Litnet

The 2020 National Arts Festival (NAF) will go down in our history as the first ever South African virtual festival, taking place from 25 June to 5 July. Marli van Eeden chats to Monica Newton (CEO, NAF) to find out more.

This biography does not only investigate Kirsch’s role as Afrikaans Jewish poet but also examines her as an example of a cross-cultural, multi-lingual immigrant poet. 

Brent Meersman’s memoir of a humble yet eccentric upbringing in a Milnerton, Cape Town, flat in the 1970’s and 1980’s reads as a stirring eulogy to his schizophrenic mother, yet also as a vivid snapshot in time.

"No. I don’t think we are ever going to go back to the 'unconscious normal' we were in just a few weeks ago. I think that after lockdown, the world and South Africa will, in many ways, be in pieces; in many ways, the systems we knew will be broken, and we will all have to readjust and start again."

"If you are serious about treating the COVID-19 lockdown as a time for regrouping, for getting back to what is important, then grow a spine and start with this film."

"This precious guide is said to make a thoughtful and wonderful gift to professional entomologists, gardeners and nature enthusiasts alike."

"In a post-apartheid South Africa bedevilled by a paucity and deficit of value-based and selfless leadership, with leadership that uses its struggle credentials for self-enrichment, one wonders how Biko would have reacted."

"To my delight, I found Boel a patient and eloquent coach, and his writing clear, to the point and interlaced with examples I could understand and relate to."

"There is an art in finding and lifting the real story from the day-to-day facts. Dolley may not quite be there yet, but she's certainly on her way."

"The individual contributions focus on a fascinating and relevant selection of primary sources, mostly novels and short stories, reaching as far back as Sol Plaatje’s Mhudi (1930) and incorporating contemporary texts into the diverse readings of the South African literary canon."

"COVID-19 is touching every conceivable facet of life, reflected in the data being generated as a result. Be it virus test results, traffic flows, shopper behaviour or what is spoken about on public social networks, the data flow can appear to be a torrent. Beneath all those public flows lies an iceberg of hidden data, a seemingly endless list of 'known unknowns', and we can only wait for the 'unknown unknowns' to come to light."

The ninth Cape Town International Animation Festival (CTIAF) has been postponed to 24 to 27 April 2021. "In 2021 we look forward to bringing you more undiscovered African stories through colourful narratives," says festival director Dianne Makings.

Are your children stuck at home and do they have too much screen time? LitNet asked a few publishers for suggestions on what young children can read during this time. Here are the books that Penguin Random House suggested. The kids will enjoy reading and also realise that it's a privilege to have a home in which they can be trapped during this strange period. 

"She is a woman and a writer, but doesn’t write women’s fiction."

"My overall feeling towards the novel is exactly what you would expect: just not my cup of tea."

Cape Town City Ballet’s Autumn Season has been postponed, to be rescheduled at a date to be announced in due course.

The Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards, which would have taken place on 22 March, has been cancelled as a result of the coronavirus (Covid-19). Details regarding the winners’ announcement will be made known in due course.

"Like the sea I have chased with my mother, and like
all of these words, I am thinking of you too much."

Following president Cyril Ramaphosa’s address on Sunday 15 March, we have decided to suspend operations at The Fugard Theatre with immediate effect, as of Monday 16 March 2020, until further notice due to the acceleration of the Covid-19 virus over the weekend.

The cast has been revealed for The Fugard Theatre’s South African premiere production of Terrence McNally’s hilarious Tony Award winning farce It’s only a play. It’s only a play will be performed in The Fugard Theatre from Tuesday (14 April) to Saturdays at 20:00; with matinees on Saturday and Sundays at 15:00.