"Culture doesn't make us more civilised . . . the more refined we are, the more junk we distil . . . there are too many of us and we smother the world with our detritus ... writing is a messy way of committing suicide . . ." In a collection of essays which echo many of the ideas of the "Frankfurt school" Walter Benjamin and Theodore Adorno - as well as Franz Fanon and Edward Said, the South African poet and painter, Breyten Breytenbach, imprisoned for his anti apartheid activities under the old regime, presents his often bleak thoughts on 20th century history and ideology, European perceptions of Africa, North South inequality, the distortions of mass media and the limitations of art, in a trenchant, somewhat dogmatic manner.
Although the resounding truth of his observations is undeniable, the cumulative effect is crushing, leaving us gasping for air. Not to be consumed in one sitting.