For many on Wednesday, Human Rights Day is a chance to kick back with family and take a welcome rest in the middle of the work week.
However, the significance of this public holiday should not be ignored or overlooked.
It is fitting that the 15th Time of the Writer festival, which began on Monday and runs until Saturday, should coincide with this day.
Freedom of expression was a driving theme at the festival last year. In South Africa and much of the rest of Africa, different circumstances have kept this concern alive in the social as well as literary landscape.
Think Protection of Information Bill or Arab Spring and you are on track to understanding how now, more than ever before, freedom of expression and human rights are such important issues in the African literary landscape.
Time of the Writer is again being hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts and promises to offer thought-provoking dialogue and important insights into the current literary landscape around the world.
Human Rights Day in the context of the Time of the Writer festival is a reminder that we need to “champion human rights” and “challenge the erosion of freedom” says Peter Rorvik, director of UKZN’s Centre for Creative Arts.
The festival is packed with six exciting book launches, dialogue with leading literary figures, workshops and seminars, and the introduction of new writers too.
According to Rorvik “the essential identity and thematic focus of the Time of the Writer festival is rooted in Africa”.
This year featured writers are primarily South African. Organisers have also sought out writers from the continent as well as the diaspora.
From a continent rich with stories and master story-tellers, Time of the Writer offers us an opportunity to interact with people who contribute to Africa’s rich literary wealth.
Internationally acclaimed authors and poets include Chris Abani of Nigeria, Kwame Dawes of Ghana, Bahaa Taher of Egypt and Algerian Leïla Marouane.
South African contributors include Ronnie Kasrils, Chris Marnewick and Jassy Mackenzie.
An important part of the festival is to introduce new writers to the public and offer them a platform to showcase their work. This year boasts a stellar crew with Durban’s own Shubnum Khan, Cynthia Jele of Johannesburg and Nigerian writer Yewande Omotoso.
March 21 is not only Human Rights Day in South Africa. It is also World Poetry Day – a day to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry around the world.
To mark this important day, the second session for the festival line-up today, is set to feature special poetry performances by participants in the festival. Acclaimed poets such as Chris Abani, Kwame Dawes, David wa Maahlamela and Lebo Mashile are set to enthral audiences with their work.
This year also marks the launch of “Africa Inside Out” – an anthology featuring 20 writers who participated in this festival previously. They offer a contemporary take on various African contexts.
An important facet of the festival is to get writers to engage with young readers and encourage a reading culture in them.
As part of this exercise, writers kicked off the festival on Monday with visits to schools in the Durban area. These visits will continue through the week.
The interaction extends to encouraging young pupils to pursue their own writing too and to this end, they are encouraged to submit their work in a short story competition. The winners are set to be announced at an awards ceremony on Friday.
This year, the festival has also opened its doors to South African writers who strongly believe in promoting their indigenous languages by writing in those languages. Dumisani Sibiya, whose works are published in isiZulu, is an award-winning novelist who comes from KZN.
A deep concern among many writers is the general lack of novels written in indigenous languages and the lack of forums in which to address this issue. This festival puts the subject on the table and opens up a dialogue on the issue in the hope of getting more people to take note of and support writing in indigenous languages.
The festival also encourages writing in indigenous languages through its schools programme. This includes the introduction next year of an indigenous languages writing competition.
The Time of the Writer Festival is a platform for the people who bear witness to the stories of societies to engage with the public. It runs until Saturday and all lovers of good literature and debate should make the time to join in the conversation.
For enquiries about the festival call the Centre of Creative Arts at 031 260 2506 or e-mail cca@ukzn.ac.za