137 pages: portraits, illustrations. Quarto. Paperback. There is a small crease at the top left corner of the back cover affecting the last ten pages, and the inside front cover has lifted along the narrow inside edge. Scarce.
Naidoo (Rasool) details in Chapter 1 (page 8) that the intention of "The Indian in Drum Magazine" was to "present an alternative perspectives to some of the 'official' and stereotypical depiction of the 'indian' that for so long been left unchallenged.
The book focuses on the 1950s because it is the era intrinsically linked to the legend of DRUM magazine. It is the decade that in many ways marked what has since been recognised as a highlight of modern 'black' life in the country predominantly seen through images of life in Sophiatown. The 1950s were a time of optimism on the continent: with Ghana gaining independence in 1957, there was hope that countries all over Africa would shortly follow suit. In South Africa the optimism of the decade ended with forced removals and violent killings, marked by the Sharpeville massacre in March 1960. Brutal enforcement of racist legislation was to epitomise the next 30 years.
The challenge of articulating a more multifaceted 'Indian' self through the prism of the 1950s in DRUM is an ambitious task, especially since the terrain necessarily includes discussion around the broader politics of race, identity, class and gender; all of which are in turn associated with interpretations of history, memory and representation."
- Binding Condition: Good
- Overall Condition: Good
- Size: 300mm x 300mm
