Civilising Grass. Jonathan Cane
CIVILISING GRASS
Published in South Africa by:
Wits University Press
1 Jan Smuts Avenue
Johannesburg 2001
Copyright © Jonathan Cane 2019
Published edition © Wits University Press 2019
Images and figures © Copyright holders
Cover artwork: David Goldblatt, Saturday afternoon in Sunward Park, Boksburg,
April 1979. Courtesy David Goldblatt Legacy Trust and Goodman Gallery,
© David Goldblatt Legacy Trust
First published 2019
http://dx.doi.org.10.18772/12019073108
978-1-77614-310-8 (Paperback)
978-1-77614-311-5 (Web PDF)
978-1-77614-312-2 (EPUB)
978-1-77614-313-9 (Mobi)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act, Act 98 of 1978.
All images remain the property of the copyright holders. The publishers gratefully acknowledge the publishers, institutions and individuals referenced in captions for the use of images. Every effort has been made to locate the original copyright holders of the images reproduced here; please contact Wits University Press in case of any omissions or errors.
Project manager: Lisa Compton
Copyeditor: Alison Lockhart
Proofreader: Lisa Compton
Indexer: Sanet le Roux
Cover design: Jonathan Cane
Typesetter: Newgen
Typeset in 10.5 point Plantin
To Gerrit, who taught me to write, and to André, who was patient
The front lawn lay spread like a huge welcome mat, inviting me into the nooks and crannies of their private spaces. But I was afraid …
— Ivan Vladislavić, Flashback Hotel: Early Stories
I envisioned all sorts of dramatic deaths: a woman strangling herself to death after being overwhelmed by hot flashes in one of the kerosene lamp-lit tunnels of the asylum; another one drowning in her night sweat; a man standing for hours on end against the wall in another tunnel masturbating himself to death; men and women writhing on the sprawling lawns dying from melancholia.
— Zakes Mda, Cion
CONTENTS
Introduction: The Lawn is Singing
Conclusion: Saddening the Green
List of Plates