Peter Clarke and James Matthews were born within days of each other. Clarke on 2 June 1929 in a stone cottage overlooking False Bay. Matthews eight days earlier, across Table Mountain, in a Bo-Kaap tenement building facing the city bowl. These two boys, from similar backgrounds, grew into young men before they met and formed a friendship that would last a lifetime. They became 'almost more than brothers'. Yet they are complete opposites: Clarke is charecterized by his dignified reserve and meticulous order, Mattthews by his forthrighteness and bohemian disorder. Over a period of more than forty years both became well known in their respective disciplines--Clarke became a poet, short-story writer and primarily a painter; Matthews sharted out writing short stories and novels, before establishing himself as the dispatcher of raging Black Consciousness poetry. This book is a tribute to two fiercely independent artists. It is liberally illustrated with the work of both artists in b/w and color photographs.

HEIN WILEMSE is a South African academic, literary critic, activist and author. He currently serves as Professor in the Department of Afrikaans at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and as editor-in-chief of the African literary journal Tydskrif vir Letterkunde.