Bonang book debacle inspires Ntsiki to push forward with memoir

08 August 2017 - 10:18 By Kyle Zeeman
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Ntsiki Mazwai plans to release a memoir by the end of the year.
Ntsiki Mazwai plans to release a memoir by the end of the year.
Image: Via Ntsiki Mazwai's Instagram

After witnessing the backlash over grammatical errors and missing words Bonang's book received, musician Ntsiki Mazwai has decided to move forward with plans to release a memoir about her life, with the hope that it will show "there is still black excellence in writing".

Speaking to TshisaLIVE on Tuesday, Ntsiki said she had written a memoir as part of her master's thesis and had been debating for some time about publishing it.

"I wasn't sure if I wanted to publish it or not because it is deeply personal. I was unsure how people would react to it but I think after everything that has happened over the last few days (with Bonang's book) there is an opportunity to show South Africa that there is still excellence in black writing.

"It (Bonang's book) was like someone who had no experience in singing releasing an album. Writing is a sacred experience and I want to defend that," Ntsiki said.

She decided to test the waters by releasing a chapter from the memoir on her blog this week and after getting favourable feedback is now looking for a black publisher to release the book.

The book, which Ntsiki hopes to release by the end of the year, will be called Homecoming.

"It will be called Homecoming because it documents the journey of rediscovering my identity. I was brought up in white schools and lost a piece of myself. This is me returning to myself," she said.

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