Book fair honours poet laureate

A TRIBUTE to Africa’s Poet Laureate, Mazisi Kunene will headline the last Durban Book Fair (DBF) for the year until  6 December.

“Professor Kunene is a literary icon of our continent. It is fitting that we should host this honour on his 90th birth anniversary in the city of his birth,” said DBF chairperson Zandile Qono-Reddy.

The monthly book fair at Mitchell Park, now into its third year, is a volunteer programme to support Durban as a UNESCO world city of literature. Qono-Reddy added that UNESCO had named Kunene Poet Laureate of Africa in 1993.

In 2005 he became South Africa’s first poet laureate. He passed on a year later leaving a formidable body of work of which the epic Emperor Shaka the Great written in IsiZulu is the most internationally acclaimed. The panel will include his wife, Mathabo Kunene who keeps his memory alive through a foundation promoting young people in literature.

Another literary great that will be remembered is the poet, novelist and educator Benedict Wallet Vilakazi.

“Dr BW Vilakazi was a pioneering figure in Zulu letters and the first black South African to earn a PhD. His prodigious legacy and contribution to African literature beyond our shores is exemplary to this day,” said poet and activist, Sandile Ngidi.

While the literary greats will be feted, over 20 local authors will also have their place in the sun at Mitchell Park on 5 and 6 December, according to local publisher Anivesh Singh.

“We’re pleased that former journalists Shanthini Naidoo and Nathi Oliphant will be talking about their brand new books at the fair,” added Singh.

ALSO READ: Retired Durban teacher launches new book

Another attraction on the 160th anniversary of the first Indian indenture in South Africa will be the co-authored Indian Africans by Paul David, Ranjith Choonilall, Kiru Naidoo and Selvan Naidoo.

The opening night at the Mount Edgecombe Country Club on 4 December will feature a new book honouring golf legend Papwa Sewgolum. To book, RSVP to Yathin Singh at yathz2006@yahoo.com or WhatsApp 072 331 4017.

At the closing ceremony at Phansi Museum in the evening of 6 December, there will be the launch of Dr Len Rosenberg’s Bleaching Durban which looks at the devastating impact on the apartheid Group Areas Act on black communities, as well as The Durban System: The Architecture of social control, and a photographic exhibition by Len Rosenberg.

Entry to the fair at Mitchell Park is free. Stringent Covid-19 precautions will apply. Visit Facebook or contact 083 778 1991.

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