Likheleke Tsa Puo: New Writing From Lesotho

by Lineo Segoete (Editor), Makate Maieane (Editor), Zachary Rosen (Editor)

“Likheleke tsa puo”, meaning “wordsmiths” in Sesotho, contains 23 original stories that have never been published before. They are written in both English and Lesotho’s original brand of Sesotho to promote indigenous language and allow writers to express themselves how they are most comfortable.

Though some of the earliest southern African literature came from Lesotho, such as Thomas Mofolo’s Chaka, there’s not a lot of publishing of non-academic fiction happening in Lesotho these days. And that’s exactly what makes this short story collection so special. Having hosted a literature festival in Lesotho for the last few years, publisher Ba re e ne re can tell you that Basotho writers are hungry for opportunities to get their stories out there and revive our nation’s literary tradition.

When people think of Lesotho, they might imagine mountains, horses, woven hats and sadly, HIV, but Ba re e ne re is determined to break the stereotypes of Lesotho by presenting new diverse narratives created by talented Basotho writers telling their own stories. These stories in particular, tackle the nuance of relationships, dreams, religion, sex, and culture in exciting new ways.

200 pages, Paperback

Published December 9, 2016

Reviews

[Røbert]

A collection of stories by writers from Lesotho, linked to the Ba re e ne re littlest (see barelitfest.com), providing a showcase for creative writing from that country. This is a great initiative to give writers the opportunity to see their work in print and promote and encourage the arts in Lesotho. About a third the stories are in Sesotho, the rest in English, an important aspect of the post-colonialism which the content of the stories also addresses by giving a voice to an often overlooked country.

As with any anthology, some stories will hit the mark more than others -- some feel like creative writers taking their first steps, others are more considered and mature. The subjects are varied, from relationships, love, growing-up, deceit, exploitation -- in fact, covering the range of human experience from any country. Above all, the book demonstrates the urge to write and tell stories is universal. I applaud the organisers for making the book available to the wider world via the indygogo campaign, and am delighted to have had the opportunity to share in it.

[Naomi]

I'm really glad this collection of stories exists and that I read it, but it's still clearly a burgeoning literary scene. I can only really comment on the English stories although I read the sesotho ones aloud to my boyfriend and he liked them.