Vlaams-SA for short but officially the residency is known as the Dialogue Programme for Writers from the Low Countries and South Africa. This year South Africans Dumisani Hlatswayo and Sindiswa Busuku and Moroccan-Flemish author Fikry El Azzouzi joined hands and shared space at Paulet House.
The Belgian/South African connection
The collaboration between the Jakes Gerwel Foundation and Brussels-based International house of literature Passa Porta was cemented in 2019 with the first writers’ residency for two South Africans – Chase Rhys and Denver Breda and two Belgian writers – Miriam van hee and Rachida Lamrabet at the foundation’s Paulet House in Somerset East, Eastern Cape.
Two Flemish writers are chosen each year to share a residency with two South African writers. In this way, the partners encourage cross-pollination between the writing of writers from different backgrounds and strive to enrich the body of literature here and abroad. (This year one of the Belgians got lost along the way.)
About the Partners
This collaboration stems from Professor Jakes Gerwel’s considerable legacy, in that it was from the Vrije Universiteit of Brussels in 1979 that he received his doctorate in Literature and Philosophy (magna cum laude). His thesis which was published in 1983 was on “Literatuur en apartheid. Konsepsies van ‘gekleurdes’ in die Afrikaanse roman tot 1948” [“Literature and Apartheid. Conceptions of ‘coloured people’ in the Afrikaans novel up to 1948]. It was a study that impacted Afrikaans literary criticism in a big way.
Today, the foundation’s aim is to promote and expand South African literature in general, especially Afrikaans which was Professor Gerwel’s field of expertise.
The focus areas are:
- Enriching South African literature
- Assisting with new perspectives and sharing of new experiences
- Supporting emerging writers and new voices
- Encouraging reading and promoting literacy among the youth.” Annual Report 2021/2022.
However, the foundation is as open to multilingualism much like partner Passa Porta which is a multilingual meeting place in Brussels, a city where 181 Nationalities co-exist. Passa Porta occupies a spot at the heart of all these languages and offers a passport for readers to meet favourite writers from home and away and explore new writings.
In addition, it is a place where writers, artists, and translators can slow down and have a platform or workspace where they exchange ideas, texts, and stories. Every second year 100s of writers and artists from all over the world descend on Brussels to participate in the Passa Porta Festival that honours Brussels as a city of literature.
As the recipient of both the Arkprijs of the Vrije Woord and the Ultima for Literature, Fikry El Azzouzi has written four novels – Het Schapenfeest, Drarrie in de nacht, Alleen zij and De Beloning, a book for children Aicha en de verloren taal (2022) and several theatre pieces Troost and Rumble in da jungle, Reizen Jihad, Pax Europa, Alleen voor actrice Sara De Roo, and multimedia theatre pieces Malcolm X (2016) and Dear Winnie (2019). He is also a columnist for publications such as De Morgen and De Standaard.
Of his stay in residency Fikry said: “I really enjoyed the stay and your hospitality. This was the third time I’ve gone to South Africa and I always feel like I’m staying in a hidden paradise. I enjoyed it very much.” He said he has plans to bring his play Dear Winnie to South Africa.
In 2017, fellow housemate Dumisani Hlatswayo’s second novel Imibala Yothando won the Sanlam Literature Award for Youth Literature. His work is also prescribed for schools. (Read Dumisani’s story and bio below.)
Sindiswa Busuku debuted with Loud and Yellow Laughter (Botsotso Press (2016) – winner of the 2018 Ingrid Jonker prize for poetry. Her poetry has been published locally and abroad, in New Coin, New Contrast, Prufrock, Ons Klyntji, Aerodrome, the Sol Plaatje European Union Anthology, Illuminations and Dryad Press: Unearthed Anthology.
