[imagesource:flickr]

My father always told me to never listen to someone whose television is bigger than their bookshelf.

With that in mind, it might be a fun idea to ignore Netflix for the weekend and head on over to the annual Franschhoek Literary Festival this coming May.

Lovers of book will be delighted to know that more than a hundred writers will be in attendance, with the festival opening at Reuben’s Restaurant & Bar where Adriaan Basson will be in discussion with Ferial Haffajee, Prince Mashele, and Qaanitah Hunter on the state of South Africa’s coalition politics and infrastructure collapse.

TV writer and performer Ruby Wax will also be doing an online talk about her new book,  I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was, as well as an appearance by Johnny Steinberg, whose Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage has been described as ‘one of the most anticipated reads of 2023’.

Lester Kiewit will meet two chroniclers of outsider life – Chase Rhys, whose book Misfit: Stories vannie anne kant is a collection of his acclaimed pieces in Kaaps, and Welcome Mandla Lishivha, whose Boy on the Run is a memoir of growing up queer in a township.

Literary legend Antjie Krog will also be in town to discuss her first poetry collection in eight years. Nathaniël is also said to be making an appearance and as always, just seeing him would make the trip worth it.

[imagesource:flf]

The programme has been set up to delve into the times we are in, and although a lot of political opinions and literature will be directed, there will be a good amount of fiction and poetry thrown in. As Elitha van der Sandt, Franschhoek Literary Festival Director explains:

“This festival digs into the dark corners as strife and upheaval creatively found its way onto the pages. There is something to stimulate the intellectual curiosity of all book lovers, from traumatic and painful stories to light-hearted and fun ones.”

The Franschhoek Literary Festival runs annually on the third weekend in May, starting on Friday and ending Sunday.

So switch off the old idiot box for a weekend and expand your mind a bit with written words.

[source:news24&flf]