The proof of the promise of ploughs has arrived from the printer

The proof of Garth Mason's the promise of ploughs has arrived from the printer and it looks damn good!

Watch this space!

The bogeyman lands in Pretoria!

Good to see that dawie malan in Pretoria has received The bogeyman, along with my selected poems, Outside the Cave.

The bogeyman is published by Samizdat Press and Outside the Cave by Dtye Hard Press.

To order, contact Gary Cummiskey at cummiskeyg@gmail.com.

No crumbs left behind: A spot-on review of Pravasan Pillay's Curry and Bread!

An excellent, glowing review of Pravasan Pillay's Curry and Bread has appeared in the new online literary journal Babas and Brasse. You can read it here.

Curry and Bread is published by Dye Hard Press, and is available at select Exclusive Books outlets, madeindurban.co.za, Love Books in Melville, and Clarke's in Cape Town.

Forthcoming from Dye Hard Press: the promise of ploughs

the promise of ploughs is the the debut poetry collection by Garth Mason, and will be published by Dye Hard Press in September. The volume also contains an essay on Buddhism and poetry.

Watch this space for further details!

 

Chops chutney with curry and bread

The dish at the top is called Chops Chutney, which was also the title of one of the stories in Pravasan Pillay's debut collection, Chatsworth, which was published by Dye Hard Press in 2018. Dye Hard Press also published Pillay's most recent book, Curry and Bread, which is available from select Exclusive Books outlets, Love Books in Melville, Clarke's in Cape Town and madeindurban.co.za.

It will also be on sale at the upcoming Durban International Book Fair.  

Outside the cave: selected poems by Gary Cummiskey

Outside the cave: selected poems by Gary Cummiskey, is still available directly from the publisher. Outside the cave comprises work from 1990 to 2022, selected and introduced by renowned South African poet Kobus Moolman.

160 pages.

A sample of some poems from the volume is as follows:

Colours

Downtown, the colours are gone.

The people are gone.

There are no supermarkets,

no cars, no traffic lights,

no beggars.

There is only the darkness.

 

I’m searching for you

but can’t remember your name.

Immortal

Last night, feeling suicidal,

I leapt over the balcony

and landed flat on my back

in the garden below.

Lying there, I looked up

at the sky and saw how empty

it was, apart from a few

insignificant stars.

Now I know I am immortal.

What’s on today’s menu?

A cold-storage plant filled with naked underwear

A pocketful of razors

 

A pecan-nut pie found on a sewage heap

A half-burned steak gone rotten with global atrocities

 

A fish stunned into silence

 

A DVD played backwards on the neck of an astrologer

A cherry farm riddled with last year’s crack cocaine

A loaf of bread rejected by a slaughtered seal

A scrambled egg fried on the remains of Lorca

A can of baked beans farting its way to the White House

 

A frigate of onions marked HIV-positive

A bowl of soup seasoned with sinister suspects

A lasagne sold out in the name of petty politics

A pizza topped with the succulent massacre of penguins

 

A half-burned steak gone rotten with global atrocities

A fish stunned into silence

 

Wheelbarrow

 

He pushes the wheelbarrow

through the gardens, 7am.

He has to be rid of the

patients’ nightmares, that’s

what they pay him for

– so lay off, don’t bug him,

don’t run the poor man down.

 

Published by Dye Hard Press. The cost is R180, plus courier is R100 -- so R280 altogether, for South Africa only. To order please email cummiskeyg@gmail.com. 

 

 

 

He Said/ /She Said ... by Kobus Moolman

Kobus Moolman's poetry collection, He Said/  /She Said, was published by Dye Hard Press in 2024 and was recently reprinted. You can order directly from the publisher at dyehardpress@gmail.com. 

Curry and Bread is still on the boil!

Pravasan Pillay's latest book, Curry and Bread, was published in 2025 by Dye Hard Press. It is still available from selct Exclusive Books branches, Clarke's in Cape Town, Love Books in Melville, and madeindurban.co.za.

 

Playtime

Playtime, a collage by UK artist Paul Warren, was inspired by the story of that name in my collection Off-ramp, published by Dye Hard Press in 2013. Off-ramp was a finalist for the 2014 Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award.

Curry and Bread still available at Sandton City

Pravasan Pillay's Curry and Bread is still available at Exclusive Books, Sandton City. Curry and Bread is also available from madeindurban.co.za, Love Books in Melville, and Clarke's in Cape Town.

 

Revisiting Animal eyeball!

 

Animal eyeball consists of seven cut-up prose poems by South African poet Gary Cummiskey, complemented by collages by UK artist Paul Warren. It was published by Dye Hard Press in 2024 and is available as a free flipbook or it can be downloaded as a PDF.

Kobus Moolman's He Said/ / She Said is here!

The reprint of Kobus Moolman's He Said/   /She Said has arrived from the printer! He Said/   /She Said is a collection of 44 poems, originally published by Dye Hard Press in a limited numbered edition of 120 copies in 2024. 

He Said/   /She Said is available from Clarke's Bookshop in Cape Town, or from the publisher at cummiskeyg@gmail.com.

The proof of the reprint of He Said/ /She Said has arrived!

The proof copy of the second printing of Kobus Moolman's He Said /  / She Said has arrived, and it is looking super!

The first printing of He Said /  / She Said was limited to 120 numbered copies.

He Said /  / She Said will be available from Clarke's in Cape Town or the publisher.

A year ago today ...

It was a year ago today that we were proofreading Pravasan Pillay's new book, Curry and Bread!

Curry and Bread is available from Exclusive Books, madeindurban.co.za, Clarke's in Cape Town and Love Books in Melville, Johannesburg.

A list of Durban Breyanis -- from Curry and Bread

 

A page from Pravasan Pillay's new book Curry and Bread -- a list of Durban breyanis!

Curry and Bread is available from Exclusive Books, madeindurban.co.za, Clarke's in Cape Town, and Love Books in Johannesburg.

He Said/ /She Said is to be reprinted!

Kobus Moolman's poetry collection, He Said/   /She Said, published by Dye Hard Press in 2024, is to be reprinted. The first printing of He Said/   /She Said was a numbered limited edition of 120 copies.

Watch this space!

Curry and Bread still available at Exclusive Books Sandton City!

Good to see two copies of Pravasan Pillay's new book Curry and Bread at Exclusive Books, Sandton City! If you are in the area, pop in and buy a copy!

Curry and Bread is available from other Exclusive Books branches, as well as from madeindurban.co.za, Love Books in Melville and Clarke's in Cape Town. 

Look out for Curry and Bread in Umhlanga!

 

Diarise for the Umhlanga Book Fair, where Pravasan Pillay's Curry and Bread will be on sale!

Curry and Bread is also available at Exclusive Books, madeindurban.co.za, Love Books in Melville (Johannesburg) and Clarke's in Cape Town.

Outside the cave: selected poems by Gary Cummiskey

 

Outside the cave: selected poems by Gary Cummiskey, is still available. Chosen from 30 years of work, the poems are selected and introduced by renowned South African poet Kobus Moolman.

160 pages.

Published by Dye Hard Press. The cost is R180, plus courier is R100 -- so R280 altogether, for South Africa only. To order please email cummiskeyg@gmail.com. 

Here is one of the poems from the collection:

Recipe

Take your favourite

book of poems.

 

Place in an oven dish.

Drizzle (as the menus

always say)

with olive oil.

 

Place the dish in the middle

of the oven.

Turn to maximum on Grill.

 

Don’t stop until

incinerated.

 

Curry and Bread in England!

Good to see that artist Paul Warren in England has received his copy of Pravasan Pillay's Curry and Bread -- the first copy to land in the UK!

You can buy Curry and Bread from Exclusive Books, madeindurban.co.za, Clarke's in Cape Town, and Love Books, in Melville, Johannesburg.