News about Chatsworth from Sweden

Pravasan Pillay has been interviewed about Chatsworth in the Swedish magazine Klass, which focuses on working-class literature. He chatted with journalist Beata Hansson about, among other things, melancholy, existentialism, outsiders, the body, class society and chai.
Chatsworth will be published in Swedish next year.
And if you live in Joburg and still haven't read it, you can still get copies at some Exclusive Books branches, and definitely at The Commune, a new bookstore in Braamfontein.

More news on With the Safety Off

I have received an order for Graeme Feltham's With the Safety Off from Paul Wessels, who heads the Master's degree in Creative Writing programme at Rhodes University, Makhanda. It seems Paul worked with Graeme 'a bit' on an earlier version of the  novel - something I was not aware of - I was not even aware that Graeme and Paul (whom I have known since the early 1990s) knew each other. But there you go ... the novel continues to widen its reach.

Sun Ra mail art from Henry Denander

More mail art from the great, generous Henry Denander - a stamp series of his watercolour portrait of Sun Ra - thank you, Hank!

With the Safety Off on Goodreads

Graeme Feltham's novel With the Safety Off, recently published by Dye Hard Press and altoviolet, is now listed on Goodreads. If you have read it and enjoyed it, why not pop in and give it a short review?

Check it out here.

With the Safety Off availability continues ...

Just as well I have been slack in collecting the launch stock of With the Safety Off from David Krut Bookstore ... more copies have sold since launch night!

Oh, and Clarke's in Cape Town has ordered copies!

Did you know ....

Did you know…

That of the 3 million Indians living in Southeast Africa, 1 million live in South Africa?

That Durban is regarded as the largest ‘Indian’ city outside India?

And having asked those questions, have you ever been to Chatsworth?

Well, whether you have or you haven’t, or maybe you’ve lived there or still do live there, get yourself a copy of Pravasan Pillay's Chatsworth, published by Dye Hard Press! It would also make an excellent Christmas gift!

And Chatsworth is now available at Braamfontein’s new bookstore The Commune - so check out this new store too!

Photos from the launch of Graeme Feltham's With the Safety Off

Hans Pienaar, co-publisher and MC for the launch.

Artist James de Villiers, who was a friend of Graeme Feltham and who wrote an introduction for the book.

Nick Hauser, friend of Graeme Feltham.

Luke Feltham, son of Graeme Feltham.

Gary Cummiskey, main publisher of the book.

James de Villiers, Hans Pienaar and Gary Cummiskey

Facebook post by Derek Davey about the launch of Graeme Feltham's With the Safety Off

James de Villiers talks at the launch of Graeme Feltham's new book With the Safety Off, published by Dye Hard Press. There were some innaresting speeches, particularly one by my old china, Nick Hauser. Nick drew parallels to Fig and Dostoevsky's Raskolnikov, both schismatic characters, and cited similarities between Graeme and Herman Charles Bosman. High praise indeed for a grungy book about drugs in Yeoville in the 90s ..

At the launch of Graeme Feltham's With the Safety Off

South African journalist Dennis Beckett checking out copies of Graeme Feltham's With the Safety Off, at the launch held at David Krut Bookstore on 27 November.

When Spirit Meets Bone

When Spirit Meets Bone, a CD of music by Graeme Feltham, compiled by James de Villiers. The CD was available for sale at the launch of With the Safety Off, published by Dye Hard Press.

A final reminder for the launch of With the safety Off by Graeme Feltham

A reminder to RSVP - the launch is tomorrow night!!!

You gotta be the morning aftertaste: an extract from Graeme Feltham's With the Safety Off, published in Mail & Guardian

Fig claws through the cobwebs of some or other muckmare, the details of which he thankfully cannot remember. 

He takes the mirror off the bedstand and snorts the line of coke he prepared before falling asleep like a log.

On the spot he’s awake on the double-bed sponge mattress with a crate on either side, the Hitachi L 17 on the one crate, a few books on the other (no library here, commensurate with his avowed unbelief in property), two other crates that double as chairs scattered on the floor and against the one wall his clothes are folded in wooden tomato boxes. Read more.

Exclusive Books Sandton City has ordered five copies of With the Safety Off, so they should be on the shelves soon! I wonder what Fig, the main character, would think of that - at the start of the book he is working for a Sandton ad agency!

Invite to the launch of With the Safety Off by Graeme Feltham

RIP Erik Vatne

Two days ago I received the news that US poet Erik Vatne had passed on about a month back. I have been too shocked and depressed about it to process it. Erik and I became friends on Facebook around 2010, just after I became friends with Yannis Livadas and Subhankar Das. It was Yannis who introduced me to Erik's collection Cartographies of Silence. And Sub published chapbooks by all three of us.

For a while Erik and I were very close, exchanging messages, emails, poetry and music videos almost daily. But about four years ago he abruptly left all social media, and would not even reply to emails. I was extremely worried about his silence, especially given Erik's history of addictions and breakdowns. Finally, I managed to get someone to trace Erik down - he was fine - he just needed to withdraw and get some privacy.

Then a year ago he messaged me out of the blue, thanking me for my concern, but again saying he just needed to get privacy. I decided to respect his wishes and did not reply. Then two days ago came the news of his death. I don't know the details.

Here is an interview I did with Erik just after the publication of his collection Mormon Heroin.

RIP Erik.

A circular journey: an interview with Musawenkosi Khanyile, published in The Odd Magazine 19

Musawenkosi Khanyile was born in 1991 in Nseleni, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He holds a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from the University of Zululand, a Master’s in Creative Writing from the University of the Western Cape and is currently studying towards a Master’s in Public Health at the University of Cape Town, where he also works as a Student Counsellor. His chapbook, The Internal Saboteur, was published as part of the African Poetry Book Fund’s 2019 New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Sita). His first full collection, All the Places, was also published in 2019, by Uhlanga. His work has appeared in literary journals, both local and international, such as New Coin, New Contrast and Five Points. He currently lives in Cape Town. Read more here.