Books Stories People

Love at first sight for the highly endangered African Wild Dog has turned into a burning passion for photographer Jocelin Kagan. She has dedicated her heroic book, a survival fund and every fibre of her being into saving this species.

The slaves in Patric Tariq Mellet’s ancestral line were from Angola, Madagascar, India, Myanmar, Sulawazi and Makassar. Locally he’s a descendant of Krotoa amongst others. He identifies as Camissa African. He is known as a heritage activist, a storyteller and an educator specializing in Cape Slavery. His book ‘The Lie of 1652: A decolonized history of land’ is a deeply informed rethink of South Africa’s past.

In the first episode of Books Stories People, I talk to Mervyn Sloman, owner of one of Cape Town’s best loved book stores. As a youngster Mervyn had absolutely no idea of what he wanted to be when he grew up – until it became clear that his one ambition was to work in a book shop. This is the story of his journey to realising the dream and finally opening The Book Lounge in 2008. It’s been an interesting, if not always easy ride, but Mervyn’s shop has had a major impact on the readers and writers of Cape Town. So will the Lounge survive a global pandemic? Listen here to find out.