Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years launched
JOBURG - The much-awaited launch of the sequel to Nelson Mandela's widely acclaimed book, Long Walk To Freedom, first published in 1994, was heralded at a star-studded event held at the Nelson Mandela Foundation offices in Houghton on 17 October.
Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years, the book the late statesman began penning a year before leaving office in 1998, started out as a 70 000-word manuscript that chronicled his year’s in the presidency. However, having not been finalised by Mandela himself, Mandla Langa, the South African poet, short story writer and novelist, was approached in December 2013, shortly after Madiba’s passing, to succeed Mandela in completing the book using the original manuscript.
Langa, speaking at the event, described undertaking the process of finalising it as daunting. He, however, said that putting the finishing touches on a book started by a figure like the late former president, was awe-inspiring. “Early on, I had the luck of having done a number of courses that look at the history or the way in which a memoir is written and how to extend it,” said Langa, who completed a BA degree in English and Philosophy at the University of Fort Hare in 1972.
“And so it was with a sense of gratitude, humility, but at the same time trepidation that I entered into this. It’s at this time that I knew that I had to find a way of making the words which were quite succinct and very evocative in their own way, say more than they were saying.”
Barbara Masekela, Mandela’s childhood friend and later aide in his office, explained that the book gives a gripping account of Nelson Mandela’s journey through political leadership. “I thought I knew Mr Mandela very well, but he was revealed to me in a very sympathetic way by the book,” said Masekela during the book dialogue session.
“It also made me smile because there were certain references to his storytelling and humanity that came out so strongly in the book.” Masekela added that the passion Mandela had for South Africa and its people stands out in the book.
She, however, said she remembered him as someone who respected the written word. “Sometimes we used to tease him about the fact that he liked educated people so much,” she said.
During his political and later life, Mandela actively canvassed for education, often speaking about its importance as a weapon for radical social change. It is this same inspiration that is the bedrock for the eventual completion and release of the book.
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