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In my last post I mentioned how annoyed I am with social media being geared towards getting us to consume more rather than create more. While the internet is a great resource in some respects, the constant comparison that social media drives (and having access to the work of SO many writers and artists who seem SO much more qualified and talented and skilled than I feel) it's easy to never work up the courage to create something of my own. The endless scroll makes creating more difficult because surely whatever idea you have it's been done already. And a quick Google reveals it’s been done better than you think you could. This voice of perfectionism will squash any creative idea, but I wonder: is it a rational voice? Does it make sense to judge your life on this massive scale, comparing yourself to people whose lives might be wildly different from yours? To give up on trying to being a good writer because there are already great writers out there? On their website, the Centre for Humane Technology (who, I think quite pointedly, don’t have an Instagram page, so I can’t tag them) states the following: "Our habit of measuring ourselves against others sometimes inspires us to achieve more, but comparisons more commonly lead to negative emotions: envy, shame, anxiety, or conceit. Social media dramatically escalates the scope and stakes of our comparisons. It floods us with highly curated images featuring people in select moments showing only what they want you to see. Influencers establish standards of excellence and we tether our self-image to those ideals. [Likes] become a commentary on the deepest part of ourselves." Add to that machines working to figure out what to show you in order to keep you scrolling for longer... do we even stand a chance?! I do think we stand a chance, actually. Especially thanks to artists and writers like Anne Lamott who light the way. She reminds us: [continued in comments] https://www.instagram.com/p/CRmexRVLaI6/?utm_medium=tumblr

I've been thinking a lot about how and why I use this app recently. Instagram has been such a fun platform to share and connect with fellow students and bookworms, but the upcoming changes unsettled me a bit. As much creativity and connection as Instagram has brought into my life, there are a lot of challenges and downsides that come with social media that I feel I need to weigh up. Instagram's design and purpose is ultimately geared to getting the majority of us consuming more, rather than creating more. This makes sense because that's social media's whole thing, right? If it capitalises on our attention and there is no limit on its growth (in fact, if the economic system it operates within demands that it KEEPS growing), then it makes perfect sense that it will unscrupulously devour our time and that, no matter how much of our attention we offer it, it will always want more and won’t ever be satiated. I don't want to sound like a harbinger of techno doom (that's a lie, I do a little bit), I just get so annoyed with constantly having to fight a platform that has the potential to bring so much creative joy and fizzling life into a world sitting with so much pain and grief, especially now. We set time limits, set intentions, tell ourselves social media is just a tool and what matters is how we wield it... But then there's an update and we have to start all over again. A paltry reminder that you've spent x amount of time on Instagram doesn't stand a chance against the whole app being designed to take up as much of your time as it can. I don't think that means we can't use it for inspiration and for sharing the things we create with those who want to see it—it just means it's going to be a LOT harder to do so intentionally because the app is not geared to facilitate that anymore (it hasn't been for a long time, if ever). I got this book on slow living for my mom and paging through it with her turned out to be just the antidote for my social-media-wired brain. Books in general seem to have a positive effect, actually. What are your thoughts on this? Are you also feeling a bit unenthused with Instagram as of late? https://www.instagram.com/p/CRWsCDRL6NK/?utm_medium=tumblr

QOTD: If you had to give your current read a new title, what would it be? AOTD: How To Try Avoid A Climate Disaster While Maintaining The Same Level Of Unbridled Consumption And Exploitation Of The Earth’s Resources And Indigenous Peoples In The Hopes Of Never Having To Face The Consequences Of Our Actions. 🌍 An interesting fact that has stuck with me from this book is that a country’s GDP correlates with their CO2 emissions. This makes it tricky to take steps towards producing less carbon emissions globally: it inherently means stunting a country’s development. Seeing poverty on a daily basis in South Africa, I strongly agree with Bill Gates that we can’t deny developing countries the chance to grow their economy and create better living standards for its citizens. But I don’t think better living standars has as much to do with GDP as Gates thinks. Under capitalism, an economy can seemingly “thrive” by selling completely useless stuff, produced by people working long hours in an unventilated factory. Is that truly a better standard of living? If the only metric that matters is an ever-increasing GDP, whether that country’s people are actually living better lives is not being measured or reflected. In fact, studies have found that once a person’s basic needs are met, increased income doesn’t correlate with increased happiness (this is known as the Easterlin Paradox, originally formulated in 1974 by Richard Easterlin and since replicated in countries around the world). Thus, it seems very clear to me that capitalism’s model of endless growth can’t possibly be compatible with the goal of zero emissions, which is what Gates talks about in this book. Despite this, I am enjoying reading about new innovations in clean energy and overall getting a better understanding of how the industrial-capitalist world works (and, ya know, fuelling my desire to violently reject consumerism and live in a hut in the desert detached from all civilised life—but longtime followers of teawithantigone will be tired of hearing about that by now😂). Have you read this one? I’m about halfway through and would love to hear your thoughts on it. https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ_RPGurL-Y/?utm_medium=tumblr

🏰 Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 🏰 I’ve been thinking about how to write this review for weeks and I still haven’t quite figured out how to do it. I went into Piranesi knowing very little about it and I think that was big contributing factor to my enjoyment of it. So, whatever I say, I don’t want to spoil that factor for anyone. There’s a reason there isn’t much of a blurb on the back cover. But I also know it won’t be for everyone and the way it’s been sort of plonked in the fantasy genre is tremendously confusing: most fantasy readers probably won’t love it and readers who will love it likely never venture in the fantasy section of a bookstore. What I can say, without giving too much away, is that I fell in love with Piranesi and the world he inhabits and the way he lives in his world. This is an excellent book to read in lockdown, quarantine, or if you are otherwise housebound (as Clarke was while writing this, having been diagnosed with Lyme disease). While it is set in a house, it is the furthest thing from claustrophobic. Rather, Piranesi is part of the world he inhabits in a way that will want to make you live in these pages with him forever. He has a freedom and a peace that I think almost all of us long to have even if we don’t realise it. We can learn a lot from Piranesi. The more I’ve thought about him the more I’ve come to see this naive narrator as the wisest character I’ve come across in a long time. As it happens, I recently read another novel with a naive yet wise narrator was Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun—also a difficult review to write, though for different reasons. This is a bit of a non-review because Piranesi is unlike any other book I’ve read. The bottom line is: I can’t recommend it highly enough. Tell me about a book with an unreliable narrator that you loved! #darkacademia https://www.instagram.com/p/CQyhFz8L62z/?utm_medium=tumblr

#darkacademia

As promised (ages ago) here’s a photo of this gorgeous book sans dust jacket. Is that not just the most glorious colour you’ve ever seen? Basking in the morning sunlight 😌 Literary Wonderlands is a stunning guide to the most captivating and magical worlds found in the pages of books. It’s published by Modern Books and edited by Laura Miller (co-founder of Salon.com and currently a columnist at Slate). I am so in love with it not only because it is SO pretty, inside and out, but also because there are some really interesting selections in here. If you’re a nerd who collects books about books like me, you’ll know how quickly these kinds of compendiums recycle the same 100-odd Western novels by the same bunch of white guys (and Jane Austen if you’re lucky). But that’s not the case with Literary Wonderlands. It has the classics, but it has a whole lot more too—even books I’d never heard of before. I’m beyond impressed. Also, did I mention how pretty it is!!???!? (This isn’t sponsored, I’m just high-key obsessed with this book if you couldn’t tell🤩) QOTD: Do you buy books about books? 📚 https://www.instagram.com/p/CQbjKfirHGw/?utm_medium=tumblr

"The house at the end of Freetown Street in Nigeria’s Sabon Gari was once a sanatorium for colonists deranged from the heat and insanity of the place. Now it is home to a family whose unorthodox lives unfold into legend: Sweet Mother, an artist, her husband Shariff, a writer and soldier, and their two children André and Max." Not only does this premise and backdrop intrigue me no end but I also can't wait to see how TJ Benson (who is a visual artist as well as a writer) handles the subject matter and weaves the story together. I'm only a few pages in and I'm already having a great time because there are QR codes linking to a curated playlist of songs peppered throughout the novel. I love when writers play with form and bring in other types of media to accompany the text. I love it even more when they do it well! So, fingers crossed this is one of those times. Thanks @penguinbookssouthafrica for this #gifted copy QOTD: If you had to pick a song that best fits your current read, what could it be? https://www.instagram.com/p/COLWMDDL29x/?igshid=u55233shqfo8

#gifted

Here’s a mix of recently read, currently reading, #gifted reads, and reading next ✨ • The Mad House by TJ Benson  • All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries # 1) by Martha Wells  • Mad Honey by SJ Naude  • Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor  • Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (this book was amazing!!! 😭)  • Fragile Monsters by Catherine Menon  • The Moon: A History for the Future by Oliver Morton  • Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes Have you read any of these? I feel like this is a weird mix of local & international, literary & scifi books that’s very typical of me 😂 So I’m hoping there’s something for everyone here! https://www.instagram.com/p/CN-Vt0gLOwG/?igshid=2e4hly0486u6

#gifted

🌿 Book Review: Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor 🌿 “She’d told them about how her garden was going and they’d all been impressed, saying that for someone who was fitted with the talent of taking life, she was also good at cultivating it.” In only about 180 pages, Nnedi Okorafor achieves what eludes many writers today: painting a picture of a hopeful future without turning a blind eye to a painful past or ignoring the realities of the present. Remote Control follows Sankofa, adopted daughter of Death who leaves destruction in her wake, as she comes to terms with her fate and learns how to wield her powers. Drawing on mythology and modern technology alike, Sankofa’s is a compelling story about regeneration and transforming tragedy and loss. And, faraway as the world might seem on the surface, her story hits close to home upon further inspection. At any rate, Sankofa teaches us the value of spending time lingering in nature and climbing trees. I loved this book! My only complaint would be that it’s a stand-alone novel (as far as I know?) and I wish there was more. It doesn’t read like a science fiction story, so I would recommend this to someone who is new to the genre. If you decide to read it by any chance, let me know! Thanks to Mordicai at @tordotcompub for this #gifted copy QOTD: What’s the best novella you’ve read? https://www.instagram.com/p/CODpXw-rdjY/?igshid=1e5hp437df8u2

#gifted

literarystudies

What do you all think of the current issue of Antigone??

I am in awe of our contributing artists & writers, as always. And I especially love how the cover art and Maria Bolaños’ poem complement each other in this issue.

I would love to hear your thoughts!

https://bit.ly/2Q8H0n6

If there's one thing 2020 taught us, it's that the future is uncertain. In this issue of ANTIGONE, you will find solace, inspiration, and th

Here she is! ANTIGONE Issue No. 05 ‘The Future’

If there's one thing 2020 taught us, it's that the future is uncertain. In this issue of ANTIGONE, you will find solace, inspiration, and the tools you to tackle the future while still staying firmly rooted in the present.

In this issue:

☕️ Art by Giana De Dier and Adèle Hennion

☕️ Poetry by Maria Bolaños and Zakarie Bedoyan

☕️ Book Recs from Tori Morrow

☕️ An exclusive interview with Dr. Moira Marquis about her work as an ecocritical decolonialist

☕️ A NetGalley review by Gabrielle Estel

☕️ Essays by Beli Green and Samantha Marie Gamez

☕️ A special feature on Susan Earlam’s forthcoming novel ‘Earthly Bodies’

☕️... and a whole lot more good stuff!

A very special thanks to Danielle for being a poetry magician and to Gabrielle and Meenakshi for their help editing this issue. And, of course, to each and every one of you who have read past issues for your continued support 🌻

(P.S. At 50 odd pages, issue 5 is a pretty big file and could take a minute or two to load. Once you’ve signed up, I'd recommend opening the link so that the process starts while you brew yourself a cup of coffee to enjoy alongside this issue.)

#studyblr #english major #desk #litblr #university #booklr #magazine #digital magazine #literary magazine #arts and humanities #liberal arts degree #writers #writebrl #art #zine

This book 👁👄👁 This book is so many things! Burning Girls and Other Stories is a collection of genre-blending short stories by Veronica Schanoes. Schanoes is a professor of English literature, specialising in folklore and fairytales. She draws on this knowledge, subverting stories we grew up with—as well as ones most readers might not be familiar with. Her characters are often women at the margins of society, living in worlds that are bizarre and fantastical yet uncannily (often disturbingly and sickeningly) familiar. While I gather my thoughts about it (review on its way in the next issue of Antigone), here are some quotes: “What I am about to tell you is a fairytale and so it is constantly repeating.” “Pull yourself together, she screamed at herself silently, but the thread of being remained slack.” “Don’t eat your friends. It’s rude.” QOTD: What fairytale freaked you out the most when you were a kid? https://www.instagram.com/p/CNYEwGNLLRp/?igshid=9wfpn5lst0ig

📰 Behind the Zines 📰 QOTD: who would you love to interview about their career? Here are 4 things I learnt doing 4 interviews for Antigone Magazine 1) Do more research than you think you need 📝 When I feel I’m pretty well prepared to interview someone, I always do just a little extra research at that point. Showing your interviewee that you know your stuff will set them at ease during the interview. Obviously I don’t research as if I’m writing their biography (because then I would have no questions for them in the actual interview!), but doing research beforehand gives you confidence in the interview to ask more questions. (More on that in number 3.) 2) Check your tech 🤦‍♀️ I wish I had given myself more time to prepare right before the interview and to check my mic, camera, screen recording, and internet connection. Also: Backup your backups. Luckily this hasn’t happened to me, but if I lost my interview recordings I would have been at sea. 3) Ask questions🔍 Like, duh, right? Asking questions is the point of interviews! What I mean is if your interview subject says something you aren’t sure about, don’t be afraid to immediately ask them to clarify. While these kinds of things can be followed up through email afterwards if the need arises, it’s so much better not to waste your interviewee’s time. Asking follow up questions are also a great way to lead to more interesting topics that otherwise might not have come up if you’d decided to stick to the script. So go ahead and ask if you’re curious, as long as you’re not being straight-up nosy. 4) Take the leap 🤾‍♀️ While most of what I’ve learnt has been about being better prepared, the number one thing I’ve taken away from these interviews is that practice is one of the best ways to learn. My first live interview did not go nearly as perfectly as I hoped it would, but the main thing I was thinking about afterwards was “that was pretty terrifying, but I can’t wait to try it again!” Knowing what I got wrong the first time around made me all the more excited to get it right the second time. (Continued in comments...) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNId6_OrFbx/?igshid=14be1fmto6axv

Did I take my new TOR books out for lunch? Perhaps 👀 I am so excited about Nnedi Okorafor’s new book, Remote Control. It was published in January of this year, but the team at TOR and #tordotcompublishing were kind enough to #gift me a copy. Remote Control tells the story of Fatima on her search for a precious item that was given to her by a meteor shower one night when she was sitting in her beloved shea tree. After losing this object and everything else she held dear, she goes by Sankofa, unable to remember her name. Her reputation as “the adopted child of the Angel of Death” precedes her in every village she visits on her search, with her fox companion in tow. It’s a short one and I’m already almost halfway through. It reminds me a lot more of Lagoon than the Binti series (those are the only ones of Okorafor that I’ve yet read), perhaps because of a few similar themes around the environment, religion, and characters finding their purpose. I kind of wish it was longer, but Okorafor always packs a punch so I know these 160 pages will be plenty. Plus, this fourteen year old protagonist has a fox and the ability to wipe out an entire village?? I already love her with my whole heart. QOTD: Have you read any sf set in Africa? I’m all about afrofuturism and africanfuturism these days so send me those recs! https://www.instagram.com/p/CM7galDLIX7/?igshid=41eed2g9ffxn

#tordotcompublishing #gift

🇿🇦 Born A Crime: Stories From A South African Childhood by Trevor Noah 🇿🇦 Guess what I was doing at 1am on a Wednesday a couple of weeks ago? Ya girl was ✨crying✨ through the last few pages of this incredible book. Noah's memoir completely surpassed my expectations and more than lived up to the substantial hype that has been following it since its publication. I did not expect it to be as deeply moving as it was, nor did I think I would fly through it as quickly as I did—it was impossible to put down and an absolute breeze to read, with Noah’s unique voice shining through in every sentence. In all the reviews I had read before, readers would talk more about his mother than Trevor himself. And rightly so, because she steals the show. I found her and Trevor's relationship so inspiring and heartening and in the truest sense life-affirming (a word that book reviewers love to throw around, but this time it is absolutely earned). I'm blown away by the grace and love with which she raised him despite impossible circumstances. Thus, it is Trevor's reflections on love in spite of growing up in a country steeped in hate, prejudice, and violence that stuck with me most. Best of all, it turns out he’s a bookworm too: "In books I saw that not all families are violent. I saw the futility of violence, the cycle that just repeats itself, the damage that's inflicted on people that they in turn inflict on others. I saw, more than anything, that relationships are not sustained by violence but by love. Love is a creative act. When you love someone, you create a new world for them. My mother did that for me..." (p. 262) QOTD: Have you read this brilliant memoir? If not, you must (especially you, my fellow South Africans)! https://www.instagram.com/p/CM2dEeErAke/?igshid=sgxjsecamoxf

Today I’m working on the fifth issue of Antigone, in between getting distracted by cats and books 😌 I sent out a newsletter last night with a preview of what you can look forward to seeing in the upcoming issue. (Swipe to find out more about Giana De Dier, Tori Morrow, and Moira Marquis, who will be sharing their art, thoughts, and work around our theme of The Future in this issue.)

Here are a few of the books I plan on reading for #readtheworld21‘s virtual tour of Southern Africa this month, plus a few more for #blackhistorymonth. I won’t get around to everything this month (not all of them are even in this picture!), but I think that’s a good thing because I want to read literature by South African authors and black writers year-round, not just during February (and it’s the shortest month on the calendar! It’s like they’re trying to set me up for failure 😂) I picked up this anthology (‘The Portable Nineteenth-Century African American Women Writers’ from Penguin Classics) the other day and in the first few pages found this excellent quote from Sojourner Truth, who devoted her life to the abolition movement and gave many speeches on slavery and women’s rights: “You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much,—for we can’t take more than our pint’ll hold. The poor men seem to be all in confusion, and don’t know what to do. Why children, if you have woman’s rights give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won’t be so much trouble.” I loved this because 1) “the poor men seem to be all in confusion” is as true today as it was in 1851 and I want it on a t-shirt. And 2) she gets right down to it: granting someone their basic human rights doesn’t mean giving up any of your own. Why would it? It baffles me when I hear people think that equality (for whichever particular cause) means a loss or injustice to themselves and those who already had those rights to begin with. I can’t help but think... You can’t lose something that was never yours. What you can do is give what has been unjustly withheld in the past. (Or at least not stand in the way of that). Isn’t that great? Don’t you want to dive headfirst into that generosity, be part of that great moment in history? Nobody is coming for your slice of the pie. We’re just saying, maybe bake a pie for everyone 💁‍♀️ Anyway, I’ll stop myself before I write a whole dissertation in this caption 🙈Are you reading anything for black history month? Feel free to leave me some recs in the comments 🌻 https://www.instagram.com/p/CLUhLkdgdeE/?igshid=v7fjjki06cla

#readtheworld21 #blackhistorymonth

New books, new weekend for binge-reading 😌🌿 What are your plans for this weekend? ☕️ By the way, I quickly wanted to thank you all for your incredibly useful comments on my last post about book journaling! I’ve found out about so many techniques and methods I hadn’t heard of before and I can’t wait to try them out. I’ll document the process in my stories if you want to follow along ✨ https://www.instagram.com/p/CLMfHmQgkdv/?igshid=cyjtc61v5bha

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