SPLENDID OPENING FOR 12TH FESTIVAL

Opening of the 12th Time Of The Writer Festival. (Review by Shika Budhoo)

The opening programme of the 12th Time of the Writer Festival was held at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on a beautiful evening on March 9, 2009. The word ‘diversity’ immediately rung in my mind as, a scrumptious meal, snacks and drinks of all different flavours were laid out on tables through the hallways; and the people gathered around these ‘flavoured tables’ were of various ages, races, cultures, fashion and nationalities. The Sneddon Theatre was abuzz with excited chatter and fervent exchanges.

The full auditorium further expressed the diversity of the crowd that attended this evening, because in the few minutes before the opening presentation began, I watched as someone was reading a book, others were reading the programme provided, others chatted, some were actually writing, and others sat and admired any of the five of the spectacular beaded tapestries on stage, hung below the 12th Time Of The Writer’s comprehensive symbol.

The Programme opened with 26 performers, who danced and sang their way onto stage showing masterful skill in presenting a traditional piece from Botswana. The performers are part of the Botswana Student Society, here at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. They received a warm welcome from the crowd that welcomed them with claps, shouts, whistles and ululating. Their powerful voices travelled to every corner of the theatre and the vibrant energy of their voices aptly added to the fantastic atmosphere, made for a night of literature and its related frivolities.

Peter Rorvik, Director of the Centre For Creative Arts, introduced the festival, making a point of mentioning the importance of writers in our everyday lives, how they are the ones who reflect reality, and that all writers write, but different writers use their tools differently. The 12th Time of The Writer, like all previous festivals, aims to provide a platform to bring writing to the public, with various workshops and events over the following six days.

Kole Omotoso delivered the Keynote Address. The topic tackled in his address: In Sickness and In Power: African Leaders, Insanity and the Need for Politically Correct Behaviour Amongst African Writers and Intellectuals. His address covered various areas related to African and Global Politics and Literature. Highlighted to me was the section on which he addressed intoxication with power and how this intoxication has ruled 20th century politics; and the inevitable misuse of power by those in power. Part poetic in his presentation, Omotoso spoke with passion about the necessity for our writers to be brave voices and express the truths of our time, in order to heal our societies.

We were then introduced to the Festival participants: Sade Adeniran, Mia Couto, Fatou Diome, Max du Preez, Moses Isegawa, Billy Kahora, Mandla Langa, Siphiwo Mahala, Angela Makholwa, Mtutuzeli Matshoba, Dinaw Mengestu, Mike Nicol, Futhi Ntshingila, Margie Orford, Zachariah Rapola, Marlene van Niekerk and Zapiro.

One of the questions they were asked to answer in their addresses to the audience was: Why do you write? / Why did you become a writer?

Sade Adeniran comically related anecdotes about how she started writing accidentally and how she wrote a book instead of killing her boss… funny but also a great sign of how some writers write to deal with everyday living. Mia Couto recited a magnificent poem that gave the message that writing is part of the many facets of human existence, happy or sad, it is a filter of human emotion and experience; that is what I learnt from his address to the crowd. Fatou Diome, a first language French speaker, from Senegal, expressed the importance writing has for her as ‘having the right to write’, as many women in her home country do not have the ability or right, so she is making a statement for them. Diome also asserted the need for an open culture system that operates very much like the open economy systems in place between many countries.

Max Du Preez made statements about the positive elements we have in South Africa in relation to our history… and that is that at least in South Africa we are teaching our children one history, and facing it and working through it. Moses Isegawa, one of the most entertaining speakers of the night, stood on stage with a bell “to keep the time” for his speech, and declared that he was not going to speak about writing, because if you want to know about his writing, go read his book…and continued to entertain the audience with amusing anecdotes about present day situations and news especially in his home country, Uganda.

These were merely a handful of the highlights of the evening’s occasion. As an audience member, I was enthralled by those who claimed to ‘not be speakers, hence they write’, and I was inspired to continue pursuing my dream to write plays and short stories, and poems, radio dramas and maybe even a novel. It will definitely be worth attending a workshop or some of this year’s festival events if you write…as the writers vary in skill, genre and style and are some of the best Africa has to offer. -Shika Budhoo