By late 1952, coloureds were the only group without a designated Congress-aligned political home and La Guma would play an active part in the South African Coloured People's Organisation (SACPO), the organisation formed to meet this need. The term ‘coloured’ was already contentious and had problematic associations, but SACPO's formation added extra urgency and intensity to debates about its origins, significance and political potential. While several participants drew on Stalin's definition of a nation, ‘Stalinist’ resolution was impossible. La Guma does not appear to have participated formally in the early stages of the debate at this time, but its terms would inform his thinking on history, political struggle and identity. At this stage, most of his energy went into politics, literature and journalism. He wrote long and short articles, reviews for New Age and raised questions about the position of coloureds in South Africa's cultural and political life, and how derivative or indigenous this cultural life might be. He tied these questions to debates about the extent to which this culture was ‘high’ or ‘low’ and whether there were any guarantees of upward political and cultural development. Here we also find his earliest published thoughts on the relationship between audience, nation and culture. They did not provide unequivocal answers.