Wordfest 2025 will be held at Rhodes University in Makhanda on 19 and 20 September 2025.
Izak de Vries sent Darryl David a few questions.
Well done on reviving another institution in the literary world. Please tell us more about Chris Mann, the person who founded Wordfest.
Hi, Izak. I actually can't take credit for knowing Chris Mann in my early years. When I started the Olive Schreiner Festival, it was Fanie Olivier who asked me: “Did you invite Chris Mann?” And then he raised his eyebrows as if to say: “You stupid man, how can you not invite Chris Mann?” And that is how I met Chris around 2010.
He was a warm, generous soul – although initially he thought I was crowding the book festival calendar. Over the years, that generosity of spirit shone through. I loved how he could take the everyday and turn it into poetry.
I think it was for A platteland pilgrimage that I asked if I could use his poem on a simple church in the Drakensberg for my book on churches. And I loved how he would put his poems to music at my festivals. A few years ago, I learned from Ashwin Desai that his father was the great Springbok test bowler Tufty Mann. As I type these words, I can see his warm, smiling face in my mind’s eye.
Now you have revived Wordfest. I assume that a number of Makhanda-based bibliophiles would have had a hand in it? Please tell more.
Yes, I can't take sole credit. It was, I believe, head of English Anton Krueger and Robert Berold who agitated to revive Wordfest. They then sat down with the director of ISEA at Rhodes, Deyi Mbelani, because Wordfest is an ISEA baby. Deyi is the first black director of ISEA, incidentally. Unbeknown to them, Deyi was actually my first HOD when I joined UWC. I suppose he knew my work from his UWC days and had a modicum of faith in me.
And who knows, maybe David Attwell might also have had a hand in raising Wordfest from its slumber. Whoever it was, sometimes the stars align for the greater good.
The programme is up. Should people book in advance, or can they merely rock up?
They can merely rock up. You know me – no tickets, no entrance fees. But if we want to grow next year, we will have to charge like most of the bigger book festivals do. But for this festival, we wanted it to be a joyous get-together for people who long to hear the name Wordfest again.
The venues are ISEA on Friday and Amazwi on Saturday. Are those easy to find for out-of-towners?
Well, I certainly hope so. Because I myself have only seen photos and videos of the venues! But really, how difficult can it be? Surely one cannot get lost in Grahamstown/ Makhanda.
The names you have are impressive: Aman Bloom, Anschen Conradie, Anton Krueger, Christof van der Berg, Dan Wylie, Darryl Earl David, Deborah Seddon, Deyi Mbelani, Dolla Sapeta, Eben Venter, Etienne van Heerden, Gaireyah Fredericks, Hlonipha Mokoena, Jeff Wicks, Luthando Lucas, Luvuyo Dondolo, Mangaliso Buzani, Maria Geustyn, Marike Beyers, Nathan Trantraal, Paul Weinberg, Popina Khumanda, Robert Berold, Robyn Perros, Ronelda Kamfer and Siphiwo Mahala. Was it easy to convince all of them to be part of Wordfest?
I had more, but I lost two along the way. I have to admit it was really easy. The name Wordfest is such an iconic brand, and there exists so much goodwill towards the festival. Even the publishers who are not known to be generous towards my book festivals in small towns graciously paid for some of their writers’ costs. I don't want people to think, however, that Rhodes has loads of money. We are putting this book festival together through a modicum of funding. But mainly through goodwill.
Next year will be far more difficult, once we try to go back home to the National Arts Festival. Accommodation will be far more expensive. So, too, will flights. Venues will be hard to come by. So, we really need all the help we can get from publishers next year. As Siphiwo Mahala, chairperson of the National Arts Festival, remarked: “The National Arts Festival needs a strong, vibrant Wordfest in 2026.”
You are South Africa’s foremost bookfestival-putter-togetheror. Yet, each of your ventures has something unique. How would you see Wordfest as different from your other festivals, and why should all in the Eastern Cape drive to Makhanda on 19 and 20 September?
Ah, thanks, Izak. However, I felt that for this festival, I wanted to attract big name authors. Because, whether you like it or not, it is big names that put bums on seats and persuade people to drive from Port Elizabeth, East London and Port Alfred to hear, for instance, why Babita Deokaran had to die when listening to investigative journalist Jeff Wicks.
Or listen to Etienne van Heerden talk about something that he has never spoken on – the formative Grahamstown years. Or maybe someone like Gaireyah Fredericks, and find out why her book Een voet innie kabr has garnered virtually every literary prize this year. Or Hlonipha Mokoena's fascinating study on the figure of the nightwatchman in literature.
And let me stick my neck out and say that Popina Khumanda is going to be a revelation. Please bring tissues, because you will cry.
And I have you, Izak, to thank for introducing me to the man who will present the inaugural Chris Mann Memorial Lecture. Christof will ensure that we end Wordfest 2025 with a bang and with music, à la Chris Mann, in our hearts.