Niq Mhlongo
(Murhandziwa Nicholas Mhlongo) was born in 1973 in Midway-Chiawelo Soweto, South Africa. He studied African Literature and Political science at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. In 1996 he began studying Law at the same university, and continued this study at the University of Cape Town in 1998. His first novel Dog Eat Dog was published in 2000. It is an evocative account of his experience as a young South African of the post-apartheid generation. As a writer he considers it to be his mission to reflect and discuss the changes within his world, brought about by the abolishment of apartheid and ten years of democracy. He takes it upon himself to deal with subjects such as AIDS, unemployment, poverty, xenophobia and homosexuality. According to Mhlongo these are matters which the South African youth of today can identify with.
Share this page
Archive available for: Niq Mhlongo
-
Young in Africa
'Imagine that you are young, talented and ambitious and live in the anti-utopia known as Nigeria: half the world has imposed severe sanctions on your country. All you hear on the radio is that your land is being sucked into the quaqmire', writes the Nigerian author Helon Habila in his debut novel Wachten op een engel (Waiting for an angel). A novel about the life and work of a young journalist during the era of the grim Nigerian dictator president Abacha. Helon Habila and his South African contemporary Niq Mhlongo talk about ambitions and commitment. What position do you take in Africa if you are young? What are your chances, what are your responsibilities? Mhlongo made his debut with the novel Dog Eat Dog, a graphic and humorous report of his experiences in the post-apartheid generation. Helon Habila opens the programme with his 'Manual for the Independent Mind'. English spoken.
