Artists: Thami Mnyele

Artists: Judy Seidman

Artists: Judy Seidman

The black writer holds a key position in liberating South Africa. Richard Rive believes that black writers personalise individual experience and that this plays a role in showing what society was, what it is and what it is heading towards. Rive argues that black writers owe allegiance to their own writing, their society and to their humanity.

Culture and liberation are intimately related. Life, according to the authors, is a process of struggle to reach higher levels of civilisation, a process in which art is deeply embedded. The struggle against Apartheid and different forms of colonial violence is one which is intertwined with culture and artistic expression. Even once equality is reached within society, a further cross-pollination of cultural ideas and forms will occur leading to a richer, popular and more universal culture.

Report is about the funds donated to Publications and Research Unit for typewriter and other machines.

Nadine Gordimer writes this insightful paper on the key concepts of "relevance" and "commitment" in relation to black and white writers. She argues that black writers write from their communities and have daily lives which are embedded within relevant contexts. So too, their commitment to black liberation is innate. She suggests that white writers ought to break out of white value systems and a false consciousness to create relevant art and to openly admit that their experience as being white is of a different order to being black. These are the imperatives which both black and white writers face. The whole aim of art, in its attainment of truth and essence, requires the white writer to attain a true consciousness so that both black and white writers may work for the same end.

Publications and Research unit was established to produce the newsletter, and to give oversight to the Medu executive. In 1982, the P&R Unit reports included summaries of activities or work that should be completed by Publications and Research Unit in 1982, such as issuing of newsletters, and publishing of Mongane Serote's poetry book. In 1983 P & R was divided into the Naledi Writers Unit, which continued oversight of the newsletter and other matters around creative writing and articles; and a separate executive unit of Medu, consisting of elected official.

Standing Committee of officials met on the 2/3 July, Council of members met on the 4 July 1984 and Summit on the 6th July at Gaborone, Botswana.