Catherine Jarvis (picture provided)
Catherine Jarvis from Johannesburg talks to Naomi Meyer about The swim team, shortlisted for the Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature 2021.
Congratulations on your shortlist nomination for the Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature of 2021. Please would you tell me how your story was born? Where did you get the idea for this story, and would you tell me about your characters?
.........
I wanted to tell a story about a girl who is thrust into an ultra–privileged wealthy school and the challenges she faces in this unfamiliar and hostile environment.
...........
I wanted to tell a story about a girl who is thrust into an ultra–privileged wealthy school and the challenges she faces in this unfamiliar and hostile environment. My main character is 16 year old Khethiwe, a talented swimmer who is plucked out of her poor community when she lands a scholarship to attend a private school. She's fiercely determined to become an Olympic swimmer but from day one she is confronted with bullying, extreme competitiveness and institutional racism. She is treated as an outsider by the other girls in her swim team, and she feels the extreme pressure of proving herself worthy of her place in the school, while also grappling with a complicated love interest.
For which age group did you intend your story? Why did you specifically write a book for people of this age group? Which part of writing this story for these people did you enjoy most?
.........
I write young adult fiction because firstly, I've always been a fan of YA books and secondly, I am a high school teacher so I spend my days with teenagers.
...........
I think this story would appeal to teenagers between the ages of 14 upwards. I write young adult fiction because firstly, I've always been a fan of YA books and secondly, I am a high school teacher so I spend my days with teenagers. I enjoy writing for and about this age group because the teenage years are a time when young people are struggling intensely with issues like identity, sexuality and fitting in. I enjoy exploring this rich phase of human development.
There are plenty of English books published for young people – why write a book for young people in their home language?
........
People don't realise what avid readers of YA fiction South African teenagers are ...
..........
People don't realise what avid readers of YA fiction South African teenagers are, but most of the YA out there is not written about people from their backgrounds or facing the kinds of issues that are uniquely South African, such as poverty, HIV, the legacy of apartheid, xenophobia etc.
How did the pandemic influence your writing and themes of writing, if at all?
It hasn't affected the themes of my writing or influenced my writing. I find the pandemic rather depressing so I try to keep my mind off it!
How did COVID–19 influence your own life personally?
........
As a teacher, COVID has affected my life substantially. During the hard lockdown last year, I had to adjust to teaching online for the first time and had the pressure of completing the curriculum with the Matrics, under difficult circumstances – and I had to juggle this together with looking after two children.
........
As a teacher, COVID has affected my life substantially. During the hard lockdown last year, I had to adjust to teaching online for the first time and had the pressure of completing the curriculum with the Matrics, under difficult circumstances – and I had to juggle this together with looking after two children. I sent voice notes on WhatsApp discussing the prescribed novel, had Zoom classes with them, sent comments on WhatsApp to learners who sent me pictures of their essays to mark – it was a crazy time. Now, I am teaching in the classroom which comes with many additional precautions and challenges.
Also read:
2021 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature shortlist: an interview with Francis Tebesi
Sanlamprys vir jeuglektuur-kortlys 2021: ’n onderhoud met Betsie van Niekerk
2021 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature shortlist: an interview with Musa Baloyi
2021 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature shortlist: an interview with Jaco Fouché
2021 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature shortlist: an interview with Jayne Bauling
Kommentaar
Do publishers in English actually publish youth novels that are not politically charged? Seems you cannot just write a good read, it must be woke. Pity.