"While printing these photographs of African writers U dating from the late sixties, through my years in exile and right up to the present U for this publication, I realized that I was retracing a journey that originated in the fishing village of Hout Bay, where I grew up in the fifties. My high school English teacher was Richard Rive, and he brought drama into the classroom. Walking around, constantly clutching a paperback by some renowned writer from Russia, Europe, the States and South Africa, he seemed so cool and with it....This is not a catalogue of writers; rather a shared journey...

In the varied architectural landscape of District Six in Cape Town lived a close-knit community of artists, musicians, writers, politicians, priests, sheikhs, workers, gangsters, sportsmen, housewives and business people. There were restaurants, grocery stores, butchers, tailor shops, drapers and a large fish market offering a wide selection of sea produce at very reasonable prices. In this colourful mix of humanity, there were always the delightful sounds of children playing in the streets. When, in February 1966, the National Party government announced that District Six was to be razed...