1959 was the year James Currey arrived in South Africa and found a
nation in crisis. Hopes of change rose and foundered over the next five
years. Letters and vivid conversations capture the excitement of daily
life and political drama. An extra-parliamentary opposition had used
non-violent means of protest since 1952, but on 21 March 1960 the police
shot and killed 69 peaceful protesters in Sharpeville. It was a turning
point. In March 1960, 35,000 Africans protested n Cape Town and the
police responded with further savagery. Shortly after Randolph Vigne,
Neville Rubin, Tim Holmes and James Currey founded The New African a
radical review of politics and the arts. The intense comings and goings
of a small magazine served as effective cover for acts of sabotage. In
July 1964 Randolph Vigne appealed to Clare and James to help him escape.
Clare had no hesitation; 'Randolph and Gillian are our friends', she
said. James used his British passport, to buy a ticket on a Norwegian
freighter so that Vigne could travel to Montreal. Two days later Clare
and James flew out of Johannesburg. A book of publishing, politics, and
protest.