
Queer Representation in Literature
Featuring: Welcome Mandla Lishivha and Alistair Mackay. Facilitator: Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane.
Heterosexual stories have always dominated literature; these authors show that queer literature also has a place. Welcome Mandla Lishivha’s Boy on the Run (Jacana, 2022) is an exquisitely crafted memoir unlike anything ever read. It is a staggeringly beautiful and honest exploration of identity through grief, love and friendship, giving the readers a glorious song of self-expression. It doesn’t have to be this way (Kwela Books, 2022) by Alistair Mackay tells the story of three queer friends trying to navigate an increasingly fractured, violent and unstable world ravaged by climate collapse and rampant inequality. Facilitator Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane will be in conversation with the two authors as they share their thoughts on how queer literature can provide a home for those who stray from what is ‘normalised’.