Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist in South Africa is a collection of feminist writing edited by Desiree Lewis and Gabeba Baderoon, two major voices in the South African feminist scene. The anthology features leading feminist thinkers such as Pumla Dineo Gqola, Zoë Wicomb, Yewande Omotoso, Danai S. Mupotsa, Barbara Boswell, Grace Musila, Patricia McFadden and many others.

The collection was published in April by Wits University Press. It offers wide-ranging perspectives on South African feminist thought. Various writing styles capture the diversity of feminist voices. As stated in the publisher’s note: “Radical polemic sits side by side with personal essays, and critical theory coexists with rich and stirring life histories. The collection demonstrates a dazzling range of feminist voices from established scholars and authors to emerging thinkers, activists and creative practitioners.”

Featuring an array of leading voices in the South African intellectual scene, the anthology promises significant contributions to key themes like “blackness, sexuality, girlhood, history, divinity, and other themes.” Some of the key questions it asks include: “what do the African feminist traditions that exist outside the canon look and feel like? What complex cultural logics are at work outside the centers of power? How do spirituality and feminism influence each other? What are the histories and experiences of queer Africans? What imaginative forms can feminist activism take?”

As Desiree Lewis and Gabeba Baderoon note in the introduction, the book celebrates the ways in which “South African feminists have always spoken – through action, creativity and words.”

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