Interview with the author of Democracy & Delusion, Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh
Earlier this month, I had the absolute pleasure of reading Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh’s debut book, Democracy & Delusion. The book is actually one half of a book-and-album combo, where the ten myths in the book correspond to ten tracks on the album.
The book focuses on ten myths in South African politics that Mpofu-Walsh believes are simply untrue for various reasons. The ten myths are:
1. Living conditions are steadily improving
2. Free education is unachievable
3. Land reform threatens stability
4. State participation in the economy is dangerous
5. Zuma’s legal woes can be ignored
6. Racial justice is unjust
7. The ANC liberated South Africa
8. South Africa has a free media
9. Elite schools benefit society
10. South Africa has reckoned with Marikana
As you can see from the above list, this book is not meant for comfortable reading. It is meant to make you think and then, think again. Mpofu-Walsh does this brilliantly. I thoroughly enjoyed this book by one of South Africa’s bright young minds. My interview with him follows.
Paperback Reader (PR): I have read that you have said a few times that this book has been a long time coming. How long have you been contemplating the book and how did the idea come about?
Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh (SMW): Because the book comes with an album, it is, in many ways, me trying to reconcile all these different interests of mine. At school, I had a big interest in music, particularly hip-hop, and then came my interest in politics. So, instead of pursuing many projects at once, I decided to reconcile all these different pursuits into one project. So, to answer the question, a long time.
Officially, though, I started in August 2014. I started with the Zuma chapter, which was initially going to be the first chapter, and was for a long time. It was also a chapter that I knew I wanted to write from the beginning. Later in the process, I thought that the chapter was better placed further on in the book.
PR: What made you decide to do a book & album combination?
SMW: Definitely the desire to combine all my interests in one project, but I also thought that it was a unique offering that I could bring together. I also realised that a book can persuade, whereas music can inspire. People are also probably going to be defensive about some of what I’ve written and I think the music helps that as it speaks to the more emotional aspects of these topics.
Music and books are also a gateway to one another. Some people will pick up the book and others will download the album.
PR: Agreed. I downloaded the album, something I wouldn’t normally do (I’m not big into music), because of the book.
PR: Did you write the book while studying full-time?
SMW: I went to Oxford in September 2013 and started writing the book after my first year there. When I started my PhD, which allowed me to spend more time in South Africa, I was able to spend more time on my writing. The majority of the book was written between September 2016 and April 2017, even though I started a while before that.
PR: Who were your first readers?
SMW: I was very protective over the draft version of this book and kept it very close to my chest. I initially only shared it with three people: my wife, a close friend, Warren, and my mother.
PR: What is the number one message that you wanted to get across with this book?
SMW: I wanted to shock people out of the complacency of the last two decades. I want people to stop thinking that everything will be fine and will resolve itself automatically. Although I propose some solutions, the main purpose was to show how badly things are actually going. Only once we realise that can we chart the way forward.
PR: What was the hardest thing about writing this book?
SMW: Initially, finding the tone and register that I wanted to write in was challenging. I was also coming from an intense academic background and the type of writing that comes with that. I had to completely overhaul my writing as a result. I wanted the book to be short and concise. It needed to be accessible and not too overbearing, as the content is difficult and challenging enough.
PR: What was the easiest thing about writing this book?
SMW: There was no lack of subject matter! There is never a dull moment in South African politics and our political environment is so rich that I really didn’t need to worry about finding content.
PR: Which was the hardest myth to write about?
SMW: Different myths were hard for different reasons. For example, the Zuma one took the longest (about two years) because understanding all the different cases and seeing how it all fits together involved a lot of research and took a lot of time. The media chapter was also challenging as there was a lot to uncover and it was difficult to find the information.
PR: Which myth do you believe is the most controversial?
SMW: The myth that the ANC liberated South Africa. I wrote this one last. I knew I wanted to write about it, but I kept postponing it. Finding a way to make the argument in a relatively short space was quite taxing. It is also one of the founding myths of democratic South Africa and leads to the belief that we should ignore the failures of the present because of the successes of the past. The ANC is almost a religious entity and you are deemed to be a heretic if you attack it.
PR: Were there any myths that got edited out of the book?
SMW: Early on, there were a few other myths. There was a light-hearted one about Bafana Bafana and the myth that they could never be good again. There was another about the role of comedians in social cohesion. There was yet another about the DA being an effective opposition. There were also other points that I wanted to make that I feel have been captured in some of the other myths.
PR: In a book like this, which is not meant for easy reading, how do you balance making demands on the reader with taking care of the reader? Do you believe it’s even necessary to take care of the reader?
SMW: I do believe it is important to take care of the reader. I did this in three ways: first, I knew early on that I wanted it to be a short book. It’s harder to write a short book than a long one! Readers don’t have the time to ingest long books and I wanted to pack a lot in. The book encompasses three years of research, but you can read it in a weekend. Secondly, I didn’t want the book to be linear or require that you read it in order. I wanted readers to be able to refer to whichever chapters they wanted to, whenever they wanted to. Thirdly, I employed an easy writing style and made sure that the content was to the point. The sentences are short and I tried not to be too elaborate in the language that I used.
PR: What would you say to young, aspiring writers?
SMW: Part of the reason that I wrote this book was because there are so few published (even self-published) young writers. So I would say, “Don’t listen to anyone. If you really want to write a book, then just write a book!” A lot of people are talked out of writing books and sometimes it’s only the people stubborn enough to persist who get it done.
I would also say that aspiring writers should not underestimate how solitary the writing process is. It’s just you and the page and sometimes you can’t see the day to day progress. The good news is though that after a while, when you finally see it coming to life, you get a second wind. Once you get through the first half, the momentum will carry you through.
Also, you have to remember that you’re more of an editor than a writer. The draft is never going to be perfect the first time and you have to go through a process of making it better and better over time. The first draft is just about getting the words onto the page. You then have to go through many different types of edits. There were times when I’d write with no regard for spelling or punctuation, but I’d set out to write five hundred words and at the end, that’s what I’d have.
PR: Plans for a new book or a sequel?
SMW: Definitely. There will be a new book soon, hopefully before the end of 2019. I am still deciding whether it will be a ‘sequel’ or a completely separate book. After the promotion of Democracy & Delusion is over, I want to finish my PhD and then write the next book.
PR: Thank you so much for your time, Sizwe, and congratulations again on a phenomenal achievement.
Buy Democracy & Delusion online now from these retailers:
The album can be downloaded from Apple Music.
If you like this post, please follow my pages on Instagram, Facebook, and Goodreads.
Happy reading!
The Paperback Reader?