Picture of Shireen Mall: provided
The Jakes Gerwel Foundation and Passa Porta international house of literature in Brussels are thrilled to welcome two Belgian and four South African writers to their two-week Brussels to Karoo residency at Paulet House in KwaNojoli, Eastern Cape.
Belgians Nele Van den Broeck and Gerda Dendooven and South Africans Sibuyiselo Sbuja Dywili, Shireen Mall, Charl-Pierre Naudé and Ayanda Xaba are now sharing the two-week residency borne out of Professor Jakes Gerwel’s considerable legacy. It was from the Vrije Universiteit of Brussels in 1979 that he received his doctorate in Literature and Philosophy (magna cum laude).
Below is an interview between Naomi Meyer and Shireen Mall on the residency.
Shireen, you obtained an MA in Creative Writing from Rhodes University in Grahamstown. Why did you apply for this residency at Paulet House?
I am particularly thrilled and privileged to be back in the Eastern Cape again, especially for the Jakes Gerwel Foundation Residency, which is heaven-sent. Any serious writer with purpose will agree that the opportunity to collaborate in dialogue with a diverse group of writers from across the world in various disciplines is a sure way to grow personally as a writer and broaden your scope. It broaches many possibilities, aside from contributing meaningfully in a literary sphere which then lives on from there. That is what this opportunity means to me and why I applied.
The formula is magic, and the Jakes Gerwel Foundation provides a framework and the platform to facilitate this, which is just marvellous. But it’s also a much needed respite from the “noise”, clamour and fever out there. A place to rest and recalibrate, so to speak.
Can you tell our readers a bit about the manuscript you are working on at present, or if you do not want to talk about this specifically, could you please tell us about the work you write in general?
I’m in the refining process with a completed manuscript of literary fiction titled M O Y. The story draws from memory, emotion and desire around subjects of gender, sexuality and identity in an unequal society.
What do you wish to achieve at this residency? What do you think is the best part of a residency like this one: inspiration, time to write, no tasks at home, or anything else?
This is an area where I feel that many feel the demands of a modern world and the need to find balance.
Also read:
Brussel tot Karoo-skrywersresidensie: ’n onderhoud met Vlaamse skrywer Nele Van den Broeck