The eighth annual Time of the Writer festival begins in Durban this week. Starting on April 4, the festival has become a gathering point for writers from all over the world.
This year, 25 writers from South Africa, Africa and the rest of the world — including such luminaries as Nawal El Saadawi, Abdulrazak Gurnah and MG Vassanji — will attend.
The six-day programme of events includes readings at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, an educators’ forum, school visits, a prison writing project, a workshop on women’s writing, and a publishing forum.
One of the focal themes this year is negotiating identities — and examining the complexities that arise from issues of race, nationality and language. This includes discussion on the status of writing in indigenous African languages in South Africa.
The festival also reflects on writing from war-ravaged zones, places where writers give voice to people who have been rendered voiceless.
Among the visiting writers are Tanella Boni (Ivory Coast), Kossi Komla-Ebri (Togo/Italy), Hari Kunzru (Britain), Manuel Rui Monteiro (Angola), Charles Mungoshi (Zimbabwe), Siba Shakib (Iran) and Sami Tchak (Togo).
South African writers participating range from the more established, such as André Brink, Rayda Jacobs, Chris van Wyk and Henrietta Rose-Innes, to emerging writers such as Martin Koboekae, James Mafela, Ncamisile Makhambeni, Sisana Mdluli, Niq Mhlongo, David Mutasa, Gladman Ngubo, DBZ Ntuli, Ncedile Saule and Nogwaja Shadrack Zulu.
Tickets are R20 for the evening sessions at the Sneddon, R10 for students and pensioners, and can be purchased through Computicket or at the door one hour before the show. Workshops and seminars are free.
For further information and the programme, call the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal ) on (031) 260 2506, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.cca.ukzn.ac.za