The focus of this collection is the cultural and literary policy of the tripartite alliance (ANC, SACP, COSATU) after its denouncement of 'culture as a weapon'. Three shifts are noted between 1990 - 2000: the end of apartheid, the alliance's accession to power, and the change of presidency from Nelson Mandela to Thabo Mbeki, including the adoption of a neo-liberal macro-economic policy. The investigation stresses the importance of the role of writers and intellectuals in political and societal transformation processes that have a tendency to destroy the agency that initially set them in motion. Startling revelations are being made, which highlight the emptiness of much Rainbow Nation sloganeering.