You are invited by Wits University Press, UWC’s Centre for Humanities Research and The Book Lounge to pay tribute to the memory of eminent historian and activist Martin Legassick at the launch of his posthumously published book

HIDDEN HISTORIES OF GORDONIA

There are few areas in South Africa like the Gordonia region of the Northern Cape Province. Hidden Histories of Gordonia: Land Dispossession and Resistance in the Northern Cape, 1800-1990 is Martin Legassick’s magnum opus, summing up a quarter century of research by one of the most important South African historians. Sadly he did not live to see the publication of this book, passing away a mere two months before its publication. Martin had a remarkable gift for storytelling and in this final work he brings to life the craggy, desert-like landscape of the Northern Cape and its histories of the ‘black’ and ‘brown’ people, who are often rendered mute or to mere footnotes in mainstream narratives. It is a fascinating and deeply moving work with a historian’s eye for detail and the long view.

Date: Thursday 30 June 2016
Time: 17:30 for 18:00
Venue: The Book Lounge: 71 Roeland St, Cape Town
RSVP: Booklounge@gmail.com | 021 462 2425

Celebrating the book and remembering the life of Martin Legassick will be:

Karen Press (editor of this book)
Mervin Gilbert (from the Abraham Holbors September Foundation in Upington who introduced Legassick to the region and its history)
Noor Nieftagodien (activist and historian)
Thozama April (fellow and next generation scholar at UWC’s Centre for Humanities Research who worked with Legassick)