What a remarkably creative writer Sindiwe Magona is! Recently (2021) at the age of 78, she published a new novel, When the Village Sleeps, another already acclaimed work.
This follows on the heels of her brilliant early works like To my Children's Children, Mother to Mother, and Push Push! (short stories). Beauty's Gift is another of her polished works of fiction, and Chasing the Tails of my Father's Cattle.
Yet, incredibly Magona came into creative writing as a mature voice, at least in her mid-forties at the time. Then the flow began, and still continues. She is now one of Africa's most prolific female writers, with a complement of literary quality to boot.
"I revere Uma Sindiwe Magona a lot" Tiisetso Thiba, a young SA writer says with great pride and elan. "From the beginning, it was clear that this was an outstanding talent. Some of us start writing early, like myself; or more famously like Ben Okri who began writing wonderful fiction in his early 20s... Magona started as a mature, sensitive, competent wordsmith, and it showed in her early books "
Literary success came fast for Magona, and after her first burst of creativity world scholars were already raving about her varied work. This crystallized in scholar Siphokazi's early book length study of her work titled, Sindiwe Magona- the first Decade.
The literary appreciation has become a cascade, as Magona over the years continued to publish new celebrated works, essentially championing the cause of women, their travails, tribulations, challenges, and their roaring successes....
