4 SA WRITERS TO FIND OUT IN THE FIELD
For a country that has produced so many fine writers, the dearth of sights remembering them and their work comes as quite a surprise. That said, there are a few highlights
OLIVE SCHREINER The author of Story of an
African Farm was something of a Karoo wanderer in her adulthood, spending time in dorps such as Hanover, Barkly East, Matjiesfontein and Kimberley. Cradock, however, is the heart of any literary trail that honours her. Her house at No 9 Cross Street — where she lived briefly from 1868-1870 — is a national monument and now houses a museum devoted to her life and works. She was buried in the same grave as her infant daughter and little dog on a mountaintop at Buffelshoek, near Cradock. It is a stiff hike to the top but worth it for the fine views over the Karoo. Access, however, is on private land — ask for details at the museum.
Details: Schreiner House, 9 Cross Street, Cradock, phone 048 881 5251 or e-mail oschreiner@telkomsa.net.
SOL PLAATJE
The Sol Plaatje museum occupies the house where Sol Plaatje lived during his final years and, legend has it, where he wrote Mhudi, the first full-length novel in English by a black South African. The museum covers the important points of Plaatje’s life, such as his voyage to England to protest the 1913 Native Land Act and the fact that he served as a court interpreter during the siege of Mafikeng during the Anglo-Boer War. Definitely worth a visit. Details: 2 Angel Street, Kimberley, or call 053 833 2526.
HERMAN CHARLES BOSMAN
Even though Bosman did not live in Groot Marico for very long — he spent a short time there as a schoolmaster — it and the surrounding bushveld inspired the characters and stories that made him an icon. It’s no surprise, then, that the town has adopted Bosman as a local hero.
Except for the cottage where he briefly lived, there is not much in the way of a literary trail but the Herman Charles Bosman Literary Society, which is really the town's proper information centre, hosts an annual Bosman Weekend with readings, performances, music, traditional Bosveld food and maybe a little mampoer tasting on the side. Because nothing goes as well with a Bosman story as a little bit of peach-infused firewater. This year’s is October 20-22. Details: The Information Centre, phone 083 272 2958 or 014 503 0085 or e-mail info@marico.co.za.
ALAN PATON
There’s no trail for Alan Paton but you can visit one of Cry, The
Beloved Country’s most evocative characters — the narrow-gauge railway, wonderfully described in the opening pages of the novel: “It is interesting to wait for the train at Carisbrooke while it climbs out of the great valley. Those who know can tell you with each whistle where it is, at what farm, what road, what river.” The railway, saved from scrap by local businessman Julian Pereira, runs regular trains up the hill from Ixopo to Carisbrooke, sometimes using one of the very steam engines that Paton would have seen. The mist still swirls through the wattles and you still glimpse arum lilies in a dell as you puff up the hill. Details: Paton’s Country Railway, phone 039 834 2963, e-mail kznrail@futurenet.co.za or see pcngr.co.za.