South Africa

The following conversation took place via email. Between Novuyo and myself, we exchanged about 35 emails, in which I was greatly moved by her dedication (as you would see) to her writing, her understanding of her craft, and her willingness to engage. I have never met Novuyo in person, but it feels as though I have known her for a long time. Indeed, there are few of the writers scheduled in this series that I can recognize from a distance. I am yet to fully come to terms with what this means, suggests.

Ever wonder what it would be like to get a shape-up in South Africa? Well, ponder no longer.

Photographer Simon Weller has released a new book called "South African Township Barbershops & Salons," a pictorial slash study that examines and reveals how barbershops in South Africa are more than just places of business, but in fact are the cultural and social epicenters for local community building. 

Below are just some of the visually stunning photos that can be found in the book.

Via Brainpicker

Talya Chalef is an independent theatre-maker working in multidisciplinary visual performance work and is currently based in New York City where she is pursuing her MFA in playwriting within Columbia University's School of the Arts.

Since its 2 weeks in and it should be my natural "cultural" responsibility to ramp up the coverage on the World's greatest sporting event here at the Mantle, this picture is my first contribution. If this was 03', a Chappelle skit definitely would've been in order. 

Props to Foreign Policy

The contentious Vuvuzela (voo-voo-zeh-la) has made its presence known in the games of the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa as the droning insect soundtrack gracing the games. 

It was the diplomatic equivalent of the age-old admonishment “I’m glad your father didn’t live to see this…”  Last month Archbishop Desmond Tutu told The Guardian he was glad that at age 91, modern South Africa’s Founding Father Nelson Mandela was retired and not following day-to-day politics in his country anymore because if he was “issues such as corruption would certainly hurt him, as well as the gutter level of discourse by some politicians within the ruling party [Mandela’s own

Saturday's poetry event co-sponsored by PEN and the Poetry Society, the oldest poetry organization in America, showcased five poets from four continents reading selections of their poetry to a small crowd in the intimate Grand Gallery of the National Arts Club near Grammercy Park in Manhattan. Of little to note other than the poetry itself, I have included some poems from each author in the order that they presented their works during the course of the night. Have a read and click on their names under the "panelist's bio" section to read more from each of these amazing authors.