Shakespeare hit the nail on the head when he called music the food of love. It’s also the food of revolution, good times, and of many, many things essential to life itself.
Music is a medium of reaching and representing the psychology, sociology and politics of the human experience, and so is literature. It’s no surprise, then, that the two spheres interact.
Here is a list of 10 books by and about musicians. There are memoirs by music legends, novels and essays by multi-talented artists, a catalogue of indigenous music as well as one book by an author whose work was sampled in a Grammy Award-winning album.
Here’s the list, in no particular order:
Jazz legend Hugh Masekela visited in the Jacana Media offices in July to sign the contract for the local publication of his memoir, Still Grazing, which came out internationally in 2004 but was never released in South Africa.
Masekela said he believes South African society has become complacent since the time of Steve Biko and other young intellectuals of the apartheid era, and hopes that his book can stand as an example of the forthrightness needed to turn the country around.
Eusebius McKaiser Fires 5 Questions at Kabelo Mabalane at the Launch of I Ran For My Life
“This book is absolutely amazing, incredibly honest.”
With these words Eusebius McKaiser opened the launch of I Ran For My Life: My Story by Kabelo Mabalane at Exclusive Books Rosebank.
McKaiser grilled the author about the five main themes in his book: Mabalane’s complicated relationship with his father, the importance of education in his household, music (as a last resort after his dream of a rugby career!), drinking and drug abuse and the crux of the story – how running saved his life from ruin.
“I Wanted People to Hate Me!” – Nakhane Toure Chats about Killing off His Characters at the Open Book Festival
Nakhane Touré and his publisher Thabiso Mahlape chatted to Mervyn Sloman about Touré’s new novel, Piggy Boy’s Blues, at the Open Book Festival in Cape Town in September.
Piggy Boy’s Blues is the first novel to be published under Jacana Media’s new imprint BlackBird Books, which, as Mahlape explained, will focus on black writers and black stories.
“I have got questions from a lot of people asking, ‘Why only black narratives?’,” Mahlape said, “but, as I said to a journalist from the Financial Times in New York, I don’t think that’s a valid question. But that article never saw the light of day.
Unearthing the Mystery of Rodriguez – Craig Bartholomew Strydom and Stephen Segerman Launch Sugar Man
The popular La Parada was humming when a crowd of Sugar Man fans arrived to celebrate the launch of Sugar Man: The Life, Death and Resurrection of Sixto Rodriguez by Craig Bartholomew Strydom and Stephen “Sugar” Segerman in October.
One of the many fans in attendance was Steve Connolly, managing director of Penguin Random House South Africa. He could barely contain his delight as he introduced the two authors to the audience and spoke enthusiastically about the decision to turn the movie into a book, an inversion of the usual process which sees the book written first and later turned into a movie.
Ver in die wêreld, sushi: Koos Kombuis se kritiese stem klink op in sy jongste rubriekversameling
Kombuis vier vanjaar sy sestigste verjaardag, en hoewel dié musiek- en skrywerslegende ietwat ouer en wyser geword het, is sy kommentaar op sosiale en politieke sake nog net so skerpsinnig soos altyd.
In sy jongste rubriekeversameling kom ’n verskeidenheid onderwerpe onder die soeklig, soos die stommiteite van politici, die irrasionele vrese van Afrikaners wat nog in die laer skuil, die sensitiewe ego’s van plaaslike musikante, en die wanstaltigheid van amptenare wat die banaalste vorme van burokrasie in stand hou.
Alles wat jy wil weet oor die man met die groot pet in Jack Parow – Die ou met die snor by die bar
In Die ou met die snor by die bar vertel die superster-rapper Jack Parow van sy lewe en al sy wilde, mal avonture.
Die storie begin agter die Boereworsgordyn en maak draaie in plekke soos Onrusrivier, The Lollipop Lounge in Randburg, Mitchells Plain, België, Nederland, Londen, Los Angeles, Hollywood en Moskou.
Drums, Rattles and Mbiras at the Launch of Musical Instruments of the Indigenous People of South Africa
The launch of the third edition of the iconic Musical Instruments of the Indigenous People of South Africa by Percival Kirby was a tremendous celebration. Leading academics and performing musicians gathered in in the foyer of the Strubenholm Building at the South African College of Music to discuss the importance of this new edition. Guests were invited to browse through The Kirby Collection, which houses 600 of the utterly remarkable instruments featured in revised edition of this classic text.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Nominated for Grammy, for Her Contribution to Beyonce’s Latest Album
Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album, for her contribution to Beyoncé Knowles’ 2013 album, Beyoncé.
Beyoncé released the album without warning in December 2013, and it included a track called “***Flawless”, which samples a talk given by Adichie earlier that year at TEDxEuston entitled “We Should All Be Feminists”.
Lees oor die bekendstellings van Kleur – My lewe, my lied deur Randall Wicomb en Amos van der Merwe
Kleur – My lewe, my lied – die biografie van die geliefde Griekwa Psalms-sanger en liedjieskrywer Randall Wicomb, soos vertel aan Amos van der Merwe – is in Oktober tydens die Aardklop-kunstefees in Potchefstroom bekendgestel.
Die gehoor het aan Wicomb se lippe gehang, skryf Charlea Sieberhagen vir Netwerk24. Hy het onder meer vertel waarom kleur in die titel verskyn en meer gedeel oor sy stryd teen prostaatkanker.
“A Hallucinogenic Post-apocalyptic Carnival Ride” – Nikhil Singh’s Debut Novel Taty Went West Launched at Kwani? Litfest
Cape-Town based musician and artist Nikhil Singh’s debut novel Taty Went West was launched as part of the 2015 Kwani? Litfest, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya from 1 to 6 December.
Taty Went West, which was longlisted for the 2013 Kwani? Manuscript Project, is described by Lauren Beukes as “a hallucinogenic post-apocalyptic carnival ride”.
Book details
- Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela by Hugh Masekela, D Michael Cheers
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EAN: 9781431422715
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- I Ran For My Life: My Story by Kabelo Mabalane, Nechama Brodie
EAN: 9781770104174
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- Piggy Boy’s Blues by Nakhane Toure
EAN: 9781928337089
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- Sugar Man: The Life, Death and Resurrection of Sixto Rodriguez by Craig Bartholomew Strydom, Stephen Segerman
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EAN: 9781770228146
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- Ver in die wêreld, sushi by Koos Kombuis
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EAN: 9781770228818
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- Jack Parow – Die ou met die snor by die bar by Theunis Engelbrecht
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EAN: 9781770229020
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- Musical Instruments of the Indigenous People of South Africa by Percival Kirby
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EAN: 9781868146055
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- Kleur – My lewe, my lied by Randall Wicomb, Amos van der Merwe
EAN: 9780928316124
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- We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
EAN: 9780008115272
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- Taty Went West by Nikhil Singh
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EAN: 9789966190215
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