Writing and Reading: Boundaries of Identity

A turning point in my life occurred when I discovered a treasure trove of banned books in my father's garage. One day, alone at home and bored during the school holidays in the mid-1960s, I began to explore my home. There was that wooden crate at the front right corner of the garage [...]. Once I had removed everything from the top of the box, I opened it. Inside were many books on music, art, and poetry, and others that I thought my father must have used for his degree studies at the University of the Witwatersrand. But as I got closer to the bottom of the box, my heart leapt with disbelief! Here was Down Second Avenue by Ezekiel Mphahlele; and Road to Ghana by Alfred Hutchinson; and Blame Me on History by Bloke Modisane [...].