HEIDI HOLLAND (South Africa)

By O Bolaji

In her pomp, the late SA writer, Heidi Holland was one of the outstanding wordsmiths in the world, even if she was primarily seen as a top notch journalist. She however wrote a number of very impressive books that scholars and researchers continue to revel in. 

Whilst, unlike a white writer like Nadine Gordimer- also a South African - who made her name thanks to creative works, Heidi was also remarkable in her own way. Like Gordime she displayed a lot of allegiance and commitment to pristine African beliefs and mores, and general history, in her own work.  Heidi was painstaking and meticulous in her writings, and the template of research she did was unassailable.

All this is reflected in the major works she wrote and published. Her most famous work of course was the book, Dinner with Mugabe, but she published much more, with a lot of quality and reinforced punctilio running through her writings.  She was never scared of controversy - but here our main concern is her major works.

In Dinner with Mugabe the author goes down memory lane to the 70s when she first met Robert Mugabe, as a friend brought him to her house for a secret dinner as he was about to leave the country to fight the white minority government of Rhodesia during the Bush War. Mme Holland much later on would secure an interview with Mugabe as Zimbabwean president in December 2007. ‘In the book Holland explores the transformation of the man she met in 1975 with his present state. She also looks at his relationships with those such as his first wife, Sally, Lord Soames, the last British Governor; Denis Norman, a white farmer who held several portfolios in his early governments as well as with Ian Smith, the last Prime Minister of Rhodesia. She also questions the President on controversial issues such as Gukurahundi and land reform in Zimbabwe.’

Holland’s book, African Magic :Traditional Ideas That Heal a Continent, explores Sub Saharan Africa's natural philosophies, looking at ways healers have used intricate traditional belief systems to deal with things such as medical and marital issues.

Her award-winning work, The Colour of Murder is multi-layered, quite gripping, and brilliant. It is a South Africa-based true crime investigation of racism and violence. In the book she explores 'the controversial family dynamics and racial politics of the white South African Van Schoor family. She focuses on the patriarch Louis Van Schoor, a former East London security guard who is alleged to have shot over a hundred black people during apartheid.' Intriguingly, there is his daughter Sabrina Van Schoor, who made friends in the coloured community as a child (to her parents' disapproval) and later gave birth to a coloured child, Tatum. In 2001 she ordered a hitman to kill her mother, Beverley, on the grounds that she was a racist! Holland won a Pulitzer prize for this outstanding work.

Holland’s book, Born in Soweto echoes the way Soweto in South Africa has always fascinated many all over the world, with many impressive books having been published based on the terrain (Miriam Tlali’s for example). The book – illustrated - is a description of life told by Soweto's residents. 

In The Struggle: A History of the African National Congress  the author explores the peaceful and violent protestations of the political party against racial discrimination. She also looks at the communist ties of the party as well as the roots of apartheid ideology. The work was another roaring success. adding cubits to the author’s reputation.

Other works

From Jo'Burg to Jozi

100 years of struggle: Mandela’s ANC

References

Wikipedia (see Heidi Holland)

Glimpses into African Literature. I M Soqaga. 2015