Northern areas creative efforts celebrated with launch of eight books

The written word has the power to inspire, innovate and recreate a person’s life story and few have had more experience with this than a group of northern areas creatives who had the opportunity to showcase their skill at the weekend.

Eight books — three poetry books and five children’s picture stories — were launched by the Bay Creative Writing Development at the Nelson Mandela University Missionvale campus on Saturday.

The event celebrated 25 years of the nonprofit company, the Southern Africa Development Research and Training Institute (SADRAT), which facilitates the project.

The group comprises almost 50 poets, with one as young as 11 and veterans and beginners making up the cohort of writers predominantly hailing from Helenvale, Salt Lake and Hankey.

Project manager Brian Walter said the present crop of books had emerged from sponsorship by the National Lotteries Commission.

“This funding enabled the project to run poetry writing workshops in Helenvale and in Salt Lake to run three reading clubs — at Helenvale and Bayview Primary Schools, and also a new one at Machiu Primary — and to run workshops on the writing and production of children’s picture stories.”

Other highlights at the event were the achievement of a diploma in early childhood development by the lead facilitator of the Helenvale reading clubs, Leonie Williams, and the training of more than 30 young poets in computer usage.

“Williams has another achievement: the production of her first children’s book, Sticks and the Wishbone,” Walter said.

“This was one of five books written expressly for the reading clubs, with all stories set in the northern areas in the home context of most readers.

“Other books are Biko Belle’s Rainbow, by Carlyn Coetzee, Troublesome Nic, by Danielle E Seloane, The Adventures of Jian the Samurai: Jian’s First Lesson, by Muneeb Jantjies, and Georgie and the Dust-dump Dragon, by me (who led the writing and production process),” Walter said.

Illustrations were done by Helenvale artist Ricardo Swanepoel and Rachel Main.

The poetry books are Emotions that Thread Memories Together, by the Helenvale Poets — a group of 25 poets of all ages, Undercurrents, by the Salt Lake Poets  — a group of 22 poets developing from Machiu Primary, and Windows of Wonder, by the Gamtoos Valley Poets — an emerging group funded separately by the Sarah Baartman Centre of Remembrance Exhibition Project.

Williams said she was proud of her first children’s book.

“It is incredible to see my ideas come to life.

“I wrote the story for the children of Helenvale so they can see themselves in the story and be inspired.

“From simple stick man drawings to beautiful pictures — thanks to Rachel Main’s art —  it has been an incredible journey.

“Holding the finished book is a dream come true,” Williams said.

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