Yamkela Tywakadi

The fourth episode of Voices from SA is an interview with the young South African author Yamkela Tywakadi, the author of ten books. She has written in both isiXhosa and isiZulu and some of these works are on the school curriculum in South Africa.  She recently published her first English novel entitled “Lies in Her Boots”.

Yamkela was raised by her grandmother near Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape. We had a fascinating discussion about the role of the author in contemporary South Africa, about ancestors and tradition as well as issues around land, race and patriarchy.