Can Themba: The Making and Breaking of the Intellectual Tsotsi, a Biography

Mahala's biography gives insight into the life and writing of Can Themba (1924–1967), an iconic figure of the South African literary world and Drum journalist who died in exile This rich and absorbing biography of Can Themba, iconic Drum-era journalist and writer, is the definitive history of a larger-than-life man who died too young. Siphiwo Mahala's intensive and often fresh research features unprecedented archival access and interviews with Themba's surviving colleagues and family. Mahala's biography takes a critical historical approach to Themba's life and writing, giving a picture of the whole man, from his early beginnings in Marabastad to his sombre end in exile in Swaziland. The better-known elements of his life – his political views, passion for teaching and mentoring, family life and his drinking – are woven together with an examination of his literary influences and the impact of his own writing (especially his famous short story 'The Suit') on modern African writers in turn. Mahala, a master storyteller, deftly follows the threads of Themba's dynamic life, showcasing his intellectual acumen, scholarly aptitude and wit, along with his flaws, contradictions and heartbreaks, against a backdrop of the sparkle and pathos of Sophiatown of the 1950s. Can Themba's successes and failures as well as his triumphs and tribulations reverberate on the pages of this long-awaited biography. The result is an authoritative and entertaining account of an often misunderstood figure in South Africa's literary canon.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part I: Death and Birth of a Scribe Chapter 1 A Knock on the Door Chapter 2 The Poet Laureate of Fort Hare Chapter 3 The Teacher of Life and Letters Chapter 4 From Marabastad to Sophiatown and beyond Part II: Living Fast, Dying Young Chapter 5 The Drum Seduction Chapter 6 Occasions for Loving Chapter 7 Drumming Up a Storm Chapter 8 Destruction and Demise Chapter 9 The Road to Swaziland: A Kind of Suicide Part III: The ‘Intellectual Tsotsi’: The Identities, Politics and Intellectual Legacy of Can Themba Chapter 10 Black Englishman or Detribalised African? A Quest for Shared Identities Chapter 11 A Politico in a Poet Chapter 12 The People’s Intellectual Part IV: Dances with Texts: the Writings of Can Themba Chapter 13 No Ordinary Storyteller Chapter 14 Intertextuality and the Making of Mr Shakespeare Chapter 15 ‘The Suit’ For All Seasons Part V: The Immortality of Can Themba Chapter 16 Re-Membering the Fragments Postscript: The Three Burials of Can Themba Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Siphiwo Mahala is a short story writer, novelist, playwright and literary critic. He is the author of the novel When A Man Cries (2007), which he translated into isiXhosa as Yakhal' Indoda (2010), and the short story collection African Delights (2011). He is a Research Fellow at Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Study.