Taking flight with Marguerite Poland's Birds

This interview with Marguerite Poland appeared in various local papers, and is now live on IOL.co.za. If you're looking for a perfect gift, then do consider picking up a copy of her Taken Captive By Birds. It has some of the most amazing illustrations I've seen in a long time.

Marguerite Poland is an author who’s known not only for her children’s books and adult fiction, but also her non-fiction. She co-wrote the well-received The Abundant Herds: Celebration of the Nguni Cattle of the Zulu People (Fernwood, 2003) with Professor David Hammond (illustrated by Leigh Voigt).

And last year saw the release of Taken Captive by Birds (Penguin) which offers readers a glimpse into her past, growing up in the rural Eastern Cape. Not only is the book a literary treat laced with nostalgia, but it is also lusciously illustrated by Craig Ivor.

Explaining how the book came into being, Poland relates: “I was in the middle of writing a novel but, due to family commitments, had too little time to sustain it.

“I decided to write something for my daughters – vignettes of childhood, things that meant something to me. I guess I have reached that age! Taken Captive by Birds is the result.”
 (Read rest of article here).