Editorial

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! We are always so happy to receive new visitors. I think it goes without saying that this particular province of the South African imagination does not receive a lot of visitors, or at least not as many as we’d like, so thank you for coming. Before we begin our trip into this beautiful, complicated and riveting space, I have a few announcements.

The first: we will not be addressing what defines South African speculative fiction or covering all the districts of this space. Even as a local tour guide, I am yet to experience all the older districts of this province. In fact, I haven’t even been to some of the newer, fancier, ever-evolving ones. I understand that you may be disappointed… It is a very popular question, but I think it is best if you immerse yourselves in the space, engage with it and enjoy it before asking a million questions about what makes it… it. The spirit of a place is impossible to capture upon first arrival. One does not instantly become an expert on Japanese literature after spending a few days in the Murakami district.

*waits for laughter*

I invite you instead to remove from your mind, the more popular provinces of the South African imagination. Please resist the urge to don anthropological specs when interacting with the space. It is the very nature of speculative fiction provinces to make you feel like an outsider even as we bring you in.

*waits for groans and complaining*.

The second announcement is a weird one but stay with me: There are no streets named after Nelson Mandela in this province. Why, you may ask? Because we are so much more than one icon and leader. More than one aspect of our history. More than the few news headlines you’ve seen scrolling past the bottom of the screen on your 24-hour news station. Here we have cats that drive taxis, digital representations of our ancestors, headless horses that stalk young people at night and tales that will delight and horrify. Why add replicas of the Realist Province when you can enjoy something completely different? So… no Nelson Mandela here.

*winks*

You will see influences of other provinces in some of the architecture. This is, after all, a growing province that is part of the national imagination and not a separate country. Okay… What have I forgotten? Oh, right! The language thing. As with all other provinces of the South African imagination, there are eleven official languages and even more dialects. That is reflected in the stories even though we will only be visiting English language works today. The birds here sing in their own special words, listen and enjoy. Tales end with a special goodbye (take your cue from the storytellers). Bodies of water whisper to those who feel unheard, and the future comes to visit – speaking a language of its own. There will be no italics. No footnotes. Just words. Some of this may be disorienting at first but that will pass and give way to euphoria and warmth – if you let it.

Today we will be visiting 5 original stories, 2 reprint stories, and 2 essays. You will encounter a bit of everything, from science fiction work by established names like Lauren Beukes to horror, fantast and even experimental work by newer, talented authors like Rešoketšwe Manenzhe, as well as some fascinating discussions between other locals of the district about its history and architecture, and a lot more in between. Keep your eyes open.

I see some of you are growing restless so I will stop right here. Excuse me, over there in the back! Please put on your seatbelt. And watch out for both past and future debris – the timelines here are so intertwined that things move quickly between before and after. Once again, welcome! Let’s begin our trip.

Mohale Mashigo

Essays

1: A History of The Science Fiction & Fantasy South Africa (SFFSA) Club – Gail Jamieson

2: Men, Women & Other Beings From the South: An Overview of South African Science Fiction & Fantasy – Deirdre C. Byrne and Gerhard Hope

Stories

3: Amadi on the Concrete – Jarred. J. Thompson

4: Into the Hyacinth – Mandisi Nkomo

5: Naruoma, the Cow Detective of the Millennium – Rešoketšwe Manenzhe

6: What Pushes Against This Moment – VH Ncube

7: The White Necked Ravens of Camissa – Nick Wood

8: TAAL – Abigail Godsell

9: Slipping – Lauren Beukes

Omenana Speculative Fiction Magazine is published quarterly by Seven Hills Media. All rights reserved. For feedback or information, please email sevenhills.media@yahoo.com