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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:R.R.R. Dhlomo and the early black South African short story in English
Author:Gaylard, RobISNI
Year:2005
Periodical:Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa
Volume:17
Issue:1
Pages:52-69
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:short stories
English language
About person:Rolfes Robert Reginald Dhlomo (1901-1971)ISNI
Abstract:This paper looks at R.R.R. Dhlomo, a black writer and an early exponent of the short story in English in South Africa, and explores his ambivalent position as a member of the mission-educated African elite of the 1930s and 1940s. As a 'new African', he was concerned to distance himself from both the tribal past and the new 'marabi' culture of the inner-city slum yards; at the same time, he retains his affiliation to his traditional Zulu culture, and writes a series of historical novels in isiZulu. The article examines the differences and similarities between his 1928 novel, 'An African Tragedy', and the short stories published a few years later in the weekly journal 'Sjambok' (1929-1931) and in 'Bantu World' (after 1931). The stories set in mine compounds on the Reef are an exposé of brutal practices and deserve recognition as early examples of 'protest' writing. However, they also reveal Dhlomo's equivocal position as a 'progressive' African with a respect for the law and a belief in the gradual amelioration of an oppressive system. Other tensions are revealed in a group of stories dealing with traditional beliefs, and suggesting Dhlomo's ambivalent relation to traditional Zulu culture. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract, edited]
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