Gonzo journalism in southern Africa

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Hunter S Thompson

Gonzo journalism is the immersive, often chaotic writing style made famous by Hunter S Thompson. However, this type of writing isn’t restricted to fit only Kentucky and Las Vegas. Gonzo journalism has strong roots throughout Africa, where writers and photojournalists have no choice but to be immersed in their stories. Alex J Coyne explored the gonzo phenomenon in southern Africa.

Gonzo journalism: Starting with Thompson

Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe

Gonzo journalism is a unique, immersive writing style that tells the story from the author’s perspective. “The Kentucky Derby is decadent and depraved” is credited as the article that sparked the revolution, covering the famous racing event for Scanlan’s Monthly in June 1970. The genre takes some inspiration from beat poets and new journalism, which included authors like Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese and Terry Southern. A gonzo journalist puts facts in the driver’s seat, but allows their creativity to ride shotgun and to give occasional directions. In Hunter S Thompson’s words: buy the ticket, take the ride.

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, the movie and book, provides an introduction to the genre – if you’ve never stopped to think of it before – while it also barely scratches the surface of what happens when writers become part of their stories. Further research into gonzo journalism will inevitably lead to Hunter’s other works, including Hell’s angels and The great shark hunt. He was a prolific author, leaving behind enough correspondence and columns to fill several more books. However, the journalism phenomenon isn’t limited to his own works, and readers are encouraged to explore the roadmap for themselves. The movie Almost famous crosses wires with the gonzo genre, being loosely based on author Cameron Crowe’s experiences while writing for Rolling Stone.

Immersive journalism has its advantages. When journalists are roped into their own stories, it becomes one of the ways to tell the most accurate versions of events. Today, the Gonzo Foundation promotes literature, journalism and political activism through Hunter S Thompson’s legacy. The world has a lot of room for immersive, no-bullshit journalism.

South African gonzo journalism

Gonzo journalism fits southern Africa well; here, authors sometimes have no choice but to take the immersive route when they’re covering entertainment, crime or corruption. A 2023 BBC News feature entitled Fear and loathing in South Africa was more than just a single example of clever wordplay while covering a story on immigrant violence. It was a sign that gonzo journalism is being embraced to tell stories that matter.

Arthur Maimane

Eugène Marais could be suggested as one of gonzo journalism’s South African pioneers, living and becoming fully immersed in nature for the studies that eventually produced The soul of the white ant and The soul of the ape. Arthur Maimane, author of the 1950s novel Hate no more, also wrote a column for Drum Magazine that revealed what’s behind the curtain of Sophiatown street life – mostly based on things he heard or saw in taverns. Nadine Gordimer’s novel The lying days (1953) isn’t purely nonfiction, but also isn’t entirely fictional. The author took at least some inspiration from her own life and upbringing, using her own perspective as foundation.

Kleinboer

There’s the famous Voëlvry movement, which highlighted Johannes Kerkorrel and Koos Kombuis as strong, rebellious commentators on governmental censorship in the ’80s. From Afrikaans, there’s also author Kleinboer (Fanie de Villiers), whose novel Kontrei told readers anything they wanted to know – and everything they didn’t ask to know – about the inner workings of Johannesburg’s Yeoville and its multiplicity of brothels and taverns.

Erla-Mari Diedericks

Sin, sushi & survival also stands out as a worthwhile novel for local gonzo status, published in 2011 as the account of how journalist Erla-Mari Diedericks walked away from an abusive marriage. Arguably, the autobiographies of Pieter Dirk-Uys are descriptive enough to fall into this niche journalism category, too. His life is immersive, and the story of his friendship with Sophia Loren and his early encounters with censorship goes far beyond just a few details about his life.

No, gonzo journalism isn’t always autobiographical, but lends itself to inclusion of biographical detail surrounding the story. Once you’ve looked at your notes and thought there’s no other possible way to relate what happened, you might have a solid foundation for gonzo journalism writing.

More South African gonzo journalism

Annie Klopper

Gonzo journalism blends in anywhere where there’s a story to tell, with an author at the forefront. Annie Klopper’s coverage of the band Fokofpolisiekar matches the criteria, as well as Deon Maas’s Witboy in Africa: Diary of a troublemaker and his documented travels through Berlin. Don’t forget the documentary film Punk in Africa, which explores the local punk scene from such close perspective that you can study the grit under their shoes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0f2eXv6um4).

Dana Snyman is another South African author known particularly for immersive travelogues and columns.

Effective gonzo journalism does more than reframe quotes; it adds context to what was happening in the room when the quotes were gathered. South Africa is the perfect setting for gonzo journalism, and the genre has blended into mainstream popularity even if it appears that people haven’t noticed. The president’s keepers, Jacques Pauw’s political nonfiction, included just as much detail about the journalist as it did about the story he was exposing. Writings of Mandy Wiener (The whistleblowers and Killing Kebble) have also taken advantage of unique gonzo perspectives.

The above examples are effective, particularly because the coverage incorporates the writer and their perspective. Does Koos Kombuis write anything like Mandy Wiener, or could you compare Annie Klopper with Jacques Pauw? No, and that’s why the authors have their rightful place in South African gonzo journalism history. Their works sell because of the story, but also their immersive means of getting the story on paper.

Gonzo journalism fits anywhere where unique experiences are appropriate, and should also fit any place where journalists have been discouraged from speaking up. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Amnesty International highlight increases in incidents against journalists. This could also contribute to why gonzo journalism has reached a new height, with more stories emerging daily. Gonzo journalism is interesting, hard-hitting and louder than any attempts to discourage it.

Photo credits
  • Hunter S Thompson (Cashman Photo Enterprises, Inc | Wikimedia, Public Domain)
  • Tome Wolfe (MoSchle | Frankfurter Buchmesse, WikiMedia, CC BY 3.0)
  • Gay Talese (David Shankbone | The Strand Bookstore, New York City | WikiMedia CC BY 2.5)
  • Arthur Maimane (SA History online)
  • Kleinboer (Izak de Vries)
  • Erla-Mari Diedericks (Izak de Vries)
  • Annie Klopper (Izak de Vries)
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