Matthews' short fiction: a literary contribution of note

James Matthews' short stories, written long ago (before his turn to poetry in the early 1970s), remain a remarkable contribution to South African literature. 

In this article, I explore dimensions of that contribution: https://tinyurl.com/mewnzyrj . 

Matthews, who received honorary doctorates from the University of the Western Cape and Rhodes University, was known as the Dissident Poet. Such an appellation acknowledges his work in the field of poetry, and the remarkable way he used it to connect to young people and the struggle to defeat apartheid. He also made a remarkable contribution to South African literature through his short stories. This article (accesible here) discusses the literary merit of his short stories.