Ephemera, five

Notes

(1) sheet size: 49 by 40cm, unframed

(2) 21,5 by 27cm, unframed

(3) 30 by 21cm excluding frame; 45 by 36 by 2cm including frame

(4) 30 by 20,5cm excluding frame; 44,5 by 35,5 by 2cm including frame

(5) 25 by 60cm excluding frame; 39,5 by 31 by 2cm including frame

Izwi was a bilingual magazine, mostly comprised of Afrikaans and English literature, with about one-third dedicated to other languages. Directly translated as Stem (in Afrikaans) or Voice, Izwi was a periodical that filled the vacuum that Wurm magazine had left behind after it ended print in 1970. Noteworthy for the sheer amount of writers and poets that it published, it connected many writers and artists who existed outside the accepted norms of the time, most of whom came from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Key editors included Du Plessis, Stephen Gray, and Wilma Stockenström.

Included as ‘bonus’ content from inception, Izwi contained original, signed, and editioned artwork. As a result, the magazine has become quite valuable and highly collectible, with certain editions containing important pieces by Walter Battiss, Casper Schmidt, Alexis Preller, Wopko Jensma, Christo Coetzee, Norman Catherine, Peter Clarke, and Cecil Skotnes, to name a few. Izwi discontinued print in December 1974, publishing a final double issue that included many of the contributors from previous issues.

Shane de Lange: Colophon, accessed 03/03/2026