M.A. (French) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Creative Writing, 2017 / MT2018

A middle-aged woman, living in Johannesburg, has an experience which catapults her into changing her life. In the process of confronting her alcoholism, she realizes how patterns of addiction extend to other areas of her life and tries to make sense of the tragic events that have occurred. Her world becomes a different place as she questions everything that she has been taught about relationships, religion, race and her place in society. In the search for answers she uncovers stories about the lives of her parents, grandparents, relatives, friends and acquaintances. Embarking on a journey of discovery and rediscovery through her experiences and those of others, she explores the ways in which the things that she thought she knew defined her behaviour and expression of herself.

This novella presents three characters, each occupying a different sphere of reality. One is a ‘living dead’ who is forced to return to the land of the living for his continued existence. The other is a young woman who, having lost the will to live, must find a purpose if she is to continue living. The third is a young man who dwells more in the inner than the external world. Their lives intersect through the scripture known as ‘a fragment of a bone.’

My novella is set in South Africa in a post-apocalyptic world. The drone technology theorised for the near future is widespread and scattered survivors live under the constant threat of drone strikes. The protagonist tries to negotiate these dangers and the looming threat of a slave empire to reconnect with his friends and family. He encounters bizarre hallucinations and flashbacks as a result of exposure to an unidentified gas.

A novella of crime and suspense set in the townships surrounding the mining town of Welkom Two friends, both ex-miners, start a welding business only to see it fail because of interference by corrupt officials To make ends meet, they are drawn into the world of illegal gold-mining, working with criminals who employ ‘zama-zamas’: desperate foreign nationals who are prepared to live and work in the abandoned mine tunnels underground The friends make money, but the dark practices of illegal mining put a strain on their relationship, their values, and their family ties.

The thesis examines some of the short and long fiction set in Johannesburg, which is published between approximately 1980 and 2003. The thesis examines how the residents viewed themselves, and evaluates the various social and political struggles and strategies that were employed in an attempt to belong, imagine the city differently and establish strategic identities that would enable them to live a better life during the focused quarter of a century of experiences in an ever-changing fictive Johannesburg. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

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.