ABSTRACT
The introduction acknowledges the significance of Sindiwe Magona’s writing and explains the genesis of this project. It points to the many awards she has won and lists the three aspects of her life and her writing that she is most known for—her compelling life story (of pulling herself out of poverty, establishing a career at the UN, and beginning her writing at the age of 47); her prolific output of writing (with nearly twenty works for adult readers and over 130 books for children); and her dedication to the South African people, languages, and culture. It also explains the unique contribution of this study to Magona studies, namely its comprehensiveness in addressing her entire oeuvre and its assertion that the power of Magona’s writing comes from her unwillingness to be defined by ideological or political position and her insistence on occupying the space of paradox instead. It concludes with a chapter breakdown which outlines the different paradoxes she explores in the writing she has produced in over three decades: the paradox of oppression, the paradox of transition, the paradox of crisis, and the paradox of disillusionment.
