In the heat of the shadows

South African Poetry 1996-2013 presents work by 32 poets and includes some translations from Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho and Xitsonga. This collection follows on from Denis Hirson’s 1997 anthology The Lava of this Land: South African Poetry 1960-1996.

South African poetry today is charged with restlessness, bursting with diversity. Gone is the intense inward focus required to deal with a situation of systematic oppression, the enclosing effort of concentration on a single predicament. While politics and identity continue to be central themes, the poetry since the late 1990s reveals a richer investigation of ancestors and history, alongside more experimentation with language and translation; and enduring concern with the touchstones of love, loss, memory, and acts of witnessing.

Poets include: Jim Pascual Agustin ~ Gabeba Baderoon ~ Robert Berold ~ Vonani Bila ~ Jeremy Cronin ~ Ingrid de Kok ~ Isobel Dixon ~ Finuala Dowling ~ Khadija Tracey Heeger ~ Denis Hirson ~ Ronelda Kamfer ~ Keorapetse Kgositsile ~ Katharine Kilalea ~ Rustum Kozain ~ Antjie Krog ~ David wa Maahlamela ~ Bongekile Joyce Mbanjwa ~ Joan Metelerkamp ~ Kobus Moolman ~ Isabella Motadinyane ~ Petra Müller ~ Gert Vlok Nel ~ Mxolisi Nyezwa ~ Karen Press ~ Mongane Wally Serote ~ Ari Sitas ~ Kelwyn Sole ~ Rosamund Stanford ~ Toni Stuart ~ Nathan Trantraal ~ Marlene van Niekerk ~ Bulelani Zantsi.