I'm a lecturer in the English Department at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa. I set up this website in 2007 while I was working as a freelance academic, journalist, editor and copywriter; it allowed me to refer colleagues, publishers and current or potential clients to examples of my work.

Since joining Wits at the beginning of 2008, however, I have been encouraged to maintain my online portfolio and to update it with new articles that have appeared in either the print media or in academic publications. So, although I've cut down on the editing and corporate communications jobs, my writing is still on show for the casual reader in search of something to stimulate his or her brain cells. 

The university environment may be intellectually oriented, but I'd like to think that I'm not out of touch with the world outside the ivory towers. Moreover, I'm convinced that there is a place for writing that bridges "academic" and "popular" discourses, facilitating the circulation of ideas in the public sphere.  

Because we use language every day of our lives, we tend to take the act of communication for granted; moreover, the barrage of messages flung at us from all sides often makes it difficult to distinguish the mediocre from the valuable. Nevertheless, I believe that lucid prose not only impresses the careful reader, but invariably persuades the careless reader too. For this reason, I apply myself to the act of writing with enthusiasm, precision and purpose. What I write is specific to each audience and occasion – it is “hand-made”, in the best sense of that phrase.

Enjoy browsing through the site!