Johannesburg
Johannesburg - When Lawrence Anthony died unexpectedly, instead of returning to her successful life in Paris, Françoise chose to stay and fight the odds to become the owner of Thula Thula and save the remarkable family of elephants whose adventures have since touched hearts around the world.
The herd’s feisty matriarch, Frankie, knows who’s in charge at Thula Thula, and it’s not Françoise. But when Frankie becomes ill, and the authorities threaten to remove or cull some of the herd if the reserve doesn’t expand, Françoise is in a race against time to save her beloved elephants.
The joys and challenges of a life dedicated to conservation are vividly described in this charming and moving book. Will Thula Thula survive the pandemic, an invasion from poachers and the threat from a mining company wanting access to its land?
As Françoise faces her toughest years yet, she realises once again that with their wisdom, resilience and communal bonds, the elephants have much to teach us.
Pillage by Antjie krog
This new collection, “Pillage”, which received the Hertzog Prize for Poetry in 2017, Krog develops her familiar themes of family, body and land but this time in the harsh light of pillaging, whether being done by nature, humans, or old age.
The poems reveal a painful fragility, an exasperation and even at times a blissful celebration trying to determine different ways of dealing with erosions, here and now.
Then there is finding comfort, being nourished by remarkable moments of beauty: the delight of an egret in a vlei, watching over a young child who is discovering the world around him, and remembering the raptures of love. “Pillage” is translated by poet and translator, Karen Press.
Krog is one of South Africa’s foremost poets. She received the Hertzog Prize for “Lady Anne” (1989) and Mede-wete (2017). “Country of My Skull”, her account of the TRC, received several awards, such as the Hiroshima Foundation’s award for Peace and Culture. She has been Extraordinary Professor of Literature and Philosophy at UWC since 2004.
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