uHlanga are thrilled to announce the release of Kopano Karoga’s first collection, Jesus Thesis and Other Critical Fabulations.

In a provocative yet unexpectedly tender debut, Kopano Maroga immerses themself in Christian myth and mystery, emerging reborn.

In a riotous, innovative and unapologetic display of self-exposure, self-examination and self-love, Maroga appropriates and creates a (sometimes literal) collage of religious imagery, sexual want, and embodiedness – eventually widening their gaze to encompass the realities faced by black, queer, femme and trans folk in South Africa and further afield.

Indeed, these are poems of pain, loss, introspection, and regret; but they are also works of great and usual beauty, depth, desire, and ambition – in sum, the evidence of a powerful new voice in South African poetry.

Kopano Maroga was born in Benoni in 1994. They are a performance artist, writer, cultural worker and co-founding director of the socio-cultural arts organization any body zine. Currently they are working as a curator and dramaturg at Kunstencentrum Vooruit in Ghent, Belgium. They very much believe in the power of love as a weapon of mass construction.

We’re also happy to announce that the proceeds from the first print run of this book will be donated to GALA Queer Archive in Johannesburg.

Please note that this title contains depictions of nudity and sex acts.

The book will be available and available to order from mid-November from bookstores in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, and soon from the African Books Collective.