Cape voices
10h00-11h00 (Hospice Hall)
Tracey Farren (Snake) in conversation with Yewande Omotoso (Bom Boy) and Maya Fowler (The Elephant in the Room), more recently an author of prizewinning teen fiction.
The midnight oil burners
13h00-14h00 (Congregational Church)
Ndumiso Ngcobo asks lawyer Petina Gappah (An Elegy for Easterly), architect Yewande Omotoso and translator Richard de Nooy (The Big Stick) how they manage to write books while working at something else all day.
Poetry of this late age
14h30-15h30 (Screening Room)
Poets Gus Ferguson (Dubious Delights) and Margaret Clough (At Least the Duck Survived) take on ageing with chair Beverly Rycroft (Missing). This session is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. Don’t miss it.
This is My Land: launch of UWC Creates anthology in three languages
14h30-15h30 (Church Hall)
Duncan Brown introduces Sindiwe Magona and Meg Vandermerwe, UWC creative writing teachers who, together with Antjie Krog, compiled this multilingual anthology of student writing. Contributing students will read, followed by a discussion about the anthology’s themes of land and home, and how this next generation of writers perceives them. The FLF is proud to be associated with a publication that encourages mother-tongue creative writing.
Prizewinning poems
16h00-17h00 (Screening Room)
Poets Dawn Garisch (Difficult Gifts) and Beverly Rycroft, winner and runner-up in last year’s EU Sol Plaatje competition, read and discuss their winning poems.
Off the Wall poetry
18h30 – Late (BICCCS Café) Free event
An open mic evening with Hugh Hodge, Karin Schimke (Bare & Breaking), local and Cape Town poets. Bring and perform your own poems. Refreshments on sale.
Saturday 12 May
Short and savoury
10h00-11h00 (Library) Colleen Higgs (Looking for Trouble) gets together with short story writers Diane Awerbuck (Cabin Fever), Meg Vandermerwe (This Place I Call Home) and James Whyle, winner of the 2011 SA PEN/Studzinski Literary Award for The Story.
Singing the body electric
13h00-14h00 (Council Chamber)
Carmel Rickard talks body language with Dawn Garisch (The Eloquent Body) and Marguerite Osler (The Art of Walking) who writes about conscious walking.
Walking the talk
16h00-17h00 (Library)
Finuala Dowling discusses inspiration and practicalities with fellow creative-writing teachers Dawn Garisch and Dianne Stewart.
Sunday 13 May
Baring the body
13h00-14h00 (Screening Room)
Leon de Kock (Bodyhood) and Karin Schimke discuss their poems.
Friday fun draw: Sign up for a copy of one of the books by Modjaji authors who will be at the Franschoek Literary Festival. Go to the Modjaji Books Facebook Page and say which title you are interested in.
You need to agree to play the game, pay R100 and you choose one of the books above. There will be a lucky draw and one person will have a chance to choose another of the books above as a free gift. You are getting a chance to have one of the Modjaji titles above at a ridiculous price and a chance to win a free copy of another book, and you are supporting one of your favourite small publishers.
Kelwyn Sole launched his sixth volume of poems, Absent Tongues, at The Book Lounge last Thursday, 25th April. Rustum Kozain (who, it turns out, had Kelwyn as his MA supervisor) introduced the author and his new body of work. Read Rustum’s introduction in full:
Hands-On Books and The Book Lounge are delighted to invite you to the launch of Kelwyn Sole‘s new collection of poetry, Absent Tongues. Rustum Kozain, just back from Poet Forum International in Indonesia will introduce Kelwyn Sole and Absent Tongues.
Absent Tongues is Kelwyn Sole’s sixth collection of poetry; a collection that speaks of tenderness, anger, ambivalence and fear.
This is territory Kelwyn has long made his own – hymnal vignettes that thread the landscape of South Africa with patterns of myth and people, with pasts, presents, and, at times, with futures. We come away from these poems with something akin to nostalgia, something like a yearning to belong in the most fundamental sense – to be water, air, bone, sky.
Kelwyn Sole writes with grace, acuity and with thoughtful philosophical purpose, affirming his position in the forefront of contemporary South African poetry.
“Kelwyn Sole’s work thinks this country into some kind of language we can return to when reality confounds us, and the language of paid political commentators dumbfounds us. It is restless in its forward motion, formidably rich in its recruitment of forms of language to capture and make coherent the inner logic and madness of a human landscape that is itself constantly, restlessly inventing itself.” — Karen Press
Kelwyn Sole is South Africa’s foremost poet writing in English and this, his sixth volume, maintains and reaffirms an oeuvre that does not shy from the difficult complexities of our lives. In lyrics and elegies, love is made strange and new, forceful yet fragile. And his political poems refute any notion that political art can never be art. His insights draw us into the heartlessness of our new political masters, the confused brutality behind the murder of poor immigrants, and of a hovering “sadness at what might have been/ had we more courage/ had we searched/ further than our skins our pockets”. His voice is our national conscience. — Rustum Kozain
More about Kelwyn
Kelwyn Sole was born in Johannesburg in 1951 and has lived in Windhoek, London and Kanye. At present he is a Professor in the English Department of the University of Cape Town. Absent Tongues (Hands-On Books, 2012) is his sixth collection of poetry.
Kerry Hammerton is compiling a collection of recent poetry mainly published by Modjaji Books. We are planning to make the book visually appealing, which is where the photographs come in.
Poetry is often accused of being too literary and highbrow, obscure and unintelligible. But poetry is often written from the heart, giving the reader a glimpse of an experience that echoes their own. An echo that can provide a moment of illumination or clarity, an aaahh! moment.
Promoting and publishing poetry is one of the cornerstones of the work of Modjaji Books*, an independent press that publishes the work of southern African women writers. Work that is true to the spirit of the Modjaji the rain queen: a powerful female force for good, growth, new life, regeneration.
Modjaji Books is compiling an anthology of poems by southern African women poets. The anthology will feature accessible, vibrant poetry. In this anthology Modjaji would like to feature photographs that speak to and complement the poems selected, photographs by southern African women photographers.
Modjaji Books is hosting this photography competition to identify the photographs that can speak to the poetry in the anthology.
There is no specific subject for the competition. Instead photographers are encouraged to think about one or more of these words or ideas: fecund, fruitfulness, eros, symmetry, exuberance, sexiness, subtle, outrageousness, decoration, feminine impulses, juiciness – as they apply to life in southern Africa – and interpret these in a photograph.
The successful photographs will be featured in the anthology. In addition, at least ten of the top photographs selected will form part of an exhibition. (Date still to be determined – but will be in line with one of the literary events happening in Cape Town in 2012)
Please submit your black and white photographs (up to five) as attachments to modjajiphoto2012@gmail.com
Please give your photograph(s) a title and in the body of your email please include the following information:
Your name
Address
Telephone Number
Email
Title/s of your work
Photo process
Website (if relevant)
How you heard about this competition
Other information pertinent to your submission.
The closing date of the competition is 31 May 2012. Please address any queries to modjajiphoto2012@gmail.com
Please ensure that your work adheres to the following competition rules:
Competition Rules
1. This competition is open to all women photographers – amateur and professional – living in southern Africa – that is South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia.
2. Photographs must be in black and white
3. There is no entry fee.
4. You must be the photographer and owner of the copyright for any image entered.
5. Entrants can submit a maximum of five images to this contest.
6. Please keep digital manipulation such as cloning and compositing to a minimum; your photograph should faithfully represent the scene as you saw it.
7. HDR images and stitched panoramas are not allowed.
8. Submitted images should be 1024 pixels along the long edge and less than 800kb in size.
9. Please do not include a border.
10. A subtle watermark may be included but it must not detract from the image.
11. Photographers retain full rights to their work. Modjaji Books requests use of accepted images for the purpose of marketing the book and exhibition.
12. By entering this competition, you grant us a non-exclusive license to display your photograph in connection with this contest. Photographers will always be credited alongside their image.
13. We may allow other websites to display a selection of the winning/highly commended images in order to publicise the results of this contest. Photographers will always be credited alongside their image.
14. The winning photographs will be selected by a panel of judges that include Kerry Hammerton, Modjaji poet and Colleen Higgs, owner of Modjaji Books.
15. Winning photographs will be published in the Modjaji anthology of poems. Successful photographers will receive a free copy of the book and the option to purchase further copies at a discounted rate of 50% of the Recommend Retail Price.
16. At least the top 10 photographs will be exhibited in an exhibition. Date to be determined but will be in line with one of the literary events happening in Cape Town in 2012.
17. The winning photographers will be notified by email and the winning names will be published on the Modjaji Books website and Blog (including Facebook) within 14 days after selection. A selection of images may also be displayed.
18. Please note that entries are kept private (i.e. you cannot browse the other submissions).
19. The deadline for entry is 31 May 2012
20. No responsibility is accepted for late, lost or misdirected mail or any errors or failures in internet or other communications.
21. Modjaji Books reserves the right to cancel or modify the competition.
Modjaji Books is committed to “making rain for southern African women writers and all readers”. More information about Modjaji Books can be found at www.modjajibooks.co.za and modjaji.bookslive.co.za
“A richly eclectic, deeply insightful text that draws art and science, poetry and medicine, writing and healing into fertile conversation.”
- Ivan Vladislavic
“Eloquent Body explores the juxtaposition of healing and creativity both from a personal as well as a medical point of view in an open and honest way. This book is required reading for my medical colleagues and for all patients in search of healing.”
- Anne Pargiter, (General Practitioner)
“Alive to the reality of death, Dawn Garisch dances into the split, as both doctor and patient, writer and reader, parent and child.”
- Pregs Govender
“Poet-doctor Dawn Garisch advocates dialogue between our bodies and our creative selves. In Eloquent Body she explores how and why we should pay more attention to this deep connection.”
- Carmel Rickard
“Dawn Garisch’s new book, a non-fiction narrative had me sitting up late into the night. The book felt like a personal gift to me. The content, around the power of creativity and the recognition of the irrational, in tandem with recognising the value of science, resonated deeply.”
- Joanne Hichens
Modjaji Books and Rhodes University’s Cory Library take great pleasure in inviting you to celebrate with us the launch of Rosemary Smith’s memoir, Swimming with Cobras. Copies of Swimming with Cobras will available for cash at a special launch price of R170. (Recommended retail price is R195). Rosemary will be delighted to sign your copy of the book.
Event Details
Date: Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Time: 5:30 PM for 6:00 PM
Venue: Cory Library,
Ground Floor, Eden Grove, Rhodes University,
Grahamstown | Map
Guest Speaker: Judy Chalmers
Refreshments: Come and join us for a glass of wine and snacks
Swimming with Cobras is a memoir about a journey to find a foothold in a foreign land grappling with its own identity, offering rare and important insight into a corner of South Africa’s past.
Rosemary Smith could never have imagined the trajectory her life would take the day she met her husband. She would find herself in Grahamstown, at a crucial point in South Africa’s struggle. Joining the Black Sash, the white, women-led anti-apartheid organisation of which she would one day become a national vice president thrust her into the middle of a country convulsing, often violently into a transition to democracy.
Praise for Swimming with Cobras:
“In providing a vivid, and highly personalised account of the activities of a few extraordinary, white, middle class women in the small towns of apartheid South Africa, this book provides a new understanding of the anti-apartheid struggle.” - Jacklyn Cock, Professor Emeritus, University of the Witwatersrand
“The Eastern Cape, for all its rugged landscape and cruel apartheid divisions, worked its way into the heart and head of a young English social worker. Facing its challenges, she nurtured her family, threw herself into working for justice and peace, and found herself dealing with forced removals, detentions of political activists and the viciousness of the state security system. “Found herself” indeed: Rosemary Smith’s book reveals her as a woman of warmth, courage and strength.” - Mary Burton, National President of the Black Sash, 1985 to 1990
“…a biography of socialisation and struggle on South Africa’s ever-troubled Eastern Cape Frontier…written with both candour and courage… the finest modern book written about Grahamstown…” - Peter Vale, Nelson Mandela Professor of Politics, Rhodes University
Malika Ndlovu will introduce Karin Schimke and her new book on Tuesday, 6 March at 5:30 for 6 PM. Karin has invited friends who are poets and actors to read from the collection, they include Andries Samuel, Paul Shangase, Peter Kawuma and Tauriq Jenkins. There will also be music by singer songwriters Bienvenue Mambote and Thobekile Mbanda. All in all, this is a launch not to be missed!
Finuala Dowling: Bare & Breaking is one of the most gripping debuts I’ve read in recent years. Masterful in its technique and heart-rending in its emotional range, this memorable collection tells the story of sexual passion, its devastating aftermath and the slow road home.
Malika Ndlovu: I celebrate Karin Schimke’s bold exposure of wanting, her naked desire. These poems know the exquisite agony of uninhibited loving, and the addictive pain of losing that love. Her ‘warts-n-all’ poems reveal a courageous vulnerability. Schimke’s poetry whispers, hollers, moans, bends and extends unexpectedly and beyond expectation.
Leon De Kock: Schimke’s breath comes straight from the diaphragm, but she catches it, just in time, in a finely formed voice that surprises me, every time. I like it when she does this. It reminds me that to break through, you have to go in bare.
Ken Barris:
This tongue attacks, abrades
And lashes, lists lacerations
Caused and felt uncaused,
Becomes diphthong,
Softens and then mourns
About the author
Karin Schimke is a widely published journalist and columnist, and the Books Editor of the Cape Times. She also works as a writing tutor and mentor, an author of non-fiction – including the best-selling Fabulously 40 and Beyond, co-written with Margie Orford – of children’s books and of short stories. She edited Open, an anthology of erotic short stories written by some of South Africa’s best known women writers. Her poetry has appeared in South Africa Writing, New Contrast, New Coin and Carapace magazines. Bare & Breaking is her first collection of poems.
Absent Tongues by Kelwyn Sole will be out towards the end of February. Watch this space for details about The Book Lounge launch of his new book. Hands-On Books, an imprint of Modjaji Books is proud to publish the work of this distinguished poet. About Kelwyn Sole:
In 1951, Kelwyn Sole was born into a lower-middle-class Johannesburg family. In a 1994 interview with Robert Berold in New Coin, he said, “I certainly wasn’t brought up in a liberal or leftwing household, although I was instilled with a very strong sense of justice and the uniqueness – let’s call it the vulnerable uniqueness – of all living things.” This early influence appears to have played a significant part in developing a meticulous awareness that pervades his aesthetic and political sensibilities. Although he identifies growing up in South Africa as the cause of a “fractured personality”, his writing is underpinned by an articulate consciousness that strives, unafraid and conscientious, for an honest and integrated portrayal of his world.
Read more about Kelwyn on Poetry International where you will also find a small selection of his poems and links to other poems online.
Modjaji Books plans to be at the Cape Town Book Fair 2012 for all sorts of good reasons. So please help us generate the cash we need to pay for the exhibition stand. Take up one of these special offers – you win and so do we!
We have fabulous new books coming out over the next few months
Swimming with Cobras by Rosemary Smith – memoir – Black Sash R195 due out in Feb Bare and Breaking by Karin Schimke – debut collection of poems R145 due out in Feb Got No Secrets by Danila Botha – short stories by young SA/Canadian writer R145 due out in early March Absent Tongues by Kelwyn Sole – a collection of poems, his 7th (a Hands-On Book) R145 due out in Feb Eloquent Body by Dawn Garisch – a memoir R190 combining a life of science and a life of creativity due out in March Looking for Trouble by Colleen Higgs short stories set in Yeoville (1980s and early 90s) (A Hands-On Book) R145 due out in March
(South African) African First names Dictionary by Phumzile Simelane with a chapter on naming practices R195 due out in April
The prices next to the books are the prices that you will pay in the stores. All of these are fabulous books and we are offering you 4 of them for R600 or 6 for R800. The special offer is on for a week – it ends on Friday 17th February. If you have already bought and paid for any of the above titles in a previous offer, you can choose 2 of the above titles instead, or any other Modjaji title.
Or you can choose a single title and you can have 10% off the price. All the special offers include postage in South Africa. Email me at cdhiggs AT gmail.com for payment details and with your address.
Download this eBook at LittleWhiteBakkie.com
