Soweto in exile: the publication history of Joyce Sikakane’s A Window on Soweto

Abstract

Soweto in Exile: The Publication History of Joyce Sikakane’s A Window on Soweto

This research report examines the autobiographical work of Joyce Sikakane-Rankin (nee Sikakane), A Window on Soweto, and its publishing by the International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF) in London in 1977. The autobiography is located as emanating from a sense of community, being about Soweto, its plight and her place in it, and appealing to international communities. The study follows the publishing process from manuscript procurement to reprint and translations, detailing planning and editorial, promotions and printing. My argument is that the book was a significant and game-changing publication for the IDAF at the time, in terms of its relative success as regards sales and cultural impact as well as its departure from the organisation’s regular output which avoided subjectivity. The study details the derivation of this subjectivity from Joyce Sikakane’s own extraordinary life experiences which included detention and exile and provides a view of the impact of this subjectivity on the publishing process