The Time of the Writer festival is upon us, and The Daily Vox team will be following it all over Kwazulu Natal, as authors and artists work on “Decolonising the book”. You can follow the happenings right here. Click here for what happened on day 1 and here for day 2’s roundup.
22h00
And there you have it folks! Day 3, done and dusted. Be sure to check in tomorrow for more from today, including an exclusive interview with Affluenza author Niq Mhlongo. For now though – good night!
21h00
Talking publishing when it comes to The Book and Readership, the theme of decolonising local literature stayed strong.
“the publishing model has to change…†Maria va Driel #TOW2016 #DecolonisingTheBook
— Book Lover’s Hangout (@BookLoversMark) March 17, 2016
.@BooksOfAfrica owner Fortiscue Helepi says demand for local books at his shop often outstrips supply, ‘it makes no sense to me’ #TOW16
— Jennifer Malecówna (@projectjennifer) March 17, 2016
“if we want to decolonise then we can’t continue to use the capitalist model†Maria van Driel #TOW2016 #DecolonisingTheBook
— Book Lover’s Hangout (@BookLoversMark) March 17, 2016
‘Even now, people walking to work in Zimbabwe have their skaf’tin and their book, because they grew up reading’ – Van Driel #TOW16
— Jennifer Malecówna (@projectjennifer) March 17, 2016
19h30
On a panel entitled They Write What They Like, author Niq Mhlongo gets set to have a discussion about his book Affluenza alongside Dr Danyela Demir.
Niq Mhlongo will now be having a discussion about his new book,Affluenza, with Dr Danyela Demir. #TOW2016pic.twitter.com/4VHHJk3X6L
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) March 17, 2016
And Mhlongo stayed true to the theme of the festival, discussing ideas of decolonisation and how it relects in his own work.
Music it’s our way of life, I grew up in Soweto where there can’t be any protest to the government without a song – Mhlongo. TOW2016
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) March 17, 2016
You can link it to black consciousness, but I grew up reading a lot of African writers series- Niq Mhlongo #TOW2016
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) March 17, 2016
You’re expecting me to be all philosophical, but I am just a writer – Niq Mhlongo #TOW2016
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) March 17, 2016
And Mhlongo was a hit with the crowd.
‘I’m just a writer… I write about my own experience of the world… I write a story.’ – Niq Mhlongo at #TOW2016 speaking about #Affluenza
— FunDza (@FunDzaClub) March 17, 2016
Niq Mhlongo comes across as so humble and unpretentious. It’s very refreshing. #TOW2016 https://t.co/Bpy5Az9I1T
— KZN Literary Tourism (@LiteraryTourism) March 17, 2016
19h00
The evening programme kicks off with Notes on Music, where Swazi-born vocalist and songwriter Zoe Masuku serenades the crowds.
Zoe Masuku also sang a song based on @nakhanetoure ‘s book, Piggy Boy Blues. pic.twitter.com/Vi3CK5Pqgn
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) March 17, 2016
15:00 pm
The morning programme has concluded. We’ve got voxes with participants coming up soon and some reflections by our team on the ground. Don’t forget to follow #TOW2016 on Twitter and join us again this evening at 19:00 pm. Dana da Silva will be live tweeting Niq Mhlongo’s book launch from 7pm at Umkhumbane Hall. Follow us @thedailyvox for live updates.
Closing: The idea that South Africans don't want to read is a complete fallacy- Lwandile Fikeni. #TOW2016
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) March 17, 2016
13:30 pm
We’ve broken for lunch here in Durban. We’ll be back with a live Periscope of the afternoon panel but in the meantime here are some excerpts from the morning’s group discussions:
A participant in group 2 says people must give information to the library's. #TOW2016 pic.twitter.com/0N44oPX8ve
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) March 17, 2016
Group three's, Benjamin Trisk, is saying how our education system doesn't emphasize imagination. #TOW2016 pic.twitter.com/YNNsNVLNas
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) March 17, 2016
12:15 pm
So the first session has broken up into discussion groups but check out these highlights from our live Twitter coverage and keep your eyes peeled for some video voxes from participants at Umkhumbane Library.
Many people in this country want to read,but the fact is that they don’t know where to start-@LifeMotivator #TOW2016 pic.twitter.com/6d5boD6Ytp
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) March 17, 2016
Jennifer Platt- We need to find us in our texts. #TOW2016 pic.twitter.com/c4wV19KX3q
— The Daily VOX (@thedailyvox) March 17, 2016
11:00 am
Morning fam, ur team has just arrived at the Umkhumbane Library where they’re setting up for the day. The morning’s theme is “Conversations that Matter: The Book and Readership”. Our reporter Dana da Silva is at the library and will keep us updated as the day goes.