and feminist in South Africa moves us rapidly out of the norm that privileges work that comes from the West, often with the justification that it is difficult to find available material. Teaching, studying, and writing about Black Feminist Theories remains incomplete without the intellectual contributions of Black women in diverse locations. Here are the voices of Black Feminists from Southern Africa who cover all topics from being Black lesbian and feminist to living life as a Black radical feminist, to the challenges of writing feminist biography and much more." Carole Boyce-Davies, Professor in Africana Studies and Literatures in English at Cornell University and author of Left of Karl Marx: the political life of black feminist Claudia Jones
"A beautiful book that brings together some of South Africa’s finest, most innovative writers working across a multitude of forms. Here, the personal essay and artistic reflection, the conversational interview and research paper, all work to engage complex questions around creativity, race, feminism, agency and history with depth, care, daring, provocation, wit and intellectual rigour. Surfacing promises to be treasured as much for its brilliant engagements and insights, as for the wonderful connectivity and solidarity it makes space for." Nadia Davids, author of the plays At Her Feet, Cissie and What Remains
Desiree Lewis is Professor in the Department of Women and Gender Studies at the University of the Western Cape. She is the author of Living on a Horizon: Bessie Head and the politics of imagining (2007).
Gabeba Baderoon is a poet and Associate Professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and African Studies at Pennsylvania State University, where she also co-directs the African Feminist Initiative. She is the author of Regarding Muslims: from slavery to post-apartheid (2014) and four books of poetry, most recently The History of Intimacy (2018).