Mr David Medalie, a professor in the Department of English at the University of Pretoria, was the speaker at the Writers 2000 October meeting.
Prof Medalie referred to a world-wide resurgence of interest in short stories in the literary world, citing the recent change of the Commonwealth Literary Prize which is now awarded for short stories and not novels, as was the case in the past.
He gave his audience a number of useful points to consider when creating a short story. Some of these points included brevity and the economic use of language, avoidance of lengthy chronologies, use of first or third person approaches with the pluses and minuses associated with each style and a number of other valuable tips.
He then gave a brief commentary on some of his favourite short story writers, such as O.Henry, Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain. He also referred to the earlier writings of Nadine Gordimer. He paid tribute to the growing quantity and quality of many existing and evolving South African short story writers.
Prof Medalie’s eyes brightened and his pace seemed to accelerate as he then moved forward from what had already been an interesting afternoon, into the world of Herman Charles Bosman of Groot Marico fame. There were sighs of appreciation and perhaps nostalgia as he spoke of Oom Schalk Lourens and of Mafeking Road. He referred to Bosman’s great advocacy of supporting South African literature and the importance of indigenous writers.
He reminded those present of the eternal flow of story-telling and its appeal from the beginning of time, drawing a mental archetypal picture of early people sitting around a campfire telling stories and gnawing on dinosaur bones.
Readers who have an interest in writing or literature are invited to attend one of the 2017 meetings to experience these events for themselves.
Writers 2000 meetings take place on Saturdays in the Inyoni Creek Clubhouse, in the Rand Aid Complex, on the corner of Wordsworth and Modderfontein Roads, Lyndhurst. Meetings start at 1:30pm for 2pm. There is a door fee of R20 payable by visitors.
For more information about the meetings or the group, contact one of the following people:
- Chairperson for 2017 – Ms Michael Cordes, 073 637 6105 or agripres@mweb.co.za
- Membership Coordinator – Ms Antoinette Reis, 072731085 or mantoinette@discoverymail.co.za
- Secretary – Ms Meggan Preuss, 079 508 3716 or megganpreuss@gmail.com
