Brian Filling, Chair of the Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial Foundation pays tribute to Zoe Wicomb, (1948 – 2025) the acclaimed South African author who lived in Glasgow, and who sadly died last week.
I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Zoë Wicomb. I have passed on condolences to Roger and family.
I first got to know Zoë when Susan Stuart and I jointly edited the book, “The End of a Regime? An Anthology of Scottish-South African Writing”, published in 1990, by Aberdeen University Press. The book included a short story by Zoë. It was entitled, “In the Botanic Gardens”.
The story is of a South African mother who comes to Glasgow after the disappearance of her son. Her rights and needs are accorded scant attention by the British Council official who deals with her, and she comes across racism, sometimes unconscious, from others. It captures some of Glasgow’s characters and was a counter to those who argue that there is less racism in Scotland than in other countries.
Zoë was a most interesting person and a gifted and insightful author. Her books including “You can’t get lost in Cape Town” have become classics. One of the last times I saw her was when we did a television interview for STV News in Nelson Mandela Place about the proposed statue of Nelson Mandela to be sited there.
After the interview concluded we adjourned for a coffee and discussed many of the world’s problems. With Zoë it was always a wide-ranging discussion including the current state of affairs in South Africa, the NATO proxy war in Ukraine, the plight of the Palestinian people as well as British politics and the dangers of nationalism.
In a later exchange of emails I wrote, “As for the STV News @ 6 it was as one comes to expect! Much edited including cutting your Mandela quote. However, it was ok overall and people don’t know what has been cut and it would get us to a wider public. Some money has come in as a direct result of the broadcast.”
She replied, “I couldn’t bring myself to watch the news, so thanks for the report. Nothing surprising, as you say, about the cuts, but good to hear that the broadcast brought in some money. My postie recognised me and reported balefully that all sorts get on to the news these days.”
Zoë will be sadly missed by many people, but her books will continue to provoke thought among future generations of readers.
Click HERE for an article by Derek Attridge, first published in the journal, The Conversation, following her death, which gives a good introduction to her work.