For the third year, FunDza brought False Bay College students involved in the Reading for Enjoyment Campaign to the Franschhoek Literary Festival. It was an honour to welcome 13 students and their lecturers to this popular literary event. The students attended three sessions and we just love their feedback!
Finding the plot – Author Paige Nick(Dutch Courage) was on a quest to find a plot, with Francois Bloemhof(Double Echo), Mike Nicol(Agents of the State) and Martin Steyn (Dark Traces).
“What really stood out for me was the creativity of the artists. For example Martin Steyn who studied psychology and criminology has created some unique persona for his serial killer. The experience itself was amazing and insightful. The topis the authors spoke about was really interesting.” ~ Joel Peters
Love reading. Love writing – Joanne Hichens(Die Laughing) spoke to FunDza’s very own Nandipha Tshabane, Ndibulele Sotondosheand Zimkhitha Mlanzeli about how their writing came to be published in Love Reading, an anthology of poetry, prose and non-fiction, published by FunDza and Cover2Cover.
“The young black authors really caught my eye. I really didn’t have any idea that they exist. Really. I thought only the white ruled the author side of business. When I saw thr young black authors I felt privileged and felt like, if they can, why can’t I? Some of their stories really motivated me and got me thinking a lot about this writing thing. The youngest author was just 23; just two years older than me.” ~ Sinovuyo Madiba
Are writers born or made? – Bronwyn Law-Viljoen considered the ways writers find to practice their craft, with Ekow Duker(The God Who Made Mistakes), Miranda Sherry(Bone Meal for Roses) and Sindiwe Magona(Chasing the Tails of My Father’s Cattle, and translator of Dinosaurs, Diamonds, and Democracy).
“Another author that was inspirational to me was Sindiwe Magona. To me she is the typical ‘from zero to hero’ story. From being a domestic worker in the apartheid era to an accomplished writer. Few people can claim her success. According to her all books have an element of auto biography on them. She exudes confidence and is excited about talking about her book. It was obvious that she enjoyed writing it very much.” ~ Pamela Jako
We are fortunate to be working with these young students and to be a part of their journey of discovering the magic of reading. To quote student Shakier Desani:
“The young writers from FunDza were fantastic. They talked about personal experience, uplifting the community and inspiring young writers. They talked about how they interact with other around the country. it’s amazing how a pen and book can change your life.”