SA books take pride of place

A TEN-YEAR journey of writing a 68-paged book might sound absurd for some, but not when the fruits of the long wait and efforts invested in the work start to show.

This has been proved by Nicolaas Maritz’s book, RainBeast, which was recently chosen to be part of the International Youth Library in the White Ravens 2022 in Germany.

This afforded RainBeast, along with another locally-produced book, TokkelossieBossie, by Philip de Vos and Piet Grobler, to be displayed at the Frankfurt Book Fair. These two South African books joined 200 other books recognised worldwide annually.

This is the second reward Maritz has received for the book, as he was awarded the 2021 Silver Pendoring Award for illustration last year.

“Everything takes time. Fortunately, my hobby is also my career, so I don’t have to juggle anything.

“I started this book more than 10 years ago. I wrote the text and did all the illustrations. The publishing part took about three years of refining and editing. The translations of the original Afrikaans verse text also took some time. The illustrations took up most of the time,” he said.

The story’s setting is the veld in the Riemvasmaak area, sometimes by day, and, towards the end of the narrative, at night, using the rain, people and animals as key characters, accompanied by rain cloud, water-snake, rain snake and lightning.

“You could say that when it rains, everyone and everything becomes a character in the story of the rain,” he said.

Maritz who turned his artistic passion into a career many moons ago, is thrilled, saying writing is just a bonus to his creative being. “I create paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints,” he said. “This came as some surprise. I am delighted to have the pleasure of sharing the White Ravens status with two foremost figures from the South African children’s literary world, author Phillip de Vos and illustrator Piet Grobler.

“I wish to express my sincere thanks to my wonderful publisher, Dusanka Stojakovic, for her unwavering belief in this book, and all the co-workers and translators who made this publication possible,” added Maritz.

Stojakovic, head of the publishing department at David Philip Publishers, said Maritz’s illustrations stimulated the mind and the senses. “It’s because of its depth that his books can be read and enjoyed by children and adults alike. His layered work evokes our curiosity in the environment, in history, in people and the words we encounter all around us,” she said.

| Supplied DARLING-BASED author Nicolaas Maritz uses writing to curb illiteracy and poverty in growing his artistic career.