‘Sisonke Msimang will be in coversation with Chris Wallace, speaking about her powerful and challenging new book, The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela, which charts the rise and fall-and rise, again-of one of South Africa’s most controversial and influential political figures, the wife of one of the most famous activists of all time. Msimang situates “Ma Winnie’s”  political career and legacy in the contemporary context, what she means today in social and political terms, by exploring different aspects of her iconic persona.
‘Ma Winnie’ fought apartheid with uncommon ferocity, but her implication in kidnapping, torture and killing would later see her shunned. In analysing Winnie Madikizela- Mandela, Msimang asks what it means to reclaim this powerful woman as an icon while honouring apartheid’s victims-those who were collateral damage and whose stories have yet to be told .Msimang shows us that activism matters, and that the meaning of women’s lives can be reclaimed.
The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela is “a primer for young feminists and those interested in the politics of memory, reconciliation and justice.”Reading List South Africa.
It is rare to hear from such a voice as Sisonke’s-powerful, accomplished, unabashed and brave.’-Alice Pung on Sisonke’s bestselling memoir Always Another Country.
Sisonke Msimang was born and raised in Zambia, Kenya and Canada before studying in the US as an undergraduate. Her family returned to South Africa after apartheid was abolished in the early 1990s. Sisonke has held fellowships at Yale University, the Aspen Institute and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and is a regular contributor to the Guardian, Newsweek and the New York Times. Her TED lecture on storytelling has been viewed over 1 million times.
Dr Chris Wallace is an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow at the National Centre of Biography, School of History, ANU and formerly a longstanding member of the Canberra Press Gallery. She is the author of several books including Germaine Greer, Untamed Shrew.
Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm and again after the event. This event is in association with Harry Hartog Bookshop and books will be available to purchase.’