Litnet

At a glittering event at the V&A Waterfront on Thursday, 24 February 2022, Cape Town Opera announced a diverse, innovative and creative programme for 2022, encompassing both the artistic and educational.

"The war began today (24 February 2022) ... Today represents the world’s failure to find peace for Ukraine. Unfortunately, tomorrow won’t be any better."

"Eurydice will debut in an empty abandoned swimming pool in Cape Town city centre. The infamous myth is reimagined to focus on the journey of its heroine as the play deals with themes of love, loss, remembrance and reminiscence."

Janet van Eeden interviews Michelle Edwards and also writes: "The novel is page-turningly good. The plot moves swiftly through the first-person voice of Skye, who is that most delicious of literary devices: an unreliable narrator."

The planning agenda for the weekend comprises matters like economic development, job creation, youth development and literacy intervention programmes.

The children’s picture book series, The Blanket Tree books (Die Kombersboomboeke in Afrikaans), were written and developed during the time of lockdown by Hélène Ferreira. "Blanket" refers to these comforting, inclusive fantasies, modern-day fairy tales for everyone. The word "tree" signifies growth, learning, renewal and development.

"The need for comfortable multilingual interaction from childhood is crucial in establishing respect and a sense of community in a country of diverse people." – Marguerite Poland remembers Benjamin Mahlasela, her Xhosa language tutor at Rhodes University 50 years ago.

"Like its exhibition counterpart, Home is where the art is, the book, has been curated into five thematic sections that give insight into the experience of lockdown: relations, the garden, outside, inside and time. Through imagery and text, each theme is explored in varied dimensions."

The promise, Damon Galgut’s 2021 Booker Prize winning novel, has been included in the shortlist for the Rathbones Folio Prize.

Starting on 3 February, the season continues to illuminate shared histories and values between South Africa and the USA, engaging with topics around social justice, racial equity and diversity. Coinciding with Black History Month in the USA, this series focuses on conversations inspired by this initiative.

KROTOA Eva van de Kaap, written by Sylvia Vollenhoven and directed by Basil Appollis was first performed in The Netherlands in 2018 and subsequently ran in Cape Town and the Free State ...

Almal wil graag ryk word in dié myndorpie, maar dit is ’n liefde baie kosbaarder as goud wat almal in die dorp uiteindelik sal red. Sy is myne deur Francine Rivers is nou te koop by Bargain Books.

"for what if this night 
came as a spirit 
dimming out the melancholy, 
ripples of fear dissolving in a stream" 

Spoilt ballots is as much about the people who voted in some of our most decisive elections as it is about those who didn’t get to make their mark.

The Philida Literary Award is awarded annually to a writer mid-career for an oeuvre of between three to five books of any genre.

"My heartfelt hope is that this book reaches those who are in toxic situations (whether at home or at work), where their boundaries are being transgressed, and that reading it helps them to see their situation with clearer eyes and take steps to protect themselves."

"Hear My Voice invites South African poets to a 4-day poetry retreat, calling for poets to explore the relationship between nature and the manifest in various art forms."

"No. Children in this country don’t read enough."

Melina’s original approach to empowering educators in remote Eastern Cape towns is inspiring and effective. "If you want kids to do better in every academic area, give them more arts education," she says.

"From water drops cascading down the skin to the smell of naartjie juice on your fingertips, this stunning study of the interconnectedness of identity is perhaps the gentle reminder we all need to savour the human experience and all its delicious complexities."