‘A man, A fire, A Corpse': A cop story through the eyes of his son
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Loading... - Angela Michael
- 14 Jun 2022
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“This is my attempt at archiving your story, if only for the fact that it matters to me, your son.”
With these words, author and former journalist Rofhiwa Maneta frames a portrait of his father, written as a combination of biography, journalism and creative non-fiction.
THE THEME OF FATHERHOOD IS EVER-PRESENT IN ROFHIWA MANETA’S WORK
With several self-published titles under his belt, Maneta is in peak form. A Man, A Fire, A Corpse, published by Blackbird Books, is his best work to date.
Along his distinctive creative journey, which includes short stories, essays, books and arts journalism, Maneta has honed a punchy and compelling style in which straightforwardness still retains a thoughtful beauty.
Across writing about music, the experiences of Black people, television and more, an ever-present theme of fatherhood can be traced in his work, explored extensively in the reflective essays of Your Father, The Hip Hop Head.
By his own account in this book, Maneta has spent much time consuming true crime literature and television, and the work of crime journalists David Simon and Jack Olsen, who was heralded as the “dean of true crime”.
As a result, the book weaves in references to books such as Truman Capote’s so-called “non-fiction novel” In Cold Blood and Emma Copley Eisenberg’s The Third Rainbow Girl, and television shows including Netflix documentary series Real Detective (which was inspired by HBO’s True Detective fictional series) and iconic crime drama The Wire.
His deep knowledge of the genre’s history and evolution informs his careful approach.
ROFHIWA MANETA OUTLINES HIS FATHER’S ENTRY INTO POLICE WORK
Without being gratuitous or gory, A Man, A Fire, A Corpse details the high-profile, violent crimes that Maneta’s father investigated during his career as a detective.
The aim is to tell the facts of the case, acknowledge the humanity of the victims and their loved ones, and have a constructive conversation about violence in South Africa. Read More…
