[5][6] Tlali drew on her experiences as an office clerk for her first book, Muriel at Metropolitan, a semi-autobiographical novel whose "viewpoint is a new one in South African literature".
In 1975 Ravan Press published Muriel at Metropolitan: "only after removing certain extracts they thought would certainly offend the Censorship Board — the South African literary watchdog.
"[8] The book reached a wider audience after its publication in 1979 by Longman under her preferred title Between Two Worlds,[3] and its subsequent translation into other languages, including Japanese, Polish, German and Dutch.
[9] In 1988, Tlali said in a paper delivered in Amsterdam before the Committee Against Censorship:[8] "To the Philistines, the banners of books, the critics.... We black South African writers (who are faced with the task of conscientizing our people and ourselves are writing for those whom we know are the relevant audience.
[5][11] Tlali co-founded and contributed to Staffrider magazine, for which she wrote a regular column, "Soweto Speaking", as well as writing for other South African publications, including the Rand Daily Mail.
[18] In 1995, Tlali was honoured by the South African government's Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology with a Literary Lifetime Achievement Award.