Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Noni Jabavu was a SA writer: A book shows how relevant she still is

23/03/2023

Noni Jabavu was a SA writer: A book shows how relevant she still isNoni Jabavu was the first black South African woman to publish memoirs and one of the first African women to pursue a literary career abroad.

by The Conversation

23-03-2023 15:15

in Books

Noni Jabavu at her London office, 12th September 1961. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Noni Jabavu was the first black South African woman to publish memoirs and one of the first African women to pursue a literary career abroad. She left the country as a teenager to pursue an education and returned intermittently throughout her life. She returned to South Africa in 1977 to research her father's biography. Some of her best known work became the witty, insightful and politically charged columns she wrote for the Daily Dispatch newspaper. But this pioneering figure had been all but forgotten until writer and academic Makhosazana Xaba and historian Athambile Masola focused their attention on her life and work. Now they have released a book of Jabavu's columns, called Noni Jabavu: A Stranger at Home. We asked Masola about the writer.

--

WHO WAS NONI JABAVU? Noni Jabavu was born in 1919 in Alice, the then-Cape province of South Africa. South Africa had become the Union of South Africa in 1910 and the devastating Native Land Act was passed in 1913 which exacerbated the displacement of Africans in the region. She was the eldest daughter of Florence Thandiswa Jabavu (born Makiwane) and Don Davidson Tengo Jabavu. Her mother was one of the pioneers of the Zenzele self-help groups for women in rural areas. Her parents were prominent figures who often appeared in newspapers and public platforms.

ALSO READ: Agatha Christie's Miss Marple lives on in short story collection

Her father was a politician, writer, and academic at Fort Hare College (present day University of Fort Hare). The college was extremely important as a space for black thinkers and African leaders. She comes from a network of families who were the pioneers in African modernity through their links at Lovedale, Healdtown, Fort Hare and travels abroad. These early intellectuals, teachers, and journalists shaped the cultural exchange as early recipients of missionary education while holding onto African traditions.

--

NB Publishers She left South Africa aged 13 for Mount School, a girls boarding school in York, England. She writes about this departure in her columns where she meets Jan Smuts whom she describes as Oom Jan . It is at his house where she meets Arthur Gillet and Margaret Clarke who would be her guardians while she is abroad. In her columns she explains that her family in England were English tycoons, upper class, bankers, industrialists, conservative liberals . She remained in England and studied further until her education was disrupted by World War II. It was also during this period where she worked for the BBC radio. In 1941 she married her first husband and a year later gave birth to her daughter Tembi.

ALSO READ: Activists condemn Malaysia's ban on LGBTQ books

Her literary career began while she was in England when her first memoir, Drawn in Colour, was published in 1960. The success of this publication precipitated her appointment as the editor of the New Strand, a literary magazine published in London. This made her the first woman and black person to hold this position in 1961. Her appointment was so significant that she was featured in Ebony Magazine. An Italian translation of the book was published in 1962, further demonstrating an interest in her work. In 1963 her second memoir was published, The Ochre People. Throughout her life she lived in Uganda, Jamaica, Kenya, Zimbabwe to mention a few. In writing she explains the effects of her transnational life on her life as a writer. She returned to South Africa in 2002 and passed away in 2008 while living at the Lynette Elliott Frail Care Home in East London.

--

WHY IS SHE IMPORTANT? Noni Jabavu's life is significant because she was a pioneer writer both in South Africa and abroad during the 1960s. Much of her adult life was spent traversing the world, making her part of a network of transnational writers. She crafted a literary career which was unusual for women in the 1960s. Her career inspired the likes of Margaret Busby (editor of Daughters of Africa who became the first black woman to enter publishing as a career in London. On one of her visits home to work on her father's biography, Jabavu began writing for the Daily Dispatch. She contributed 49 columns to the Daily Dispatch. Her readers were varied and openly shocked by the cheekiness and forthright opinions she held in her columns. They were particularly fascinated by her unconventional love life and the friends she mentioned in her columns. Nineteen seventy-seven was a tumultuous year in South Africa with the 1976 student uprising and the death of Steve Biko in 1977.

ALSO READ: Silence of the Shadows': SA author wins esteemed literary prize

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE INTERESTED IN HER COLUMNS? We were both working on long term projects on Noni Jabavu. Makhosazana Xaba began working on Noni Jabavu while she was pursuing her Masters in Creative Writing in 2006. I began my research in 2017 and much of my research is possible because of Makhosazana Xaba's work. Many people became increasingly interested in our work but it was frustrating that both her memoirs were out of print. It seemed that one of the ways of addressing this was to garner interest around a collection of her columns which would hopefully ensure that there would be a renewed interest in her work. The columns also presented a different genre to the memoirs she was known for.

WHAT DOES SHE ADDRESS IN THE COLUMNS? Jabavu's columns present a variety of themes ranging from the political commentary of the 1970s, to a nostalgia of the life
LINK: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/culture/books/noni-jabavu-was-a-sa-wri...
See more stories from thesouthafrican

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

09/09/2026

Nielsen launches CTV Ad spend data into its Italian Ad Intel product

Italy launch follows UK and Germany as Nielsen expands product across EMEA Milan, Italy, September 9, 2026 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, ...

09/09/2026

Gracenote Expands AI Product Roadmap with Sports MCP Server, Entertainment SLM and Agents

Planned solutions tackle accuracy, cost and latency barriers to deploying AI at ...

09/09/2026

Dalet Promotes Brian Doheny to CEO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

Studio Technologies Expands StudioComm Monitoring With In...

Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, introduces its new Model 791 Control Console at IBC 2026 (N...

09/09/2026

Maxon Brings Exclusive Preview of Fall Innovations to IBC...

Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects and visualization, is headin...

09/09/2026

NUGEN Audio Leads the Dialog Intelligibility Conversation...

NUGEN Audio unveils DialogCheck v1.2, the latest evolution of its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at IBC 2026 (Pod P27). With a sharpene...

09/09/2026

Trusted Partner Network Launches Fix It or Risk It to Hel...

Trusted Partner Network Launches Fix It or Risk It to Help the Entertainment Industry Tackle Everyday Security Risks Industry-Wide Campaign Launches at IBC2...

09/09/2026

FCC to Vote on Opening Up Spectrum for Satellite, IoT

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

NDI, NVIDIA Collaborate On Real-Time AI Multilingual Content

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

83 percent of UK advertisers are using AI but speed and n...

AI has moved firmly beyond experimentation in UK advertising, with more than eight in ten marketers (83%) now actively using or piloting AI in production, accor...

09/09/2026

Pixitmedia by DataCore to showcase cloud and connected pr...

IBC2026 - Stand 7.D22 At IBC2026, Pixitmedia by DataCore will showcase its latest capabilities designed to simplify distributed production, accelerate workflow...

09/09/2026

Net Insight Showcases Open Live Media for Controlled Live...

Stockholm, Sweden September 9th, 2026 At IBC2026, on booth 1.B47, Net Insight will showcase Open Live Media, its architecture for delivering resilient live ...

09/09/2026

Net Insight and DMC expand repeatable remote production m...

Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway is continuing the use of its Open Live Media technology for premium European football, deploying Nimbra 5...

09/09/2026

Amagi to Showcase Four AI-Native Innovations Built to Pow...

Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, will showcase four new AI-native capabilities at IBC2026, Hall 5, S...

09/09/2026

Limecraft Brings Connected Automated and Intelligent Medi...

Limecraft today announces version 2026.6 of its AI-powered production platform, extending capabilities for connected media operations. An AI-assisted approach t...

09/09/2026

Telestream Advances Practical AI from Content Understandi...

Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the next evolution of its Practical AI strategy, evolving its comprehensive portfoli...

09/09/2026

Dalet Appoints Brian Doheny as Chief Executive Officer

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Brian Doheny as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....

09/09/2026

LiveU Offers Starlink for News and Sports Broadcast as Cl...

LiveU is now a Clarus Integrated Reseller, bringing Starlink's fast, reliable broadband directly into LiveU's cellular bonding EcoSystem through a singl...

09/09/2026

Study: New Streaming TV Series Orders Plumet

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

G&D, VuWall To Introduce vsNEO KVM Platform At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

FCC May Ramp Up Regulation of How Broadcasters Cover Polls

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

Avid to Demo New Avid Content Core Features at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

Wisycom Showcases Latest Innovations at IBC 2026

Wisycom is showcasing the latest additions to its ecosystem of professional RF technologies at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.D60). This includes its new MATF Wideband Anten...

09/09/2026

VisualOn and Cires21 Cut Delivery Bitrate Up to 76 Percen...

AMSTERDAM, IBC2026 VisualOn, Inc. and Cires21 today released an updated joint whitepaper at IBC 2026 demonstrating measurable, high-impact improvements in visu...

09/09/2026

Sony Electronics Introduces Its First Fisheye Zoom G Lens

Sony Electronics Introduces Its First Fisheye Zoom G Lens Brie Clayton September 8, 2026 0 Comments Compact, lightweight SEL814G Full-frame lens deliv...

09/09/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21.1

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21.1 Brie Clayton September 8, 2026 0 Comments Major update adds AI assistant integration, expanded camera...

09/09/2026

Cuez Integrates AI into a Unified Broadcast Production Workflow

Cuez Integrates AI into a Unified Broadcast Production Workflow Brie Clayton September 8, 2026 0 Comments Cuez announces the expansion of its cloud-ba...

09/09/2026

Red Seat Ventures Integrates Barometer into Speakeasy to Maximize Podcast Revenue Across Audio Portfolio

Red Seat Ventures Integrates Barometer into Speakeasy to Maximize Podcast Revenu...

09/09/2026

Avid and FilmLight announce strategic partnership to reimagine the color pipeline for post production

Baselight-powered color comes natively to Media Composer, connecting creative de...

09/09/2026

Twenty Years Strong

Twenty Years Strong...

09/09/2026

NVIDIA Brings Real-Time AI to Broadcast, Sports and Global Streaming at IBC

At the IBC conference, running Sept. 11-14 in Amsterdam, the creative, technology and business communities are coming together to turn ideas into action and dis...

09/09/2026

Rain, hay or shine, RT is heading to The Ploughing

RT brings three packed days of live radio, entertainment, news, weather and fun Join RT Radio 1: Morning Ireland, Oliver Callan, Today with David McCullagh,...

08/09/2026

Comcast Technology Solutions Signs Multi-Year VOD Distribution Agreement with A+E Global Media

Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has announced a multi-year agreement with A E...

08/09/2026

Spectra Logic Introduces Media Insight for Faster Discovery, Preview, and Retrieval of Archived Media

Spectra Logic today announced the availability of Media Insight, a new capabilit...

08/09/2026

Rogers and Quebecor Announce 12-Year French-Language NHL Sublicensing Deal

Rogers Communications and Quebecor have announced a 12-year sublicensing agreement for French-language national NHL games beginning with the 2026-27 season. TVA...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: Skyline Communications and Bridge Technologies to Demonstrate Automated Broadcast Workflows

Skyline Communications and Bridge Technologies will demonstrate two integrations...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: Boland Communications Makes European Debut of 4K55HDR7SNB

Boland Communications will make the European debut of its 4K55HDR7SNB 55-inch super-narrow-bezel monitor at IBC2026 (Stand 12.C57, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-1...

08/09/2026

Ateme and Comcast Technology Solutions Announce Collaboration for Live Video Delivery

Ateme and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) have announced a collaboration comb...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: Haivision Joins IBC Accelerator Programme on 5G Network Control for Live Production

Haivision has joined the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme as part of t...

08/09/2026

Blackmagic Design Cuts Prices on PYXIS 6K and Cinema Camera 6K

Blackmagic Design has announced price reductions on its PYXIS 6K and Cinema Camera 6K models, effective immediately through Blackmagic Design resellers worldwid...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: AI-Media to Showcase Multilingual AI Captioning and Translation Platform

AI-Media will demonstrate its LEXI Suite at IBC2026 (Booth 5.C34, September 11-1...

08/09/2026

Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform Deploy SGAI Solution for Belgian Broadcaster RTBF

Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform (AIP) have announced the first live deploymen...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: Grass Valley to Demonstrate Story-Centric Newsroom Workflows

Grass Valley will demonstrate story-centric media workflows at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), connecting newsroom production, content ma...

08/09/2026

M2A Media and Ateme Partner to Scale Live Sports Video Delivery

M2A Media and Ateme have announced a partnership integrating Ateme's video processing solutions into M2A Media's MediaToAnywhere platform for live sport...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: Ikegami to Introduce New UNICAM XE Cameras and Viewfinders

Ikegami will exhibit at IBC2026 (Stand 12.A31, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), including a Day 1 introduction of new cameras in the UNICAM XE series. Additiona...

08/09/2026

Caretta Research Shares Top Trends to Watch at IBC 2026

Broadcast industry analysts will be gathering plenty of insights at the 2026 IBC Show this weekend in Amsterdam, but Caretta Research has offered up some though...

08/09/2026

SENSHI and DAZN Announce Global Broadcast Partnership

SENSHI and DAZN have announced a global broadcast partnership that will bring SENSHI's live events free to viewers in more than 200 markets. The partnership...

08/09/2026

ESPN, ESPN2 Begin 4K HDR Rollout in the U.S. with New IP-Based Distribution Pipeline

New architecture built with Evertz will bring 4K HDR to Monday Night Football, N...