Litnet

"And having stayed in every Tuishuis in Market Street, I can tell you that no one – absolutely no one – could make a weathered old carpet look like a work of art on those sparkling Oregon pine floors as Sandra could."

"But the main reason I do it is to see the joy on children’s faces. ... That unadulterated smaaail is because you’ve just gifted a young child a book. Entrance is free!"

The 2025 edition of the Adam Small festival was staged in Pniël from 21 to 23 February. Festival impresario Darryl David shares his thoughts and photographs.

"En mense moenie Willem Fransman jr se opvoering van Adam Small se werk misloop nie. Nee wat, letterlik elke sessie by vanjaar se fees is ’n hoogtepunt." 

"At this juncture in our country’s history, the words of Thomas Hardy come to mind when one thinks of the Springboks: 'Happiness is but an occasional episode in a general drama of pain.' Thanks to the Springboks for being the happiness in our lives."

Darryl David is the organiser of numerous book festivals in South Africa. This year he delivered the keynote address at the biannual conference for the International Organisation of Book Towns of New Zealand at the national Book Town in Featherston, which is an hour’s drive from Wellington. He shares some of his photos of the visit to New Zealand with LitNet’s readers.

"Book Town Richmond is like the Cheers bar in Boston. It's a place where everybody knows your name."

"By visiting New Zealand, I realised that despite all the challenges we face in South Africa, Book Town Richmond is a shining light among Book Towns of the world. And I feel ashamed that I even contemplated closing the book on possibly the greatest fairytale in the history of book culture in South Africa."

"What makes this festival so special is how the community have come out and supported us."

"In Afrikaans, bedonnerd has pejorative associations. But I used the name to mean 'crazy about books'. I feel that there is no greater word for my memoir than BookBedonnerd."

"Rather than charge an entrance fee, we want children to be able to go home with a book or at least carry a story that they heard at the festival in their hearts for the rest of their school days, at least."

"Midway through my second passion fruit and lemonade, I said that a region so rich in literary history deserves a literary festival of its own. To which David [Attwell] replied: 'Why don’t we do it?'"

"Die fees is daar om ’n platform te gee aan Afrikaapse (bruin) skrywers wat nooit erkenning gekry het vir hul literêre werke nie, soos Adam Small, maar dit sal altyd ’n veelrassige, veeltalige fees wees en almal is welkom om dit by te woon. Toegang tot die Adam Small-fees is absoluut gratis, pasella, verniet, danksy ons borge."

"Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed must be credited for making me see new beauty in what is vanishing. And for elevating the Durban Casbah to the pantheon of great South African places like District Six and Sophiatown."

The conversation meanders through churchyards, book towns, festivals and academic departments. Darryl David, the man who has started so many book festivals, also talks about his love for his wife, his daughter, his dogs and church buildings.