Day-visitors to the fourth annual Schreiner: Karoo Writers’ Festival (Cradock, 8 to 10 August 2013) have the choice of two varied programmes that both include teas and memorable lunches.
On Friday 9 August (Women’s Day) the morning features talks by a variety of literary women. The morning venue is a fully-equipped hall behind Schreiner House museum. The afternoon venue is the historical conference room at Victoria Manor. The afternoon ends with a walking tour and short musical recital. (Tickets for the day add up to R125 per person – R25 each for the morning and afternoon talks, walk and recital plus R75 for lunch).
On Saturday 10 August, Albert House (a gracious Victorian guesthouse) is the venue for a day of readings and talks. Special extras include an art exhibition, a book sale and garden stalls with local artisanal food products and handmade collectables. (A package ticket costing R100 per person covers the full day’s events including teas and lunch.)
Day Programme - 9 August
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Olive Schreiner
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The morning begins at Schreiner House museum with several different readers presenting passages from Olive Schreiner’s oeuvre – fiction and polemic.
Shireen Badat will talk about the multi-media Upstart programme that she started, that equips young learners with language tools and life-skills, building literacy and confidence. Upstart (based in Grahamstown) is working with three Cradock high schools.
After tea, Sigi Howes will examine the South African war as seen through the eyes of a child – that witty and observant child diarist, Iris Vaughan. Sigi Howes heads up the Centre for Conservation Education in the Western Cape. She has studied Iris Vaughan’s diary for several years, trying to identify all the places and characters mentioned in it, validating the events described.
For lunch, the Writer’s Festival group moves to the extraordinary dining room in nearby Victoria Manor hotel – it’s like stepping back into a more gracious and leisurely era. Tall windows, expansive spaces, cherished antique furnishings, gleaming silverware and glass provide a feast for the eyes.
The menu is just as special. Ezelle Marais, diva of local venison cuisine, will work with the hotel’s chefs all morning, preparing the lunch. As an appetiser, she will introduce her second published recipe book. For starters, Ezelle will serve kudu schnitzels bathed in a yoghurt sauce. This will be followed by venison strips in a sour cream sauce with wild rice and a green salad. Hmmm ... venison lite!
After lunch, another socially concerned writer, Margie Orford, steps up to the lectern. Margie’s critical scrutiny of our times finds expression in truly terrifying crime literature. She visited England and the USA this year, where she had been invited to speak on The Grammar of Violence.
Her heroine, Dr Clare Hart, takes the reader into the dark cul-de-sac of the South African criminal psyche. Fans of her titles – Blood Rose, Gallows Hill Like Clockwork and Daddy’s Girl will be pleased to note a fifth Clare Hart thriller is due out in August.
Barbara Mutch is next on the programme – her news-making family saga, The Housemaid’s Daughter, is set in Cradock. In writing the story, Barbara used her own childhood memories of piano lessons in Cradock. Ada, the main character in the book, is taught to play the piano by the lady of the house.
A passage from the book is one of the readings during the literary walking tour that follows. Texts by Cradock literary legends (Guy Butler, Karel Schoeman, Etienne van Heerden etc) are also included in the itinerary.
The walking tour ends at Cradock’s awe-inspiring NG Moederkerk, with a recital on the magnificent organ by Dominee Attie van Wyk (quite possibly the coolest cleric in the Karoo).
Day Programme - 10 August
Next day (Saturday) the action moves to stately Albert House (built between 1843 and 1845). The programme offers something for everyone.
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Harry Owen
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The day starts with the fast-paced open microphone session with three-minute spots for a variety of writers. This is followed by a presentation by poet Harry Owen on his new book, For Rhino in a Shrinking World.
The lunch menu features a choice of two soups (potato and leek or Tuscan bean and bacon), followed by roast vegetables and chickpea/lentil salad to accompany accompany chicken with orange and star anise and French-style Springbok Casserole
Hostess Rika Featherston-Haugh says, “The chicken dish is a true winter recipe with ginger, garlic, onion, a pinch of chilli, spices, orange juice and sliced oranges, slow-baked in the oven. The venison casserole is based on the classic Boef en Daube Martigues. It is a lovely rich dish that includes anchovy fillets and olives.” Hopefully Rika can be persuaded top publish a recipe book soon!
After lunch internationally-renowned Etienne van Heerden will talk about the novel In Love’s Place (recently translated from In Stede van Liefde). Shifting to non-fiction, Doreen Atkinson offers fascinating new insights to Women, Families and Communities in the South African War. The eminent young Dutch poet, Alfred Schaffer, will read and discuss his own work.
Extras at Albert House include an exhibition of sculpture and paintings by established South African artists. Frans Boekkooi (from Nieu Bethesda) and Casey van der Leek (from Bloemfontein) are examples. Lots of books, new and old, will be on sale – early birds will get the pick of some very interesting Africana. Titles by writers featured during the festival will also be available. In the extensive garden, specialised local food producers and craftspeople have been invited to put up stalls.
Why not stay over?
Day visitors are advised to bring an overnight bag just in case the temptation to stay over for the evening events and next-day programme proves too strong.
“There is plenty of accommodation in Cradock so we can cater for last-minute impulses,” says festival committee member Brian Wilmot.
On Friday night renowned photo-journalists Chris and Julienne Marais will present an armchair travelogue titled “The Beautiful Karoo”. Then Guitar-strumming poet/lyricist/dramatist, Robert Pearce sets an upbeat mood with a repertoire that includes his own work and “Kaapse” pieces by Adam Smal. This is followed by an informal candlelit supper round the fire during which visitors get the chance to mingle with poets and novelists. (Tickets for the Marais’ slideshow and the supper are R100 per person)
Saturday evening is devoted to the launch of Cradock poet Clinton V. du Plessis’ new collection, Rangeer. It will be introduced by Dutch poet Alfred Schaffer, one of the most influential of the new generation of young internationals.
The launch will be followed by a three-course dinner at Victoria Manor. (Tickets for the launch event and dinner are R150 per person.)