Crossing Over. stories of the transition, or “history from the inside”
Date
1997-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
Crossing Over: stories of the transition, or “history from the inside”
The collection of stories entitled Crossing Over: New Stories for a New South Africa (1995) commemorates a remarkable turning point in this country's history, the election of South Africa's first-ever democratic government. By inviting contributions from writers from a variety of
backgrounds, and in any of the eleven official languages, the compilers hoped to provide "a rounded picture of our times ” and to contribute to the making of a new South African culture o f inclusivity. Contributors were asked for stories dealing with "some kind of crossing over, " and exploring
the response of young people to the transition. In spite of limitations as regards representativeness, the collection does bring together an unusually varied group of writers. This article explores the extent to which, by promoting a renewed awareness of "self in relation to "others", the anthology goes some way towards uncovering and undoing the racism and
stereotyping that have been endemic to our society. In doing so, it provides us with a kind of "history from the inside However, the collection also demonstrates the continuing presence o f the past, and suggests the extent to
which the lives o f many ordinary people have not changed significantly.
Description
CITATION: Gaylard, R. 1997. Crossing over. stories of the transition, or “history from the inside”. Literator, 18(3): 103-118, doi: 10.4102/lit.v18i3.552.
The original publication is available at http://literator.org.za
The original publication is available at http://literator.org.za
Keywords
Stories of the transition -- Criticism and interpretation, Short stories, South African (English) -- Criticism and interpretation, South Africa -- Social life and customs, Literature and society -- South Africa, South Africa -- In literature
Citation
Gaylard, R. 1997. Crossing over. stories of the transition, or “history from the inside”. Literator, 18(3): 103-118, doi: 10.4102/lit.v18i3.552