Alex La Guma. Culture and Liberation Exile Writings, 1966–1985, edited by Christopher J. Lee. London: Seagull Books, 2022. 581 pp. Bibliography. Index. Cloth. $45.00. ISBN: 978-0857427892.
Year: 2025
Type: book-review
Abstract: Apart from the foreword, introduction, and afterword, this volume consists of five huge parts.Each of these parts contains several chapters of great significance to the life and times of La Guma, and to his way of thinking about the world.The first part of the book is the most comprehensive and has the title "Political World."In this section, the author deals with the global political order of the time, his exile career as a political activist and freedom fighter, the peculiarities of the Cold War, the entanglement of the great powers in Africa, the apartheid government of South Africa and its international partners, the struggle of the various races of South Africa against apartheid, and the varied responses of the international community to the racial minority rule in South Africa.In the second part, which deals with "cultural scenes and debates," La Guma delves deeply into the various issues of culture, especially in apartheid South Africa, and the essential role of culture in the liberation movement.The author's observation of the world from a literary point of view is the subject of the third part, entitled "Literary Criticism and the Writing Life."The influence of his literary works, the stimulus he received from the "communist world," the ups and downs of his literary career, his international experiences, his relationship with other writers of his class and beyond, comments and criticisms of the suppression of literary tradition in South Africa, and his autobiographical literary career are some of the issues elucidated in this section.The fourth part of the book deals with "Five Stories and a Play."It deals mainly with the author's experience in exile and contribution to the literature of Africa and the rest of the world.La Guma's multifaceted career as a journalist and prolific writer, the nature of his life at home in South Africa and abroad, and the wide ranges of themes of his literary engagement are well covered.The last section of the book, "Interview and Memoir," sheds light on La Guma's conversations with various individuals, groups, and organizations, and his ongoing struggle for humanity is analyzed remarkably.Generally the volume is part of the broader literatures of that time which explore issues of liberation and freedom.As such, the book in one way or another is the voice of the emancipation struggle of the oppressed masses of South Africa, the African continent, and the world.Although he started his struggle for the realization of equality, dignity, brotherhood, and so on among the different races of South Africans, La Guma eventually became one of the few influential
Source: African Studies Review
DOI: 10.1017/asr.2025.12
Author: Ebrahim Damtew
Institution: University of Gondar
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4408040819