Sylvester Stein

    
     
 

Sylvester Stein was born in South Africa in 1920.  After serving in the navy during the war he became a reporter on the Rand Daily Mail, and eventually political editor.  In 1955, he took over the editorship of Drum, to spend three years working with and training a staff of black writers and photographers, all new to newspapers and magazines.  He left, as did most of his staff, when in the late 1950s the political situation in South Africa became too dangerous.  Sylvester is the author of Second Class Taxi, a satirical novel of black life which was initially banned and later became a bestseller.  Sylvester lives in Highbury, London with his wife.

Read an interview with Sylvester Stein in Spoiled Ink

Read reviews of the play Who Killed Mr Drum?

 
     
 

Who Killed Mr Drum? (2003, Corvo Books)

Part biography, part murder-mystery, with gems about Nelson Mandela, Joe Slovo and other lions of the apartheid era, this book is about the author's time as editor of the legendary and irreverent township magazine, Drum , and the untimely deaths of the talented black journalists who wrote for it.  Both funny and poignant, it is as much about the comedy of apartheid in the 1950s (the illegal liquor, the jazz clubs, the absurdities of the pass system) as the tragedy.  Includes beautiful, evocative photographs by former Drum photographers, Jürgen Schadeberg and Bob Gosani.  

Buy; reviews

     
 

Bewilderness, (1976, House)

'Mr Maxie Moss wishes to state he is not the Mr Maxie Moss who announced he is not the Maxie Moss who went bankrupt last week.'

     
 

What the World Owes Me By Mary Bowes (1960, Faber & Faber)

'Most original, happy talent...funny because Mr. Stein has a brilliant ear for our various odd slang phonetics...he promises to become a favourite zany novelist for sophisticates.'

The Times Literary Supplement  
     
 

Second Class Taxi (1958, Faber & Faber)

This is the story of Staffnurse Phofolo, a 'Non-European from Non-Europe'.  In this novel of the 1950s, young Staffnurse is an 'illegal' black man.  He inhabits a concrete drainpipe (a quite illicit dwelling), he frequents shebeens, he takes part in the Rand bus boycotts, and lives in Johannesburg without the requisite permit.  He has no permit, in fact, to exist at all! The novel of which he is hero, became illegal reading in South Africa. It was a best-seller, the first satirical book about apartheid, but thereafter copies already sold had to be destroyed.

     
 

Old Letch (1949, Faber & Faber)

'Excellent reading - vivid, lively, humorous, with an occasional moment of indignation or compassion. I have read a good deal about South Africa during the last few years, but somehow this one shortish tale has told me more I wanted to know than all the solemn articles I have waded through.'

JB Priestley

     
 

The Running Guide to Keeping Fit (1986, Corgi Books)

Through the true stories of veteran runners like Jack Fitzgerald, Taff Davies, Geoffrey Cannon and Bruce Tulloh, Joyce Smith and Pricilla Welch, this is a book which will set the first-time runner on the right path when it comes to training, pacing yourself, warming-up, knowing what to wear, what to eat and drink and above all how to enjoy the tremendous benefits of running.  For the committed runner this book will rekindle their enthusiasm as they read about the lives and success of the master runners.

     
 

99 Ways to Reach 100 (1987, Arrow Books)

Today people are living longer and by the time the 21st century arrives, people will be living longer and feeling younger.  But to make sure you are both mentally and physically fit when you are 100 plus you must act now.  Former champion sprinter, Sylvester Stein, now an OAP and still competing, shares his recipe for long life.