Rive initially published his stories in South African magazines such as '' Drum '' and '' Fighting Talk '' . His collection '' African Songs '' was published in 1963 by Seven Seas Books . He edited anthologies for Heinemann 's African Writers Series : the short story anthology '' Quartet '' ( 1963 ) - containing stories by Alex La Guma , James Matthews , Alf Wannenburgh and Rive himself - and the prose anthology '' Modern African Prose '' ( 1964 ) . His short story " The Bench " , for which he won a prize , is still anthologised . " The Bench " takes the well known story of Rosa Parks and sets it in South Africa . He also wrote three novels that were published in his lifetime . '' Emergency '' ( 1964 ) was set against the Sharpeville massacre . '' Buckingham Palace District Six '' was published in 1986 and turned into a musical by the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town . Rive also published an autobiography entitled '' Writing Black '' in 1981
Sharpeville massacre
Sharpeville massacre
Richard Rive