It has been said many times that a picture is worth a thousand words. This familiar proverb describes the idea that complex stories can be told with just a single image and can give you as much or more information than a written or spoken text. One picture. One thousand words. It is in this limited space I have written. This thesis is a collection of prose written in response to photographs/images that have been taken, created, or found, and has been influenced by the combination of the visual and textual mediums of my disciplines (digital media and creative writing): striking images with textual commentary. While observing these photographs, readers bring with them emotional baggage, preconceived notions, memories and feelings. The written commentary (e.g., stories) attached to the photographs adds a new dimension to what the reader sees. The natural ambiguity of a photograph lends itself to conflicting interpretations, all of which enhance the work and bring us closer to a new and deeper meaning via textual-reader interaction.

'Snap Shot' is a Young Adult novel centred around two main characters – 16 year-old Bel and her older step-sister, Diane, who was living in New York on September 11, 2001. The novel begins with a bus crash on a city freeway, and the narrator, who we later learn is Bel, unfolds the story that leads up to the crash. There are many plotlines that run through the novel, narrated in a variety of voices by Bel. She tells the story of her step-sister, who witnessed the September 11 attack from a distance (in Queens). She reveals her sister's story in the weeks following the attack. Diane is inspired by the image of one of the victims of the attack, a woman named Sena. She sees her photo in one of the desperate fliers that popped up around the city after the attack, and recognises a bracelet the woman is wearing as similar to one owned by her mother. Diane acts on an impulsive idea to somehow bring redemption to the family of this woman by creating a false photograph of the bracelet at Ground Zero, but she is detained by the National Guard. This is an incident that leads to her mother's decision to return to Australia to live. Back in Australia, Diane makes contact with her father, who is distant and dishonest with her. Diane asks to see her younger step-sister, Bel, but she is met with strong resistance. It is obvious that she is being kept from her sister. Bel also learns that her step-sister is back, but her attempts to make contact are blocked by her parents. Eventually the two sisters get together, and the younger forms a fascination and powerful admiration for her older sister, who is now a photographer. She takes images of men she has never met and posts them on her website with emotive labels such as 'victim' or 'terrorist'. Bel's fascination with her older sister leads her to want to emulate her. She sets out to take a photograph of a stranger, and stalks a young man for two days, working up the courage to approach him and interact with him. The fact that she wants to interact with her subject creates tension with her sister, who never speaks with her subjects. They argue about Bel's safety and Diane's courage. Bel eventually approaches the young man, Robert, and forms a connection with him. The coming together of these three characters sets in motion an idea, impulsive and provocative, driven by Bel, to create an artificial moment of terror on a bus as a means to shock the passengers and shake them from a 'dream'. This story is told through counter-voices that offer harmony and dissonance, and at times perspective, to the unfolding plotline. There is Shahrazade, an evocation of Bel's imagination, who is the ultimate in the courageous storyteller. Shahrazade uses narrative to divert her audience away from murderous revenge and into empathic connection. There are the short passages depicting the moments in the bus from the points of view of several passengers. There are the chapters where Bel is interrogated by two police officers, who slowly slide from being realistic characters to figments of Bel's overactive imagination. At the beginning of the novel, Bel tells the reader, 'You are witness to a tragedy, but you don’t call it that.' (Bone 2008) By the end, the verdict is left open. Are the three guilty of creating terror on the bus? Was it a tragedy? Is there redemption in the act of telling a story? The exegetical component of this thesis explores the social, literary and political context of the writing of 'Snap Shot'. It is in three parts, predicated on my research enquiry about the nature of the world we now live in post-September 11, a day that was supposed to have changed history. I explore whether there is a consistent and unified narrative that, as members of the public, we are engaging with. I look at the use of fear by the terrorists, and explore how this fear has manifested itself post-September 11. I ask whether there is an ongoing narrative of fear, and if so, what is its nature? How is it perpetuated? How does the public engage with this narrative? And what implications does this have for the writing of 'Snap Shot'? I explore literary and artistic responses to September 11, and explore the role of the artist as provocateur. What are the taboos and sore points that provocative art can touch on when looking at the subject of the world that has emerged post-September 11? The exegesis also explores how fear and terror are communicated, with a particular reference to symbolism and frames. What imaginings emerged from the subterranean consciousness prior to September 11, and what imaginings are at play today? Significantly, I explore what implications this imagination has for communicating an anti-terrorism message within the context of writing 'Snap Shot'. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2008

'Snap Shot' is a Young Adult novel centred around two main characters – 16 year-old Bel and her older step-sister, Diane, who was living in New York on September 11, 2001. The novel begins with a bus crash on a city freeway, and the narrator, who we later learn is Bel, unfolds the story that leads up to the crash. There are many plotlines that run through the novel, narrated in a variety of voices by Bel. She tells the story of her step-sister, who witnessed the September 11 attack from a distance (in Queens). She reveals her sister's story in the weeks following the attack. Diane is inspired by the image of one of the victims of the attack, a woman named Sena. She sees her photo in one of the desperate fliers that popped up around the city after the attack, and recognises a bracelet the woman is wearing as similar to one owned by her mother. Diane acts on an impulsive idea to somehow bring redemption to the family of this woman by creating a false photograph of the bracelet at Ground Zero, but she is detained by the National Guard. This is an incident that leads to her mother's decision to return to Australia to live. Back in Australia, Diane makes contact with her father, who is distant and dishonest with her. Diane asks to see her younger step-sister, Bel, but she is met with strong resistance. It is obvious that she is being kept from her sister. Bel also learns that her step-sister is back, but her attempts to make contact are blocked by her parents. Eventually the two sisters get together, and the younger forms a fascination and powerful admiration for her older sister, who is now a photographer. She takes images of men she has never met and posts them on her website with emotive labels such as 'victim' or 'terrorist'. Bel's fascination with her older sister leads her to want to emulate her. She sets out to take a photograph of a stranger, and stalks a young man for two days, working up the courage to approach him and interact with him. The fact that she wants to interact with her subject creates tension with her sister, who never speaks with her subjects. They argue about Bel's safety and Diane's courage. Bel eventually approaches the young man, Robert, and forms a connection with him. The coming together of these three characters sets in motion an idea, impulsive and provocative, driven by Bel, to create an artificial moment of terror on a bus as a means to shock the passengers and shake them from a 'dream'. This story is told through counter-voices that offer harmony and dissonance, and at times perspective, to the unfolding plotline. There is Shahrazade, an evocation of Bel's imagination, who is the ultimate in the courageous storyteller. Shahrazade uses narrative to divert her audience away from murderous revenge and into empathic connection. There are the short passages depicting the moments in the bus from the points of view of several passengers. There are the chapters where Bel is interrogated by two police officers, who slowly slide from being realistic characters to figments of Bel's overactive imagination. At the beginning of the novel, Bel tells the reader, 'You are witness to a tragedy, but you don’t call it that.' (Bone 2008) By the end, the verdict is left open. Are the three guilty of creating terror on the bus? Was it a tragedy? Is there redemption in the act of telling a story? The exegetical component of this thesis explores the social, literary and political context of the writing of 'Snap Shot'. It is in three parts, predicated on my research enquiry about the nature of the world we now live in post-September 11, a day that was supposed to have changed history. I explore whether there is a consistent and unified narrative that, as members of the public, we are engaging with. I look at the use of fear by the terrorists, and explore how this fear has manifested itself post-September 11. I ask whether there is an ongoing narrative of fear, and if so, what is its nature? How is it perpetuated? How does the public engage with this narrative? And what implications does this have for the writing of 'Snap Shot'? I explore literary and artistic responses to September 11, and explore the role of the artist as provocateur. What are the taboos and sore points that provocative art can touch on when looking at the subject of the world that has emerged post-September 11? The exegesis also explores how fear and terror are communicated, with a particular reference to symbolism and frames. What imaginings emerged from the subterranean consciousness prior to September 11, and what imaginings are at play today? Significantly, I explore what implications this imagination has for communicating an anti-terrorism message within the context of writing 'Snap Shot'. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2008

When her life starts falling apart, a journalist and writer heads for a small rural town. Here the strange and wonderful tales about a local woman ignite her curiosity. As the town's secrets unravel she finds the truth behind all the fantasies. And in fighting her own demons she makes an unusual connection to this woman. She soon realises that this connection holds the key to her own salvation. Or her downfall.

An exchange programme involving students and academics from Egoli University in Johannesburg and the University of Athens provides the conduit for the smuggling of Venetian Grossi coins discovered on the Cycladic island of Naxos. Thirty-five year old Delancey James, a Professor of Ethics at Egoli University, stumbles upon events associated with the murder of a post-graduate student. Through her investigation, she uncovers a web of intrigue that links the coin smuggling to corruption at the highest levels of the University, and, in the process, her life is placed in mortal danger.

The kingdom of Sansland situated on the Azanian Peninsula has been ruled by Sorricians, the sky people, ever since they landed on terra firma centuries ago. The indigenous population are forced to engage directly in the social and economic perpetuation of their own domination beneath the Sorrician heel. Until revolution flares in the antipodes, and soon, even the gods themselves seem to take an interest in the inevitable course of events. But all is not what it seems. The revolution appears to proceed too rapidly. The kingdom’s trade infrastructure collapses too easily. The Sorrician rulers are inexplicably and unrealistically confident in their ability to repel an attack on the capital. It will take a man of conscience, a regular soldier and a boy priest to restore appearances back to reality.

My mother had many failings. Her inability to cook. Her inability to work. Her inability to love. But her two biggest failings...those were the ones that had the potential to ruin my entire life, to ruin my brother’s life, to tear a family apart. More than anything, it was her inability to act. Claire is a young woman working in Johannesburg as a PA. She has few friends barring her au pair flatmate Beth and work colleague Marge. Her nights are spent trying to overcome the trauma of her past to find sexual fulfilment in a shallow world of one night stands. Whether she can set herself on a path towards a more normal life comes down to one crucial thing – forgiveness.

A young woman from a rural village near Kimberley is killed by her husband in a fit of jealousy. Her illiterate mother is summoned to the hospital to authorize the removal of vital organs – eyes, liver, kidney and heart – for organ donation. But some members of the family feel that their child should not be buried with parts of her body missing. Thus begins a story that changes the lives of many people, both black and white, over the following twenty years.

My stories are set in the townships, and move with the vigorous rhythms and jagged structures of township life. Some of them are written in English and others in isiXhosa. Some of the dialogue is township slang, a mixture of languages; and pure isiXhosa. The stories follow no particular pattern and are arranged according to any form of chronology, and different voices, at times as a man/boy and in others as a girl. The characters are not related each story perfectly stands for itself. Some of the stories hark back to the days of apartheid and are seen through the eyes of a child confused by the humiliations of his elders. / Amabali am asekelwe ezilokishini yaye ahambelana neemeko ezimaxongo zokuphila zasezilokishini apho yaye amanye asukela kwixesha lengcinezelo yesizwe esimnyama. Imiba echatshazelwa kula mabali iquka intlupheko, intiyo kwakunye nokuphilisana koluntu ezilokishini, phantsi kwezo meko. Amabali la ndizame ukuwenza alandele indlela yokubalisa yhenkwenkwana enguSkhumba, ethi ibone iqwalasele iimeko zokuphila zabantu bohlanga lwayo. Ingqokelela esisiqendu sokuqala yona ibhalwe ze yangeniswa ngesiNgesi. / This thesis is presented in two parts: English and isiXhosa.

Lurching from day-today in the months before South Africa becomes a republic, booze-befuddled Indian private investigator Rohit Biswas does not ponder how he can secure his daughter's future after he became a widower and lost his job as police detective when he killed a man who fatally stabbed his wife. Salvation appears when a rich client hires the PI to find evidence proving his son did not rape and murder a white socialite. Fighting against seeming impossible odds in colonial-apartheid Durban and a sanctions-busting conspiracy, Biswas secures his client's acquittal. In the process he defies karma and redeems himself.