Author: Modisane, Bloke, [ Modisane, William (1923-1986) ]
Title: Blame Me on History
Description: London, Thames & Hudson, (1963). orig.cloth, dustwrapper.. 22x14cm, 311 pp.. Minor rubbing. Name on flyleaf. VG. In a rubbed dustwrapper. ¶ Autobiography. ["William Modisane better known as Bloke Modisane was a South African writer, actor and journalist. He lived in Sophiatown. His father was murdered and his sister died of malnutrition. To make ends meet,his mother ran a shebeen. He joined Drum magazine as a journalist and became one of the Drum Boys during Drum's halcyon days in the 1950s....He tried to facilitate non-racial progress in the arts by making concerts and theatre available to Black audiences and tried to further the efforts of the Arts Federation and the Union of South African Artists both of which were non-racial. He wrote a number of short stories which were published in Drum. One such story The Situation derived from the Tsotsitaal (slang) for educated Blacks who rose above their station (i.e. situated above their station) but don't really fit into their new milieu. (Don Mattera mentioned this when describing the journalists. "There was a definite class division. We were in the streets, and they were in the desks. And we used to call such people situations.")...He shared the writing credits on Come Back, Africa, a film filmed mainly in Sophiatown. Becoming frustrated by the political situation and oppression under the apartheid regime, he moved to England in 1959. In 1963, his autobiography Blame me on history was published. This detailed his despair at the bulldozing of Sophiatown ( mirroring Can Themba's short story Requiem for Sophiatown) and his frustration and anger with apartheid. As a result, the book was banned in 1966" - wikipedia].

Keywords: African Literary History, South Africa, Literature, Autobiography, , , , ,