Umasizakhe to host inaugural Karoobook Literary Festival
The one-day Karoobook Literary Festival to be held in Umasizakhe in November is just an introduction to what author, filmmaker and former diplomat Mzuvukile Maqetuka hopes to become a feast of Literary Festivals across the Eastern Cape in years to come.
This year’s festival, to be held on 10 November in the Umasizakhe Town Hall, will feature five authors giving readings from books they have written, mostly about the Camdeboo area, and promises to be of great interest. They will also discuss the books, and answer questions from the audience.
Maqetuka is originally from Graaff- Reinet but now lives in Jeffreys Bay. He was inspired to set up the event after he was invited to participate in the Franschoek Literary Festival earlier this year. His vision, which is backed by a team of experts in various fields, is to make the Graaffreinet festival one of three main festivals in the area, with others in Port Elizabeth and St Francis Bay.
He sees the benefits that the festival will bring to the town as two-fold: firstly, to generate interest, especially amongst young people, in reading and writing; and secondly, to bring an increase in tourism to the town.
Next year’s festival, to which he aims to attract between twenty and thirty writers from Subsaharan Africa, will be the real testing ground, with an official launch in the second half of next year. No date has yet been finalised, as he sees it as very important not to overlap any other literary events in the country so that the very best authors whom he plans to invite would not have any conflict of dates.
A whole team of people is involved in the organisation and promotion of this year’s “trial” event, with expertise in varied fields at a senior level. The inaugural meeting of the Karoobook Literary Festival committee was held on 31 August at Thembalesizwe Primary School in Umasizakhe, with David Mcnaughton, Thabiso Oliphant, Frank Nunan, Nune Mgoduka, Dr. Muki Moeng, Twiggs Xiphu, and Ambassador Mzuvukile Maqetuka
The majority of the organising committee are from the Graaff-reinet area (although some are currently based elsewhere), with others from St Francis Bay and Port Elizabeth. This group will be arriving in Graaff-reinet the day before the festival, in time to visit the sights of the town with local tour guide and bookshop owner David Mcnaughton
The authors who will be appearing at this year’s one-day festival are Maqetuka himself, Thandi Lujabe-rankoe, Monde Nkasawe, Bartle Logie and Madoda Ndlakuse.
The event will run from 09:00 till 16:00 on Saturday, 10 November at the Umasizahke Town Hall. The entrance fee is R40 for adults, and R20 for learners.