Arts & Culture Minister Pallo Jordan will address the opening of South Africa’s first bookshop focused exclusively on African literature, culture, film, art and music in Newtown on, Friday 27th October 2005.

Situated in the heart of the Newtown cultural district, Xarra Books provides a home to all those interested in the ultimate African literary and cultural experience: it is a vibrant retail space offering premium art and cultural works from around the continent.

“We believe strongly in the marketability of African literature, and we are honoured that the Minister will join us to celebrate the first step in realizing our dream,” say co-owners Khanyiso Mguni and June Joseps.

Xarra draws its name from the Xam phrase “!ke e:xarra //ke”, which means “diverse people unite”. The name is a tribute to the language spoken by the San people, and one of the oldest indigenous languages on the continent.

Xarra Books will be the bridge between the preservation and writing of our rich old stories of the new generation.

“People have misunderstood Africa or know too little about Africa because of the lack of literature available in this country and the shortsightedness of retailers who do not prize African literature highly. Xarra Books fills that gap.”

They added: “Apart from our retail offering of literary greats like Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Yvonne Vera, Nawaal el Sadawi, Sembene Ousmane, Nadine Gordimer, Mandla Langa, James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Edwidge Danticat, the venue provides an exciting cultural experience where the spectrum of African literature and art is celebrated. We also host poetry readings, book readings, storytelling for kids, film screenings and small art exhibitions.”

“Our brand and positioning is such that Xarra will become the point of choice for well-known and aspirant African writers and artists to launch their works.  In essence, Xarra contributes to the African cultural, reading and art revolution currently underway.

“We are committed to showcasing existing talent and promoting new talent – we feel it is critical that we provide a platform to launch aspirant African writers and spoken-word artists,” say Mguni and Josephs.