Author Archives

Robyn Sassen

A freelance arts writer since 1998, I fell in love with the theatre as a toddler, proved rubbish as a ballerina: my starring role was as Mrs Pussy in Noddy as a seven-year-old, and earned my stripes as an academic in Fine Arts and Art History, in subsequent years. I write for a range of online and print publications, including the Sunday Times, the Mail & Guardian and artslink.co.za and was formerly the arts editor of the SA Jewish Report, a weekly newspaper with which I was associated for 16 years. I am currently a Research Associate at Wits University. This blog promises you new stories every week, be they reviews, profiles, news stories or features.

I never killed another butterfly

LET’S FACE IT: we all need a beautiful page turner, that sets us on fire and gives us something potent to come home to. This is Craig Higginson’s 2023 novel, The Ghost of Sam Webster. And yes, it’s a thriller, but there’s depth to it which is about […]

We are stardust, we are misguided

SALACIA AND OUR friends explore the notion of everything, from Plato to Nazism, with reference to a lot of historical and scientific experiments and a nod to conspiracy theorists tossed into the mix, in episode 15 of Martyn le Roux’s serialised podcast, Die Soutwaterheks which you can find […]

To be, above all, decent

WHAT DOES IT mean to be a hero? Ask British novelist Lee Child and he will present the classic loner, a man with no ties who fixes the world and goes back to wherever he came from once the baddies are vanquished. Another English professional, stockbroker, Sir Nicholas […]

A sound to shatter glass

ENERGY HAS A foreverness that completely transcends humanity’s knowledge, explains Salacia, the mermaid, in episode 14 of Martyn le Roux’s serialised podcast, Die Soutwaterheks, which you can find here. She gets Frans and his sea buddies to remember the lessons of Sunday School and understand them differently, as […]

Protocols sweet and salty

EVER HAD THE experience of having a rescue puppy choose you, rather than the other way around? Imagine if an otherworldly being had you in their crosshairs, as a point of interest, for years. A bold melange of the power plays in date rape, and an understanding of […]

Goodies and Baddies

SHE SAID, HE said and the vulnerable young woman servant without a voice hasn’t a chance in a context where she can be labelled one thing and hung for it. Push anyone far and ruthlessly enough with the threat of their worst fears at the price of their […]