interview by Joe Vaz
I panicked when Henrietta Rose-Innes released her excellent collection, ‘Homing’. I felt that if I didn’t get these guys down soon, then someone else was going to nab them. South Africa is rich that way, a repository of tall tales that haven’t been completely told. The loopholes are still many and varied. But they’re getting closed up as writers realise where they are. |
From Issue 13 (Sept 2011) |
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Posted in Interviews, Non-Fiction | 
Tags: Diane Awerbuck, Interview, Issue 13, Joe Vaz | 
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review by Joe Vaz
| Published by Umuzi PB 144 pages RRP R150 (Kindle £1.49) The furniture is made for children. The parents I need to see are the ones who never come. Most of them are overly interested, clutching their handbags. 'Mister September,' they say, making my title - a common one on the Flats - sound like a caption from a calendar. Or, if they are men, are stepfathers, mustached and overbearing, smelling of the aftershave that announces them. They show their teeth and say, in a joke that is not a joke, 'You teachers. You have such nice lives. All those school holidays.' | 
From Issue 13 (Sept 2011) |
interview by Joe Vaz
I didn’t set out to write a comedy, but my narrator — twitchy, hapless sort that he was— turned up with a cosmic “kick me” signed pinned to his back. I decided to let him do the talking. |
From Issue 13 (Sept 2011) |
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Posted in Interviews, Non-Fiction | Tags: Interview, Issue 13, Joe Vaz, Scott Brendel, Writers Cornered | Comments Closed
by Scott Brendel
I was in such a rush to bury her, I forgot about the ring. |
From Issue 13 (Sept 2011) |
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interview by Joe Vaz
I often forget exactly what inspired a story, probably because it's usually a convergence of several things. Or sometimes because of a lack of sleep. (See question 2.) One thing that contributed to it was a realization that Rafe's timeline was going to coincide with the Jack the Ripper murders. |
From Issue 13 (Sept 2011) |
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Posted in Interviews, Non-Fiction | Tags: Interview, Issue 13, Joe Vaz, Paul Marlowe, Writers Cornered | Comments Closed
by Paul Marlowe
London! Paragon of cities. How many wonders there are, in its villas, its marketplaces, in its streets and tunnels. London – this uncommon weal of fateful miracles, and of horrors that I know only too well. Cheek by jowl a multitude lie, a thousand-thousand strange tales between them, unknown but for the chance mis-step into an unfamiliar alleyway – the passing glimpse along a half-lit, fog-swathed street. So has it always been in the great cities that draw in every kind of creature. Those who toil; those who live upon them. The builders, the wreckers. Town- and country-men. The eager, the wicked, the mad; and not from this isle alone, but from all the ends of the world. Indeed, not only from this… but now, let me see. How to begin. |
From Issue 13 (Sept 2011) |
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by Paul Marlowe
FOR AS LONG AS WE’VE SOUGHT to understand and manipulate the world there has been magic. It could be the painting of animals’ images on cave walls to control or placate them. It could be the plotting of the stars’ motions and the tracing of their effects on earthly events. Or just ways to win friends and influence people. And for as long as some have looked for occult power, others have condemned that power, real or imaginary. Two trials show how far attitudes towards magic can change with different times and circumstances. |
From Issue 13 (Sept 2011) |
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interview by Joe Vaz
I was thinking about The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, which is one of those plays we all read in high school, and this image popped into my head. A beautiful girl (Abigail Williams) with a wicked smile, just walking down the middle of the street in 17th century Salem, and behind her, the town burns. |
From Issue 13 (Sept 2011) |
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Posted in Interviews, Non-Fiction | Tags: Interview, Issue 13, Jason Kahn, Joe Vaz, Writers Cornered | Comments Closed
by Jason Kahn
“…‘Tis a perilous time we live in, good people, as we are beset on all sides by the agents of darkness,” boomed the orator in deep, sonorous tones. Despite the stifling air, an icy chill prickled up Mary’s spine. This voice was familiar too, though its owner’s identity eluded her. She moved closer, attempting to see. |
From Issue 13 (Sept 2011) |
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Vincent Sammy
I illustrate primarily in watercolours. I find it fast and effective. I usually add backgrounds in photoshop, as well as add effects and final visual optimisation. But the basic image is always done in watercolours. I like having an actual "original" artwork.
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