Please note: creative writing theses are permanently embargoed in OpenBU. No public access is forecasted for these. To request private access, please click on the lock icon and filled out the appropriate web form. / Collection of short stories and excerpt from the novel / 2031-01-01T00:00:00Z

. / In hierdie novelle, wat oor 'n tydperk van drie dae afspeel, word drie karakters se lewens verwoes nadat hulle vroeg een oggend 'n misdaad pleeg op pad terug van 'n partytjie. Die verhaal speel af in 'n moderne stad, wat bekend voorkom dog vreemd is; asof dit 'n dekade of twee in die toekoms is, met 'n geskiedenis wat homself effens anders uitgespeel het as wat 'n mens sou kon verwag. Le Roux Basson, oftewel Maanhaar, is 'n bekende sanger wat oenskynlik 'n perfekte lewe het in 'n era waarin celebrity-status slaafs nagejaag of selfs nageboots word. Sy vriend, Henk van der Hoest, is 'n misdaadjoernalis by 'n dagblad in die stad en vind dat die verskil tussen 'n lewe van misdaad en 'n 'gewone' lewe minimaal is. Stacy Plummer, 'n groupie van Maanhaar, werk in 'n kroeg en verkoop dwelms op klein skaal om die huur te betaal. Sy is die enigste karakter wat met waardigheid deur die gebeure van die verhaal gelaat word. Die verhaal speel agteruit af, met sekere feite wat van die leser weerhou word tot aan die einde, wat eintlik die begin van die chronologiese verhaal is. Die idee is dat die leser hom- of haarself moontlike ander hoofstukke (elke hoofstuk is 'n dag) kan verbeel voor en na die hoofstukke in hierdie novelle.

This dissertation provides an investigation into the similarities between poetry and ballet in relation to historical development, generating forces behind the artistic process, technical aspects, subject and theme, as well as the role of the mentor and the mentee in the creative effort. Works of Cleanth Brooks en Robert Penn Warren (Understanding poetry), Ruth Padel (The poem and the journey), Camille Paglia (Break, blow, burn), Jay Parini (Why poetry matters), Ottone M. Riccio (The intimate art of writing poetry) and other writers provide a theoretical basis upon which parallels between poetry and ballet are constructed. Practical examples from the collection Pirouette (Botha 2009), the works of several other poets and the ballet world serve to illustrate that poetry can be regarded as ""a dance with words"", whilst ballet can be viewed as ""poetry in motion"".

Includes abstract. / In January 1860, the painter Thomas Baines returned to Cape Town in disgrace, having been dismissed from David Livingstone's expedition to explore the Kebrabasa rapids on the Zambesi River. Livingstone's Cataract is a historical novel that follows Baines's involvement with the expedition. It is written from Baines's point of view, in the first person...

These are the experience as a prisoner of war at Zonderwater of Romeo's father, Umberto; Ruth's memory of her father checking the list of Holocaust survivors' names, posted outside Salisbury Synagogue, as it was updated; Geraldine's description of her elderly neighbour's drawers full of embroidered linen - his mother's trousseau - unused and perished by time; and Anthony's experience as an Allied gunner officer in Sansepolcro, Italy, during World War 2 when he did not fire on the building that housed Piero della Francesca's mural, the Resurrection, though German soldiers were thought to be in the town.

Hierdie roman, Die Nuwer Testament, volg die doen en late van Fabian, 'n sekuriteitswag by 'n casino aan die Oos-Rand, in sy strewe om iemand van belang te wees. Teen die agtergrond van 'n dorp wat al vir 'n geruime tyd in verval is weens die opskorting van mynaktiwiteite, konstrueer Fabian fabelagtige gebeure en karakters om sy bestaan te verglans. 'n Ondier maak sy opwagting in Fabian se tuin en vorm die spilpunt waarom die daaropvolgende gebeure draai. Mossie, 'n tronkvoël wat pas vrygelaat is, word Fabian se handlanger en saam werk hulle onverpoos om vir die dier 'n hok te bou, hom te voed en vir hom te sorg. Ander karakters wat deel vorm van die intriges sluit in: Merinda, Fabian se vrou, 'n wynsuiper wat 'n pandjieswinkel in die dorp bedryf; Konstand, 'n geheimsinnige besigheidsman wat die dier leer dans en Aviva, Fabian se baas, wat hom 'n verhoging aanbied om mense (die uiteindelike voedingsbron vir die dier) wat selfmoord pleeg op die casinogronde te laat 'verdwyn'. Fabian se aanvanklike medemenslikheid en eerlikheid word deurentyd getoets weens sy behoefte daaraan om suksesvol, eksentriek en belangrik te wees. Tematies ondersoek hierdie roman die vernietigende kringloop van gierigheid. Die ondier in Fabian se tuin verteenwoordig die demoon wat skuil agter kits-selfverryking (o.a. dobbelary). Die lyke van mense wat selfmoord pleeg en later vir die ondier gevoer word, dui op die gemeenskap se verantwoordbaarheid wanneer die samelewing moreel verval omdat finansiële welstand verheerlik word as dié sosiale utopie. Die tematiek strek egter wyer as 'n studie oor moraliteit. Fabian en Mossie se soeke na individualiteit, betekenisvolle verhoudings en 'n behoefte aan eenvoudige en gesonde ouerskap, dryf hulle tot die uiterste van hul intellektuele en kreatiewe vermoë – met waansin as eindresultaat. Die titel van hierdie roman, Die Nuwer Testament, sinspeel op die feit dat die oorhoofse tema van die Nuwe Testament (liefde) ontoepaslik en verouderd is in die fiktiewe dorp waarin die verhaal afspeel. 'n Nuwe messias word in Fabian se tuin gebore en 'n nuwe messias beteken 'n nuwe boodskap – loodreg in teenstelling met die 'uitgediende' weergawe.

Plastic City and Other Stories is a set of inter-connected short stories that capture moments in the lives of members of one family. The stories traverse more than five decades of the family's years lived in Cape Town, South Africa. While the stories are essentially about the individual, greater matters - outwardly beyond the character's experience - affect and influence the decisions, choices and, ultimately, the lives of each character. The collection is underpinned by several themes - the most pertinent being the familial bond which serves as a link between stories and enables the reader to become acquainted with the characters through several perspectives as they recur through-out the collection. There are also other, more subtle themes that fonn a connection between events happening decades apart. A, not entirely unobtrusive, narrator links these independent allegories together via inter-leading pieces, adding another dimension to the collection by virtue of her role as, not only narrator, but also as family member. Nine stories with nine inter-leading chapters make up the collection of Plastic City and Other Stories.

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Baxter Zevcenko is your average 16-year-old-boy. If by average you mean a possible serial killer, the kingpin of a porn-peddling schoolyard syndicate and the only thing standing in the way of full-scale gang warfare between the two powerful gangs which control Westridge High School. Which may well be what counts for average these days.

Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her. A baby girl would grow up to eat her alive, and a boy, well, members of the Sisterhood don’t have boys. When a senior government official offers her a way out of the monthly sexual rites, the temptation is too great and El strikes a risky deal. She will act as a spy against her own Order in exchange for access to illegal sterilization procedures. But far more is at stake than El realizes, and her own secrets are at risk of being discovered. Star Eater is a 103 000 word secondary world fantasy novel about power, trauma and justice. It explores the burdens and stresses of mother-daughter relationships against a background of political intrigue and environmental crisis. It is also, fundamentally, a novel about friendship.