Begging to be Black is the latest piece of work by the esteemed and controversial South African writer, poet and academic Antjie Krog. Launched as part of an immense trio of publications including Country of My Skull (1998) and A Change of Tongue (2003), both previous books in this series dealt with her life in South Africa (during and post Apartheid) as a white female patriot and paramour of the rainbow nation. Born in 1952, she has been described as the Pablo Neruda of Afrikaans and has been awarded multiples of accolades.
Begging to be Black starts in 1992 as a gang leader is shot and killed by a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe in Kroonstad, South Africa. The murder weapon was then hidden on Krog’s veranda. Krog begins the book by examining her stance in the vexing case. As an outspoken and challenging writer and adept academic, Krog is able to produce craftsmanship in her prodigious composition. It is particularly relevant to the world as the 2010 World Cup sets off in the inferno of South Africa. After the break Antjie Krog reads from Begging to be Black.
2 Comments
please could you tell me if it is possible to send an email to Antjie Krog
thank you
bladsy 212 of Begging to be Black “Christian forgivenes…the reward will be in heaven.” Well yes, but the reward is also immediate on earth here and now! Christian forgiveness frees the forgiver to live again, does not change the past but is a letting go of the past and of any thoughts of revenge;it creates a new future and enlarges it for the forgiver. Desmond Tutu’s book is entitled “No future without forgiveness”. Christian forgiveness does not “demand a response from the forgiven one” who may be unaware of the forgiveness given, has not requested it and may not humanly speaking deserve it, but it frees the forgiver. “Forgiving someone is like setting a prisoner free only to realize that it was you who was the prisoner!” and so much more could be said….I enjoyed your book and read it because I do not always agree with your public statements and attitude but I too am looking for a way to handle my whiteness and identify with blackness. I do not expect any acknowledgement. Greetings Audrey