Tuesday, 6 June 2023
David Gorin is a Canada-born South African at heart. He had a short career in accounting, then spent 30 years in advertising before realising he wanted to write. He now contributes to various publications and ghost writes for a few corporate chief executives. He is a voracious reader, an animal lover and wants to believe in a better world for all.
As a society, we are uncomfortable with death. But hidden in grief and tragedy is potential transcendence, if we allow ourselves to contemplate our own inevitable demise.
This Sharp Read examines two novels that demand reflection on the nature of oppression and imperialism in southern Africa and how – or whether – meaningful reconciliation can occur.
The stories of two South African men with widely differing backgrounds and life trajectories have points of convergence that are perhaps not surprising, given the times in which they have lived.
Artists and activists, from Toni Morrison to Ken Saro-Wiwa, have warned of the consequences of inequality and rapacious capitalism. It is up to us to listen – and to act.
Despite a heating planet and several countries hurtling towards fascism, Dutch historian Rutger Bregman’s new book notes a cause for optimism: the goodness inherent in humanity.
Masks link us to the past and – as most of us are wearing them to go out in public now – define the present. They have the power to connect us to new perspectives.
Dan Gretton’s magisterial work looks at corporate collusion with the Holocaust, how white-collar workers at desks in well-lit offices commit evil, and how ‘violence bleeds from paper’.