Franschhoek Literary Festival 2013 Liveblog: Sunday 19 May, 2:30pm - 3:30pm
It’s Franschhoek Literary Festival time: follow all the action from day three of the 2013 fest on our FLF Liveblog!
15.42
The sessions for the last hour of this year’s Franschhoek Literary Festival conclude:
#flf13 Mtshali now reads the title poem of his collection, Sounds of a Cowhide Drum, in English & Zulu. Enthralling! twitter.com/benrwms/status…
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 And that’s a fitting conclusion to the session and, dare I say it, to the Franschhoek Literary Festival aka @franlitfest
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
And that’s it from me at #flf13! Thank you Franschhoek!!!
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
#flf13 And that’s a wrap for me and another great FLF.
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
15.39
A last few questions get answered at “Prisms on the Past”:
#flf13 Robertson – while transition was happening we as S.Africans were still sealed in our lagers
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Binet – don’t see the interest in creating a narrator who is not me so in my book the narrator is me
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 – Binet on Kindly Ones – for me that character has no historical interest
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Binet doesn’t like novels with an agenda
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
15.37
Lastly, the leadership of Van Zyl Slabbert and FW de Klerk is put under the spotlight at “The Last Afrikaner Leaders”
Tak now turns to Slabbert. Reminds Giliomee of JF Kennedy he says. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
PW Botha and Van Zyl Slabbert met and meeting was recorderd and transcript published in Die Burger. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Slabbert spoke inteligently, he destroyed the cabinets last hope in apartheid says Giliomee. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Giliomee says that De Klerk had no negotiation experience. Was his greatest drawback. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Giliomee believes that NP negotiators were totally out of their debt. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
15.34
Question time at “To Frack or Not to Frack”:
Questions open to floor. CC saying energy sources need to make both economic and environmental sense, “like sudoku puzzle” #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
.@ivovegter skeptical of immediate value of solar power, will take years before economically viable #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
.@ivovegter fracking isn’t worse than other mining. Probably marginally better #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
.@timelesskaroo responds to question on competing anecdotes that contradict claims that fracking has impacted on them #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
JD explained contradicting anecdotal evidence saying that he understands why people who aren’t well off could be bought off #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
15.29
The affordability and accessibility of books discussed at “Writing Africa”:
#flf13 Question from the audience: what power do authors have over the cost of their books? For my family it’s either eating or reading.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtshali addresses the question of the affordability of books. ‘They’ve never been very cheap.’
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtshali: my book of poems was created by a collective: myself a Zulu, Lionel Abrahams the editor, & an Afrikaans cover designer
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtshali: so even my small poetry book was expensive to make.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtshali: given that they’re expensive, it requires some creativity to get access to books. Libraries, communities, can get them.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 .@dr_nyoka chimes in: a nation that doesn’t read doesn’t progress. Go to 2nd hand bookshops, find book exchanges.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 .@dr_nyoka: the most important thing for a child to have is leisure-time reading. Reading for leisure is what builds the foundation.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
15.27
Mtshali on mixing praise songs and Shakespeare:
#flf13 Mtshali mentions hearing izibongo (praise songs) as a child, which complemented his book learning – Shakespeare etc.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtutuzeli: the combination of the izibongo & the old English poems stoked my imagination. I started writing love poems to girls!
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtshali: Acts for which I was soundly whipped, of course.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
15.25
An idea for a new genre, “biografiction”, is discussed at “Prisms on the Past”:
#flf13 Gilfillan – introduces the idea of a new genre – biografiction
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Binet – a good novel must be playful
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Binet – last part of the book reads like a thriller but it’s totally faithful to the facts and I spent a year getting it right
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Robertson – if your job is working with words then you read it with another layer that makes you say Damn you Lauren Binet!
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Robertson – was trying to pull off idea that the two narratives in parallel create a third thing that happens to each reader
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
15.22
More thoughts on PW Botha are shared at “The Last Afrikaner Leaders”
Wells asks about second lesser known about stroke that Botha had. Giliomee corrects certain facts in newest book. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Botha wanted to talk to Mandela to negotiate unbanning of ANC says Giliomee. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Says Botha probably had an idea for some kind of super cabinet, not parliament, but in which whole if SA is represented. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
15.20
Jonathan Deal now gets his chance to speak at the “To Frack or Not to Frack” session:
.@timelesskaroo saying he assumed audience is educated on fracking so going to talk bigger picture#flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
.@timelesskaroo saying that public polls on fracking in America show majority against it #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
.@timelesskaroo asking whether pro-frackers would be happy with having fracking happen next to their houses. He thinks not #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
.@timelesskaroo saying families have been evacuated from areas because of pollution from oil companies. Companies deny knowledge #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
.@timelesskaroo rejecting @ivovegter‘s assertion that TKAG’s case is falling apart #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
15.16
Nyoka talks about his books, which, according to Ndebele lay the ground for an honest discussion about SA’s recent history:
#flf13 .@dr_nyoka, a medical doctor, became by happenstance known as a person who could help political exiles returning to SA
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 .@dr_nyoka: These stories taught me that there is good & bad in all countries & races, & made my 1st book, I Speak to the Silent
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 .@dr_nyoka: In my time we had Sierra Leone, Sudan, Rwanda – African hands hurting African people
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 .@dr_nyoka So just as alcoholics go to AA & confess, as Africans we need to say that we are complicit in our own suffering
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 .@dr_nyoka: I talk about Idi Amin a lot, because he epitomized un-African behaviour – and yet we Africans giggled at what he did!
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
15.13
Robertson and Binet discuss how history is given a particular narrative:
#flf13 Binet – when the Czech president chose men to carry out operation he took care to choose one Slovak and one Czech
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Binet – Heydrich was sent to Prague to destroy the Czech resistance and he did
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Binet – De Gaulle decided that all Frenchmen were resistant but later there was a backlash
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Robertson – similar to liberation struggle narrative in SA which will change again in our lifetime
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
15.09
John Vorster and PW Botha are two more Afrikaner leaders to be discussed by Giliomee and Wills:
Wells says he has never seen a picture of Vorster smiling. Giliomee says he was very intellectual. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Giliomee says Vorster was this strange mix of “charm and chill”. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Giliomee agrees with Wells that PW Botha was ruthless. “Die groot krokodil” he smiles. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Botha got rid of all-white parliament says Giliomee. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Botha never finished his degree #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
15.05
Ivo Vegter explains why he is not against fracking:
.@ivovegter says his research has led him to dislike environmentalist views on fracking #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
.@ivovegter saying if he thought fracking would poison water etc as environmentalists claim then he would oppose it #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
IV: saying in America (most est. fracking area) environmentalists assertions on long term negative effects of fracking are untrue #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
.@ivovegter saying that cherry-picking advocacy research is not something that policy decisions should be based on #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
.@ivovegter saying oil and gas companies are not angels but are sensitive to regulations #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
15.03
Now it is Mtutuzeli Nyoka’s turn to share his relationship, from a young age, with books:
#flf13 @dr_nyoka: Like Mtshali, I owe a debt to my parents, who made books and reading a priority.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 @dr_nyoka: Soon reading became an addiction. My imagination ripened. But I had the sense that you had to be a born writer.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 @dr_nyoka: And I had to learn that writers only become writers by writing. My children taught me this, asking their questions.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
15.01
Mtshali on his “worldly” education:
#flf13 Mtshali: Long before there was Johannesburg, my grandfather worked in the gold mines of Barberton.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtshali: they would come home from the mines and tell me stories. So from the onset our horizon was not limited to the house, village
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtshali: I received a worldly education outside of school. In school, meanwhile, we had Bavarian missionaries.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtshali’s first name is Mbuyiseni, which means ‘bring him back home’, an indication that I would surely travel.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
14.58
Laurent Binet explains how he used sources in HHhH:
#flf13 Binet – specify with a mark those scenes where I imagine how historical characters might have reacted to certain events
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Binet – if I don’t specify that I’ve imagined something then I wrote from sources
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
14.57
Hendrik Verwoerd is the first Afrikaner leader under discussion at the session “The Last Afrikaner Leaders”
Says Verwoerd turned something said around to make it respectable. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Giliomee says Verwoerd as a very compelling person. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Verwoerd believed in talking to educated people says Giliomee. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Verwoerd was a strong academic says Giliomee. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Verwoerd had the confidence of a Dutch person, the convictions of a European person. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
14.54
Cormac Cullinan engages with Ivo Vegter’s book Extreme Environment
CC saying Vegter’s book raised interesting points. Thinks they differ in view of humanity, CC says his is benign #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
CC: some of Vegter’s points are argumentative (in legal definition of work) & suggests some points raised don”t support conclusions #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
CC says he is an activist at heart and feels that the net result of Vegter’s arguments are that we should do nothing – he disagrees #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
14.52
Oswald Mtshali relates where his love of books comes from:
#flf13 Mtshali: We were 6 children, taught at home. Once we went to the whites-only library in Vryheid, but were sent packing.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtshali: so my father did the most extraordinary thing for a villager: bought the complete Encyclopedia Britannica!
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Mtshali: my love for books was born out of that act. It joined my love for storytelling, which is ingrained in the African tradition.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
14.49
Claire Robertson elaborates on her love of research:
#flf13 Robertson – historical accuracy is important to me as a journalist and I love the research
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Robertson – love etymology and entomology – goggas and beautiful words
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
14.48
Giliomee and Wills discuss the title of The Last Afrikaner Leaders
Wells asks about the title. Giliomee says he had to defend it a lot. But he thinks Afrikaners are melting away. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Wells asks about the title. Giliomee says he had to defend it a lot. But he thinks Afrikaners are melting away. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
14.46
Cormac Cullinan on why fracking in the Karoo is not a good idea:
CC: saying why shouldn’t we frack the Karoo? I don’t think it’s a good thing to do. Measure of “good”? #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
CC defines measure of good as relating to whether something enhances or detracts from beauty, health etc of something #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
CC saying we aren’t separate from, or superior to, the community of life , other plants, species etc #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
CC: thinks its a bad idea as fracking will detract from, not contribute to, the community of life #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
14.42
Introductions are in order at “Writing Africa”:
#flf13 @ndebelens gets things under way. Mentions @dr_nyoka‘s new book, Hill of Fools & that he’s the former chair of @officialcsa
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Now @ndebelens intros Mtshali, whom he calls a literary mentor. His Sounds of a Cowhide Drum has just been republished…
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 …in both the original English and in isiZulu translation.
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
#flf13 @ndebelens mentions Mtshali’s career as a teacher. ‘I have a memory of him on a scooter, but I’m not sure if that’s accurate.’
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
14.39
Historical novels under discussion at “Prisms of the past”:
#flf13 Robertson – I think it’s a historical novel but not sure yet. Plays with the historical events
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Gilfillan – mentions Hilary Mantel as example of sophisticated historical fiction that speaks to the time it is written in
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Binet – even if you didn’t want to connect it to your time you couldn’t because you’re from this time
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
#flf13 Binet – even if you don’t show it like I do in my book, you comment
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
14.35
Fracking debate panel at #flf13 @ivovegter @tim_cohen @timelesskaroo twitter.com/LindsayCal/sta…
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
14.34
Praise for Alan Paton shortlistee Hermann Giliomee at talk on The Last Afrikaner Leaders:
Wells welcomes audience to talk with SA’s most “respected and readable” historian, Giliomee. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Wells says that he believes that HG takes incredible insight into his subject matter. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
14.32
#flf13 Linda Gilfillan, Laurent Binet and Claire Robertson get ready to talk about prisms on the past. img.ly/uRSH
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 19, 2013
14.31
#flf13 Another snap of the Writing Africa panel: Oswald Mtshali, @ndebelens & @dr_nyoka twitter.com/benrwms/status…
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
14.27
Mike Wills & Hermann Giliomee #flf13 twitter.com/BookishMaggie/…
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
14.15
Who’s tweeting what at the final sessions today?
#flf13 Next up, I’ll be at Writing Africa, featuring Njabulo Ndebele in conversation with Oswald Mtshali and Mtutuzeli Nyoka
— Ben Williams (@benrwms) May 19, 2013
The last talk I’ll be covering at #flf13 is Mike Wills’ interview with Hermann Giliomee, author of The Last Afrikaner Leaders.
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 19, 2013
Last talk: “To frack or not to frack” with @tim_cohen, @ivovegter, Cormac Cullinan and Jonathan Deal (@timelesskaroo) #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 19, 2013
14.13
…we’re back LIVE at the 2013 Franschhoek Literary Festival!
The Books LIVE team covering the final Sunday session of the FLF comprises these stellar tweeters -
Ben Williams, tweeting via @benrwms
Lindsay Callaghan, tweeting via @lindsaycal
Maggie Marx, tweeting via @BookishMaggie
The Books LIVE Twitter account will also be active today, as we cover various events via @BooksLIVESA.
Follow #flf13 and #flf2013 to watch the festival unfold across all venues, or track each tweeter individually if you have a particular interest in their event.
Download this eBook at LittleWhiteBakkie.com
Download this eBook at LittleWhiteBakkie.com
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