Wits University Press is proud to announce the seven authors and scholars who will participate in the programme of the Vrystaat Literary Festival 11-16 July 2016 in Bloemfontein. They are:

 Achille Mbembe (On the Postcolony)

Tshepo Moloi, (Place of Thorns: Black political protest in Kroonstad since 1976)

Bob & Mary Scholes (Climate change: Briefings from South Africa)

John Kani (Missing: a play)

Jill Weintroub (Dorothea Bleek: A life of scholarship)

Susan Booysen (Dominance and Decline: The ANC in the time of Jacob  Zuma)

 

Discussions by these authors cover a diversity of topics ranging from climate change and its effects on agriculture in the Free State to a discussion on the influence  of  apartheid  on  our  narrative  of the places that shaped us, to how biographers rewrite history as well as a discussion on the prospects for South Africa.

Find the full festival programme at http://www.vrystaatkunstefees.co.za/

Below are the events that Wits Press authors are participating in.

For more info about Wits Press authors contact [email protected]  or 011 717 8700

 

Vrystaat Literatuurfees / Literary Festival / Domgodilweng

Alle aanbiedings in die ATKV-Eeufeessaal tensy anders vermeld/All presentations in the ATKV- Centenary Hall, unless otherwise stated

  

DINSDAG 12 JULIE / TUESDAY 12 JULY

 

Klimaatsverandering – wat beteken dit vir die Vrystaat?

Met: Bob & Mary Scholes; Ruda Landman (gesprekleier/talk host)

 

Klimaatsverandering raak ons almal – veral in die Vrystaat waar die genadelose droogtes die provinsie

teister. Wat is die langtermyn-implikasies van klimaatsverandering op die landbou in die Vrystaat? Hoe moet ons dit verstaan en daarby aanpas? Die leidende wetenskaplikes Bob en Mary Scholes, asook Mike Lucas, beantwoord in hul boek, Climate change: Briefings from Southern Africa, vrae wat gewone mense wil weet. Kom luister en praat saam.

Climate  change  affects  everyone  –  especially  in  the  Free  State  where  relentless  droughts  ravage  the province. What are the long-term implications of climate change on agriculture in the Free State? How must we see this and adapt to it? The leading scientists Bob and Mary Scholes, as well as Mike Lucas answer in their book Climate change: Briefings from South Africa, questions ordinary people have. Come and join in the conversation.

12 Jul, 08:30. 60 min. R20

 

Missing

Met: John Kani; Zakes Mda (gesprekleier/talk host)

John  Kani,  legendariese  Suid-Afrikaanse  akteur,  regisseur  en  dramaturg,  gesels  oor  sy  jongste  drama, Missing.  Die  toneelstuk  vertel  die  verhaal  van  Robert  Khalipa,  ’n  ANC-kameraad  wat  in  Swede  in ballingskap  leef  en  uitgelaat  is  in  die  onderhandelinge.  Robert  is  getroud  met  Anna,  ’n  welgestelde Sweed, en hulle het ’n dogter wat in ’n hospitaal in Stockholm praktiseer. Daar is ook Robert se protégé, Peter Tshabalala, wat, hoewel hy nie soos Robert ’n senior ANC-lid is nie, uitgenooi word om aan te sluit by die demokratiese Suid-Afrikaanse regering. Wat hierop volg, is ’n verhaal van leuens, rugstekery en teleurstellings. Die gesprek strek ook wyer – oor ’n lewe in die teater.

 John Kani, legendary South African actor, director and playwright, talks about his latest drama, Missing. It is about Robert Khalipa, an ANC comrade who lives in exile in Sweden and was left out totally during negotiations. He is married to Anna, a rich Swede, and they have a daughter who practices in a hospital in Sweden. There is also Robert’s protégé, Peter Tshabalala, who has been invited to join the democratic South African government, even though he is not a senior ANC member. What follows is a story of lies, back stabbing and disappointments. The talk will reach wider – about a life in the theatre

12 Jul, 16:00. 60 min. R20

 

 Hoe skryf ons oor die verlede?

Met:    Lindie    Koorts,    Mark    Gevisser,    Jill    Weintroub,    Hlonipha    Mokoena;    Vashna    Jagarnath (gesprekleier/talk host)

Hoe  pak  biograwe  die  projek  aan  om  die  Suid-Afrikaanse  geskiedenis  en  historiese  figure,  gehaat  en geliefd, te herskryf? Lindie Koorts (DF Malan en die opkoms van Afrikaner-nasionalisme/DF Malan and the Rise of of Afrikaner Nationalism), Mark Gevisser (Thabo Mbeki: The dream deferred), Jill Weintroub (Dorothea Bleek: A life of scholarship), en Hlonipha Mokoena (Magema Fuze: The Making of a Kholwa Intellectual) gesels oor die uitdagings, vreugdes en verantwoordelikheid om die geskiedenis op te teken.

How  do  biographers  approach  the  project  to  rewrite    South  African  history  and  historical  figures, beloved  and  hated?  Lindie  Koorts  (DF  Malan  and  the  rise  of  Afrikaner  Nationalism),  Mark  Gevisser (Thabo Mbeki: The dream deferred), Jill Weintroub (Dorothea Bleek: A life of scholarship), and Hlonipha Mokoena  (Magema  Fuze:  The  Making  of  a  Kholwa  Intellectual)  talk  about  the  challenges,  joys  and responsibilities to chronicle history.

12 Jul, 17:30. 60 min. R20

 

In die glasbal: wat hou die verkiesing in?

Met: o.a. Susan Booysen, John Matisonn; Ruda Landman (gesprekleier/talk host)

Die munisipale verkiesing is op hande en gaan vanjaar bepalend wees vir die politieke speelveld in Suid- Afrika. Is die ANC besig om stemme te verloor? Wat is die EFF se kanse om te groei in die verkiesings en gaan  die  DA  beter  vaar  met  ’n  swart  leier?  Politieke  kenners  soos  Susan  Booysen  (Dominance  and decline. The ANC in the time of Jacob Zuma) en John Matisonn (God, spies

and lies) gesels oor die politiek van die dag en waag voorspellings oor wat die politiek inhou.

 The municipal election is at hand. Will this year be definitive for South Africa’s political landscape? Is the ANC losing votes? What are the EFF’s chances to grow in the elections and will the DA do better with a black leader? Political connoisseurs, Susan Booysen (Dominance and decline. The ANC in the time of Jacob  Zuma)  and  John  Matisonn  (God,  spies  and  lies),  talk  about  politics  today  and  predict  what  the future holds.

13 Jul. 08:30. 60 min. R2

 

VRYDAG 15 JULIE / FRIDAY 15 JULY

 

Die nuwe gesig van Afrika

Met:    Achille    Mbembe,    Victor    Kgomoeswana,    Kevin    Bloom,    Richard    Poplak;    Ruda    Landman (gesprekleier/talk host)

Afrika  faal.  Afrika  is  suksesvol.  Afrika  verraai  sy  burgers.  Afrika  is  ’n  plek  van  korrupsie,  siektes  en hongersnood.  Afrika  se  ekonomie  groei  vinniger  as  ooit.  Afrika  put  sy  laaste  bronne  uit.  Afrika  is  die padkaart na globale ontwikkeling. Dit is ’n kontinent van teenstrydighede wat besig is om onherroeplik te verander, bevind Kevin Bloom en Richard Poplak in hul boek Continental shift, wat hul vir nege jaar deur  Afrika  neem.  Hoe  lyk  die  nuwe  gesig  van  Afrika?  Achille  Mbembe,  filosoof  en  skrywer  (On  the postcolony), besin saam met Bloom, Poplak en Victor Kgomoeswana (Africa is open for business) oor die vooruitsigte van ons kontinent.

 Africa fails. Africa succeeds. Africa betrays its people. Africa is a place of corruption, illness and famine. Africa’s economy is growing faster than ever. Africa depletes its last resources. Africa is the road map to global  development.  It is  a continent  of  contradictions  that  is  changing  irrevocably,  find  Kevin Bloom and Richard Poplak in their book Continental shift, which took them for nine years through Africa. What is the new  face of Africa? Achille Mbembe, philosopher  and writer  of  On the postcolony, reflects  with Bloom, Poplak and Victor Kgomoeswana (Africa is open for business) on the prospects of our continent.

15 Jul, 08:30. 60 min. R20

 

Kroonstad

Met: Tshepo Moloi, Willem Krog; Johann  Rossouw (gesprekleier/talk host)

Tshepo Moloi belig met sy boek Place of Thorns: Black political protest in Kroonstad since 1976, ’n deel van Kroonstad wat Max du Preez, ook ’n boorling van Kroonstad, laat opmerk: “This lesser known part of my  hometown’s  history  has  cried  out  to  be  documented  for  a  long  time,  and  now  it  is  done  in  an authoritative,  engaging  way.”  Willem  Krog,  ook  van  Kroonstad,  gesels  saam  met  Moloi  oor  hierdie geskiedkundige  belangrike  plek  in  die  Vrystaat  en  die  invloed  van  apartheid  op  ons  narratief  van grootwordplekke.

 In his book Place of Thorns: Black political protest in Kroonstad since 1976 Tshepo Moloi sheds light on a part of Kroonstad that makes Max du Preez, originally from Kroonstad, remark: “This lesser known part of  my  hometown’s  history  has  cried  out  to  be  documented  for  a  long  time,  and  now  it  is  done  in  an authoritative, engaging way.” Willem Krog, also from Kroonstad, joins in the conversation with Moloi about this  historically  important  place  in  the  Free  State  and  the  influence  of  apartheid  on  our  narrative  of the  places we grew up in.

15 Jul, 15:00. 60 min. R20