Description
A fantastic collector’s pair of Sesame, the legendary Johannesburg “little magazine” edited and published by the monumental South African literary figure Lionel Abrahams. Operating on a fiercely independent budget, Sesame provided a vital, uncensored platform for local poetry, fiction, and prose during the height of the late-Apartheid cultural landscape.
These two mid-1980s issues were published right in the crucible of the national State of Emergency. During a time when mainstream print media faced heavy government restrictions, Abrahams used Sesame to champion a philosophy where the political always began with the deeply personal, fostering an authentic, non-rhetorical space for South African writers to reflect on their reality.
Featuring the distinctively striking, minimalist newsprint/softcover aesthetic of the era—including the iconic dictionary-definition and lightbulb illustration gracing the cover of the Summer 86/87 issue.
Very Good / Vintage condition. Both issues show minor, uniform age-toning to the cream covers and edges, with a few light foxing spots on the outer edge of Issue No. 7, consistent with mid-1980s newsprint paper. Text blocks remain tight, flat, and completely clean inside with no loose pages or internal markings.
A wonderful addition to any archive of 20th-century South African small-press print media, independent literature, or poetry.
