A dual language anthology of the poetry of Breyten Breytenbach, published while he was in prision charged with terrorism. In English and Afrikaans. Bib, 179pp, UK. REX COLLINGS.

1978 0860360911 Hardback

46 new poems from a winner of the Ingrid Jonker Prize for poetry. 66pp, SOUTH AFRICA. PROTEA BOOK HOUSE.

A collection of light verse. B/w illus, 54pp, SOUTH AFRICA. KWELA BOOKS.

Rose Mokhosi says: 'As young black South African women today, we are truly fortunate to have been born into these exciting times, when we have the power to shape our own lives. All thanks go to our rich history, our mothers, fathers and forefathers who led the way, fought the battles and brought us to this point, this time, where we can express ourselves in freedom and celebrate our beautiful African heritage with pride. This collection will give you a glimpse into our thoughts, our experiences, our lives. We hope it will be a source of inspiration to other young South Africans, encouraging them to dream big and live out their dreams. In the words of Hale Tsehlana, we write because it is time - OUR time.' 85pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

Bavino is ghetto-talk for everyman. In these new poems Rampolokeng looks through the destruction caused by those intoxicated by their own power, who put "vanity before humanity", in South Africa and globally, past and present. 120pp, SOUTH AFRICA. GECKO.

The earlier edition of translations from Ingrid Jonker's work, SELECTED POEMS by Jack Cope and William Plomer, is now out of print, so this new translation by two of South Africa's most illustrious authors, André Brink and Antjie Krog, is doubly welcomed. 128pp, SOUTH AFRICA. HUMAN & ROUSSEAU.

This new collection offers a fearless and ecstatic exploration of immanent old age. The taboos within the tidal moods of the menopause are described with an anger and a verbal intensity that are uniquely Krog’s. Close relationships are searingly explored, occasionally in a confrontational way, more often searching for resolution. In the final meditative section, Table Mountain, a looming, symbolic and androgynous godhead, is contemplated as an abiding presence and witness to the transience of human life. 112pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UMUZI.

Written over a month of fasting and inspired by the poetry of Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, these poems are all, ultimately, songs of love. Accompanied by black and white photos by John Cleare. 144pp, SOUTH AFRICA. WITWATERSRAND UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Poems exploring what it means to be part of a wider historical process in the new South Africa, evoking the physical and emotional landscapes of the country. 59pp, UK. CARCANET, 1857546407

Joan Metelerkamp’s seventh collection of poems. The title poem is a cycle that embodies the labours of the medieval alchemists, heating and burning, transforming passionate intensity, the search for an enduring element. I96pp, SOUTH AFRICA. MODJAJI BOOKS.

75 poems, some published previously elsewhere and some published here for the first time by the late revered poet. 120pp, SOUTH AFRICA. JACANA MEDIA.

Most of Cape Town's leading poets feature in this anthology that showcases different ways of seeing and experiencing the city and its surroundings. iv, 60pp, SOUTH AFRICA. DAVID PHILIP.

2001 0864863802 Paperback

Collected poems of the dissident South African poet, including 6 previously unpublished works. Foreword by Neville Alexander. 362pp, SOUTH AFRICA. REALITIES.

Latest collection from the seasoned South African poet, Mahola laments for the loss of the cultural values of respect and humanity and yearns for reconnection with the rhythms of nature and rural life. He expresses a general disillusionment with 'man's rotten morals', and is critical of the different standards that apply to rulers and 'commoners'. His plea is for an accountable humanity. His is a praise singer's voice, perfectly attuned to the political and social complexities of the moment, intensely patriotic but also boldly outspoken in its criticisms of leaders and populace alike. 74pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

Collection of 61 poems capturing the poet's most recent phase of environmental curiosity. The first poem in the collection, Settler Country, was awarded a DALRO prize when it first appeared in New Coin 39.1 2003. 29pp, SOUTH AFRICA. ECHOING GREEN PRESS.

The award winning author and poet's first book of poems published in English. Krog herself translated most of them from the original Afrikaans for this edition. Includes brief translation and publisher's notes. Glos, 119pp, SOUTH AFRICA. RANDOM HOUSE SOUTH AFRICA.

Debut poetry collection attempts to probe the realm of the unsaid and the ripples that move between words, between people, between bodies. Sometimes the verses trace and explore details that have brought the poet to, in her own words, "arrested instants of loss or witness that break open the surface of the world". 64pp, SOUTH AFRICA. KWELA.

Posthumous selection of 52 poems explores the cosmology and mythology of Kunene's Zulu heritage, broaching themes of history, family, legacy, and the importance ancestors. 108pp, NIGERIA. MALTHOUSE.

'...profoundly about being a South African but goes beyond well-established concerns with social issues...The poems are written to evoke the speech of daily life and each holds in it the layered experiencing of questions of belief, of beauty, of dreams, of mothering, of belonging, of responsibility, of independence, of acceptance, of truth telling, of cultural difference, of tolerance...' 96pp. SOUTH AFRICA. DEEP SOUTH.

The author's thirty-third collection of poetry. Translated into English by John Irons and illustrated with b/w images. Also includes original Dutch versions. 87pp, SOUTH AFRICA. SNAIL PRESS.

A wide selection of Mabuza's poems from a period of over thirty years. In this collection she explores the nature of South Africa's journey to democracy and her own personal role in the struggle. 130pp, SOUTH AFRICA. PICADOR AFRICA.

Anthology of poetry and prose poems. It begins by evoking a childhood in South Africa under apartheid; it ends with the author as a father evoking his own children and life in France. 68pp, SOUTH AFRICA. JACANA MEDIA.

New collection of poetry inspired by the San peoples ho once inhabited the Ghaap Plateau of the Western Cape. 55pp, SOUTH AFRICA. KWELA BOOKS.

An anthology of recent South African writing including poetry, short fiction, essays, comedy, diary entries, song lyrics and opera. 188pp, SOUTH AFRICA. JACANA EDUCATION, 1919931236

A collection of poetry spanning the period 1963, when Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, to 2005, when he celebrated his 87th birthday, it includes 92 poems representing 25 countries. The poets include Wole Soyinka, Andrew Motion, Benjamin Zephaniah, Dennis Brutus, Wally Mongane Serote, José Craveirinha, Federico Mayor and Tupac Shakur. The title means Hail Mandela, referring to his clan name and the one by which he is affectionately known in South Africa. Much more than an anthology about one man, the poems are numerous small gestures of passionate creativity which combined create a narrative of the struggle to free all South Africans from the legacy of apartheid. This book is a tribute to Mandela's place in history and in our hearts, and is an example of poetry used as a political tool over the past 40 years. 296pp, UK. AFLAME BOOKS.

Thirty-two new poems from this prolific South African poet. 44pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF NATAL PRESS.

The author's tenth poetry title. Written in the form of a meditative dialogue between lover and beloved, the poem examines the relationship between African identity and ancestral guidance. 68pp, SOUTH AFRICA. KWELA BOOKS.

These poems, many written in exile, span four decades and explore a wide spectrum of emotions and an earlier need to participate in the struggle to liberate the poet's land of birth. In the stunning and original rhythms of the poems, the subtle influence of jazz and the Setswana language can be felt. 104pp, SOUTH AFRICA. KWELA BOOKS.

A collection of poems written by whilst the poet was imprisoned in Port Elizabeth. 57pp, SOUTH AFRICA. DEEP SOUTH.

Debut collection by a widely-anthologised South African feminist poet, who views eroticism as a powerful aesthetic and political terrain. B/w photos, 90pp, SOUTH AFRICA. SKOTAVILLE PUBLISHERS.

New poetry. Gloss, 125pp, SOUTH AFRICA. TIMBILA PUBLISHING.

The third publication from the South African poet. 108pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

His modes shift from the filmic to the interior monologue, his tones from the wickedly satirical to the poignant, the raucously contentious to the intimate. In Soles hands the prose poem becomes the perfect form. Full of arresting lines and images, its constellations create something that reads almost like a novel. It taps into the dream beneath the surface of South Africa. (Stephen Clingman). Gloss, 122pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS

Poems evoking encounters southern African creatures, from aardvark to zebra, kudu to warthogs. The text invites the reader to consider animals not so much as beasts or feasts, pets or threats, but as our chromosomal cousins, embodying recent discoveries in the fields of evolutionary biology, palaeontology and astronomy. Bib, b/w illus, 85pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

Items in Karen Press's poetry have always been unusually well lit and carefully positioned, with lots of space for viewing and contemplation. That is more true than ever of the exhibits in this most artfully designed and immensely absorbing pocket museum, with its sensitive evocation of the textures and nuances of South African working class life. 64pp, SOUTH AFRICA. DEEP SOUTH.

Retrospective collection where the author shares her personal journey through the social and political landscapes of the 1980s.These poems and short stories are written in a variety of styles and voices, ranging from anecdotal memory to historical moment to folklore tradition. 108pp, SOUTH AFRICA . UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

A collection of poetry charged with a sense of history and the present moment. Kelwyn Sole urges our capacity to think and to feel and to act. The South African poet's third collection. Winner of the Olive Schreiner Award for his first collection. 127pp, SOUTH AFRICAN. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

New poetry. Gloss, 103pp, SOUTH AFRICA. TIMBILA PUBLISHING.

A new collection of poetry by the South African poet. 138pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

The fourth, eagerly-awaited collection from Jeremy Cronin. Since the publication of his début volume, Inside, which was awarded the 1984 Ingrid Jonker Prize, Cronin has always, compel-lingly, managed to combine political conviction with poetic clarity. In the words of Ingrid de Kok, he is [South Africa's] most experimental, demanding and, despite his disclaimers, one of our most accomplished lyrical poets. Some poems deal very movingly with personal relationships between father and children, husband and wife. Other poems, designed to be performed, contain social commentary. 64pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UMUZI.

A new volume of 450 poems which highlights the diversity of South African experience. Index, xxiv, 513pp, SOUTH AFRICA. AD DONKER.

2002 0868522244 Paperback

A posthumous selection of 50 poems from Tatamkhulu Afrika's previous eight collections of verse. The selection, made by his friends and editors, was a collaborative effort to ensure that all facets of his poetry, the political, religious and lyrical, are represented. 112pp, SOUTH AFRICA. KWELA BOOKS.

Poet with a gift for allusion and a sense of the sensuousness and subtleties of language. Collection celebrates the sacred aspects embedded in the everyday and offers a transcendent view of human mortality. 46pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

Explores life’s complexities, both beautiful and poisonous - love, death, art, the aftermath of war and genocide, travel, religion, revelation. More wide-ranging than her previous volumes, it charts experiences through which the self may be transformed. 58pp, SOUTH AFRICA. MODJAJI BOOKS.

A book of portraits, experiments and objects made of words. They find their locations between Cape Town and London, between the dawn of the new millennium and the present day. Guided by a biographical thread, in her first collection Kate Kilalea borrows the techniques of a craftsman to transform material into new shapes: an artist's concentrated gaze at the very particular subject in her portrait poems; an embroiderer's delicate craft of stitching to create a paced poetry, meticulous in detail. 86pp, UK. CARCANET.

From the languid innocence of the poems about her village, to her shattering images of Africa at war, Magona leads you headlong into her fireside circle where archetypes flicker like shadows on a face that has seen, and been. 82pp, SOUTH AFRICA. MODJAJI BOOKS.

Probing the complexities of South African life with integrity. Introduced by Njabulo Ndebele. 192pp, SOUTH AFRICA. RAVAN PRESS.

The Railway Magazine was a journal produced by South African Railways for its employees. Amongst a range of topics it also contained poems written by workers and management, mostly on subjects related to the railways such as work, trains and travel. This volume is a selection of poems from the journal, written in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and it presents a fascinating insight into the lives and ideas of ordinary railway workers from that period. 63pp. SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

Written in the author's distinctive musical voice, her fifth book of poetry was written after the suicide of her mother and articulates the process of mourning and exploring the issues of life and death. The tiles of each poem has a Latin subtile taken from sections of the requiem mass. 67pp, SOUTH AFRICA. DEEP SOUTH.

This collection of over 300 poems provide a broad historical spectrum of Black South African poetry. Presented chronologically, these poems show the develop-ment of cultural resistance in the country, from early Christian poets, right up to the Black Consciousness writers. 411pp, SOUTH AFRICA. RAVAN PRESS.

Collection of fifty-six new poems worked out travelling along the open road, a global traveller in a diffracted time, from Patagonian glaciers, along Canadian trails, on American railways and across Australian deserts and returning to rediscover the textures of home down Southern Africa’s roads. 82pp, SOUTH AFRICA. ECHOING GREEN PRESS.

South Africa's most lucid and composed voice in contemporary poetry, the author shares her ability to interweave the intensely personal world with the politically panoramic. This collection is comprised of some of her best poems from the last 25 years many of which have been out of print for a number of years, as well as a selection of new, previously unpublished poetry. 160pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UMUZI.

Poetry permeated by the background of oppression and violence of apartheid. 43pp, AUSTRALIA. DANGAROO PRESS

Collection of Gray's output over the last seven years. The long title poem first appeared in MOVING WORLDS. 111pp, SOUTH AFRICA. PROTEA BOOK HOUSE.

Collection of poetry by the journalist and political commentator. 43pp, SOUTH AFRICA. VIVLIA PUBLISHERS & BOOKSELLERS.

Reprint. A collection of poems written mostly from exile form Apartheid South Africa. 176pp, UK. HEINEMANN AFRICAN WRITERS SERIES.

1973 0435906402 Hardback

Collection of unpublished poems found after the writer's death in boxes, diaries and letters, and in between the pages of old

books. More than 130 poems, songs and psalms are assembled here by Anne Paton. Index, 214pp, SOUTH AFRICA. GECKO BOOKS

Poetry capturing the feelings and aspirations of the black people of South Africa following the transition from Apartheid to democratic governance. 48pp, USA. RED SEA PRESS.

In his first volume of poetry, Mxolisi Nyezwa shifts South African lyrical poetry into powerful and strange landscapes. These are associative poems which move rapidly through multiple dimen-sions. They encompass the spiritual, the political and the bleakness of the everyday with a fluency of language and compelling deftness of image. 92pp, SOUTH AFRICA. GECKO POETRY.

This collection of poems about the Soweto uprising of 1976 by a leading South African poet, capturing the mood of the country during the aftermath. 53pp, UK. REX COLLINGS.

Poems of brutally honest self-scrutiny. At the heart of the collection is a series of poems on the ageing body, loss of love and infertility. 58pp, SOUTH AFRICA. MODJAJI BOOKS.

Poems written in exile from South Africa. 97pp, UK. HEINEMANN AFRICAN WRITERS SERIES.

1978 0435902083 Paperback

Sandile Dikeni's first volume of poetry, Guava Juice, was enthusiastically received when published in 1992 (Mayibuye Books). Since then, Dikeni has been a regular commentator on the development of the country's democracy. In Telegraph to the sky this theme emerges, once again, as the force driving his poetry. 56pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

A powerful new long poem, defending human integrity. 48pp,

A selection of poems written over the course of thirty years evoking a wide range of emotions and paying tribute to a variety of cultural figures from Hugh Masekela to Nina Simone. Notes, 63pp, SOUTH AFRICA. KWELA BOOKS.

Debut collection of poems reflecting a highly eclectic mix of styles with idiomatic interplay of English and African languages. Spanning fifteen years, the poems reflect different developmental and stylistic patterns drawn from various influences of the South African experience. Each poem comments on the poet's educational development and political awareness from the 1970s to present day democratic South Africa. With a foreword by Eskia Mphahlele. 124pp, SOUTH AFRICA. PROTEA BOOK HOUSE.

Moolman's poems speak in the silences of our interactions with others and with ourselves. His close observations of what is immediate - and often imperfect - inspire poems that show us how to look at the everyday with new eyes. 60pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

New poetry from South Africa. 90pp, SOUTH AFRICA. SKOTAVILLE PUBLISHERS.

Poetry collection serving as an epitaph to South Africa's Struggle heroes, covering the historical period 1976-1996. 90pp, SOUTH AFRICA. VIVLIA.

29 poems from a South African poet and literary agent based in the UK. 48pp, SOUTH AFRICA. CARAPACE POETS.

New poetry from South Africa. 64pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UMGANGATHO MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS.