THE University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) presents the 24th edition of the Time of the Writer International Festival that will be hosted virtually on the festival’s social media channels from 15 to 21 March.
The written word envelops online as South African, African and International writers meet for a thought-provoking week of literary dialogue, exchanging ideas, and stimulating discussions. Time of the Writer features a diverse gathering of leading novelists, social commentators, activists, playwrights, short story writers and poets. This 24th edition features authors in conversation, panel discussions, a public participation programme, and exhibitions focused on many socially-relevant themes such as whistleblowing, migration, colonialism, gender-based violence and sexual identity.
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The theme for this year’s festival is The Writer: Witness, canary in the mine or testifier? The theme is inspired by an essay written by author Daisy Hernández in which she states, “While it may well be that no book has ever prevented genocide or fascism, we still have a necessity for literature to testify to the political conditions of our lives—not only so that we might have a record of those we have lost, but also that we might have a reason to gather with others to read and to continue resisting.”
This year’s festival has been extended to an additional day to mark the UN International Day of Poetry and South African Human Rights Day on 21 March.
“We will provide a platform for poets from across the globe to use their voices to speak to global concerns about human rights violations and a quest for a just society. The poetry programme will also honour the brave men and women whose lost lives in the Sharpeville Massacre is commemorated by South Africa’s Human Rights Day”, said Siphindile Hlongwa, a co-curator of the Time of the Writer festival and also the curator of the Poetry Africa festival.
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