Gender-Based Violence, the Sophiatown Shebeens, and Presentism in Can Themba’s Stories Beyond ‘The Suit’

Abstract

The last decade or so has seen a renewed interest in Can Themba, writer on Drum magazine of the 1950s. Interest has centred on the story, ‘The Suit’: a story that taps what is a current scourge in South Africa, gender-based violence. While referring to adaptations of ‘The Suit’ by other writers, the article seeks to recover Themba as the writer of more than a single story. This involves returning his work to the time of its initial inspiration at a time of apartheid repression and Sophiatown shebeen defiance. The purpose is not to anchor Themba in his past, however, but to release his stories to speak to us today from within the contours of their originating energy.