TIME OF THE WRITER OPENS

Opening ceremony of 13th Time of the Writer festival. (Review by Shika Budhoo)

As my partner and I walked down the steep walkway leading to the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre (at the University of KwaZulu-Natal), the nearby laughter and chatter of invited guests, writers and lovers of literature could be heard in the serene Durban night. The chatter got louder as we immersed ourselves into the snugly filled theatre foyer, swiftly picked up our tickets, viewed the display of books on offer, had a light snack and a refreshing drink. We were well prepared to be given a small sample of what can be expected at this year’s Time of the Writer, this being the 13th instalment of this international writers festival based here in our own sunny-skied Durban.

After meeting a few well-known colleagues, friends and writers we settled into our G-row seats and waited a short while for the proceedings to begin. The night so far was in keeping with what Time of the Writer had provided in previous recent years and I felt satisfied in my presence and I willingly waited to be inspired by the musical introduction piece as well as noteworthy messages about writing from the writers themselves and those contributing to the evenings line-up.

The Kholwa Brothers, an isicathamiya group, formed in 1990 by schoolteacher Derek Mlambo performed the opening sequence masterfully. The first song they sung Woza Ethekwini had the crowd at attention and full of giggles when, between the isiZulu lyrics, they mentioned familiar locations in Durban such as Gateway, Pavilion, Sun Coast Casino, Sibaya, Kings Park; and of course the inevitable mention to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their subtle but energized hand and leg movements had the audience ululating and applauding the skill and heart of the piece. Their voices, heard on stages around South Africa, Brazil and Germany, were like warm dripping honey and the audience were entirely respectful in their appreciation.

Time of the Writer this year is a shorter more compact festival (much like this year’s Musho Festival 2010). Due to lack of funding there are fewer writers on the panel this year, but the festival promises the highest quality of literary minds in Africa.

Peter Rorvik, director for Centre of Creative Arts, individually introduced the writers who came up and spoke about ‘why they write’. The writers present at the opening were, Uwem Akpan (Nigeria); Ather Arop Bol (Sudan); Elana Bregin (South Africa), Imraan Coovadia (South Africa); Thando Mgqolozana (South Africa); Leonora Miano (Cameroon/ France); Andile Mngxitama (South Africa); Sally-Ann Murray (South Africa) and Trevor Mgwane (South Africa).

The opening had a slightly more serious flair to it compared to last year’s opening, and it may be from the fact that many of the writers claimed their main reason writing was because of troubles and worries. They claimed to write about what worries them and what they think SHOULD worry others. Serious stuff, but I believe necessary in spreading the word about the issues facing mankind as a unit. This idea about writing about the troubles of the world was also juxtaposed by writers such as Leonora Miano from France/Cameroon who had a French translator and she opened with her saying ‘how egocentric she is, so she writes about what interests her, because whatever interests her should interest the world’; it got a titillated response from the crowd.

Another writer/speaker who caught my attention was Trevor Ngwane who started off his conversation with the audience by asking: ‘being from out of KZN, is it okay to make Jacob Zuma jokes in KZN?’ The question got a loud vocal approval YES from the audience and he proceeded to talk about Jacob Zuma’s state of nation address and how he looked confused by the speech papers in his hands. Ngwane perfectly put his need to write in the sentence following: “I write so that I can write my own speeches and so I can say what I want to say.” Inspiring to me, because letting your own (writing or speech) voice speak for you, is such a powerful (although at times dangerous) tool for writers to master.

Andile Mngxitama, raised a few eyebrows with his strong Black Consciousness views, stating that he uses writing “like a brick to throw through the windows of Mandela and Tutu for advocating reconciliation without justice.” Statements like this flowed passionately from his lips and drew applause from some sectors of the audience and defiant silence from others.

Keynote speaker Mike van Graan continued the revolutionary spirit by calling on artists to speak out against injustice, rather than the current trend of staying silent, lest we offend the powers that be. Too often we remain silent, afraid of being denied work or funding for speaking out. Brave stuff, indeed! I knew I sat amongst a group of people who, if not writing about pushing barriers and testing the boundaries of self and other, enjoyed reading stories about testing the waters in a world where closed minds outweighed the free thinkers; but the free thinkers found ways to survive because they engage the world with some type of freedom in mind. – Shika Budhoo