Launching a collection of South African poetry and prose, edited by Equal Education

Amagama Enkululeko! Words for Freedom: Writing Life Under Apartheid is an anthology of short fiction, poetry, narrative journalism and extracts from novels and memoirs which frames local literature as a lens through which to engage with South Africa’s past.

With a foreword by Zakes Mda, and a mixture of famous and seemingly forgotten struggle writers, this anthology of poetry and prose opens a window onto the ways ordinary, everyday life was shaped by the forces of history.

‘This book connects where we come from to where we are … The stories of black people in general, and the working class in particular, are in movies, songs, photographs, poems, and they are in this book. It brings the past to life.’ — Zwelinzima Vavi

‘This book helps us to interrogate the human condition by imparting the values of tolerance, empathy, and compassion … It is a very important book that helps us to strengthen our fight against all forms of hate, prejudice, persecution, and institutionalized oppression.’ — Niq Mhlongo‘

Timely in its arrival, AMAGAMA ENKULULEKO! clears a path through the often obscured territory of the personal apartheid narrative, leaving one with a view of the past that’s often both searing and affirming.’ — Masande Ntshanga