In My Heart

In My Heart is a book translated into English from Sesotho, introducing a long-neglected voice to global readership. Elsewhere Texts, edited by Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak and Hosam Aboul-Ela, presents radical new engagements with non-European literary cultures. This volume, the latest in the series, is a brilliant collection of essays originally written in Sesotho by Sophonia Machabe Mofokeng.

Format: Hardback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 25 March 2022
Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd

Elsewhere Texts ,edited by Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak and Hosam Aboul-Ela,presents radical new engagements with non-European literary cultures. This volume,the latest in this ambitious series,is a brilliant collection of essays originally written in Sesotho by Sophonia Machabe Mofokeng. Often confined to the role of "native informants" in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,writers working in African languages laid the foundation for the politics and poetics of decolonization and are legendary among their own communities of readers,though their work remains little known elsewhere. In My Heart belongs to this tradition of colonial renegades. Writing in the 1950s during the cataclysmic events of apartheid that were transforming life in South Africa,Mofokeng offers a series of meditations that provide his readers with a Sesotho worldview outside the categories authorized by colonial knowledge.

In My Heart, a remarkable work translated into English from the Sesotho language, offers a captivating glimpse into a long-neglected voice that now reaches a global audience. This exceptional book, curated by Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak and Hosam Aboul-Ela in Elsewhere Texts, presents a groundbreaking exploration of non-European literary cultures. As the latest installment in this ambitious series, it showcases a brilliant collection of essays originally penned in Sesotho by Sophonia Machabe Mofokeng. Historically, writers working in African languages have often been relegated to the role of "native informants" throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. However, their profound contributions to the politics and poetics of decolonization have earned them legendary status within their own communities of readers. Regrettably, their work remains largely unknown outside these circles.

In My Heart stands as a testament to this legacy of colonial renegades. Written in the 1950s, amidst the tumultuous era of apartheid that reshaped South Africa, Mofokeng offers a series of meditative reflections that challenge the boundaries set by colonial knowledge. Through his writing, he presents his readers with a unique Sesotho worldview, transcending the confines imposed by the dominant discourse. Nhlanhla Maake's expert translation ensures that Mofokeng's profound insights are seamlessly conveyed to a global readership, expanding the horizons of understanding and appreciation.

Weight: 380g
Dimension: 158 x 237 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780857428929