“I am totally in awe – still, after all these years – of how the seed grew into a beautiful young tree. I always got a kick out of starting something from nothing, but now I get a kick out of the fact that so many people rightfully claim this tree as their own. People that are totally invested in the project, because they know now how sweet the fruits are, how healing the shade can be. How necessary the tree is in our harsh and sometimes bleak landscapes, where trees daily die of no watering or of pests that corrupted its stems. The only reason I think, is that the Foundation truly brings change to people. We did not force what we thought is needed from top to bottom. There are water carriers in Somerset East from day one. We have tree lovers and huggers who keep on nurturing the tree. But yes, it can grow much taller, because when I held that seed in my hand years ago, I had a sense that it came from a very special mountain where rare and vulnerable and tall trees grow. That mountain, I soon realised, is the Bosberg. I took a few leaves to New York and the people there were so impressed, that a year later we are in the position to send a first writer. * That person will now take Kaaps … nogals … to New York. One hundred and thirty-six writers all left with a leaf or a seed or some sort of gift from the garden – they talk about it, they live it. My point is: when something this good becomes unstoppable, you don’t know where it will grow and that is the magic of it all. All you know is that you will work damn hard – together with a wide range of gardeners – to make sure the soil stays healthy, the branches grow right and to keep goggas away,” wrote Theo Kemp, executive director of the Jakes Gerwel Foundation.
A JGF highlight: the NYC Fellowship – in partnership with Columbia University
Ocean View’s very own Chase Rhys is the first recipient of the Jakes Gerwel Foundation New York Fellowship 2024. Author, Rapport columnist, playwright, screenwriter and passionate advocate of Kaaps, Chase joins the faculty of Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning authors at Columbia University’s School of the Arts, as an adjunct professor for the spring semester 2024. The art of storytelling in Kaaps is what Chase will teach in their Masterclass: Narrative Resistance – Writing Authentic Stories of Resilience and Identity in Diverse Communities.
These writers were at Paulet House in KwaNojoli (Somerset East) in Eastern Cape this year.
Bosberg book writing – JGF in partnership with NB Publishers
The writers of fiction and non-fiction 2023: Faeed Amardien, Nadia Cassim, English mentor Angela Briggs, Reginald Hufkie, Afrikaans mentor Suzette Kotze Myburgh and Bonisani Sibeko. For the first time, this group could take time out from their heavy writing schedule and participate in the Somerset East parkrun which is hailed as the most beautiful course because it winds its way along a hiking trail.
Brussels to Karoo – JGF in partnership with Passa Porta, the international house of literature
The international, multilingual mix of poets, playwrights and novelists: Lisa-Anne Julien, Neske Beks, Danie Marais, Paul Kammies and Tom Naegels. They went everywhere, going for a guided walkabout though the New Brighton township with a visit to the Ngcipe community library. They were invited to participate in National Library Week Celebrations. They were the first group to do the Somerset East parkrun and present creative writing sessions at Nojoli Senior Primary School, besides visiting the museums and working on their own books.
PEN it down – JGF in partnership with PEN Centres Afrikaans, South Africa, Germany and Malawi
They wrote, discussed, rehearsed plays, connected with the locals, went on walkabouts and wrote some more: Standing L-R: Gaireyah Fredericks, Zubeida Jaffer and Kirsten Deane, Seated L-R: Christoph Nix, Temwani Mgunda and Tertius Kapp. Between them they juggled many professional hats: poets, playwrights, novelists, screenwriters, journalists, writers of non-fiction and prose, theatre makers and filmmakers.
NATi Jong Sterre / Rising Stars – JGF in partnership with NATi, Artscape and Suidoosterfees
NATi Jong Sterre 2023; from L-R: Mikayla Brown, Cara Rossouw, mentor Lee-Ann van Rooi, Miché van Wyk, Miliswa Mbandazayo and Geralt Cloete. They refined their plays, sang a lot, acted, baked, had time to work on songs, hiked in the Bosberg in winter, participated in the parkrun and enjoyed the town’s first Walter Battiss Art Museum festival. Their plays will premiere at Suidoosterfees 2024.
Longhope TV Writing – JGF in partnership with M-Net Channels
The Longhope TV scriptwriters hiking in the Bosberg (L-R); Palesa Shongwe, Gita Fourie, mentor Lisa Kruger, Paulet House chef Gilbert van Zyl, Niël Coetzee, Ross Jantjies and Sindisa Masiza. They worked on refining their television scripts with the view to pitching it to production companies. The Longhope TV writing is a new mentorship programme and in another first, this is the first time that the partnering company has offered three-month internships to all the mentees. Sindisa has begun his internship at Tshedza Pictures. From February 2024 Gita will be joining the writing team for the award-winning series Binnelanders. Placements for the other three are in the process of being finalised.
Kommadagga workshop for short story writers – JGF in partnership with LitNet and Huisgenoot
JGF/ LitNet/ Huisgenoot Kommadagga workshop for short story writers 2023 with Paulet House staff (L-R): Susan Meiring, Tshegofatso Nkwane, Daneel Jantjies, chef Gilbert van Zyl, Alfred T.M. Rossouw, mentor Fourie Botha, Theresa de Necker, housekeepers Siena Arends, Charmaine Taai and mentor Thabiso Mahlape. They worked on refining their short stories which will be published in Huisgenoot next year. And they took time out to explore the natural beauty of the area.
Picture credits: Jeremeo Le Cordeur, Theo Kemp and Nash van Zyl
Compiled by: Jeremeo Le Cordeur
That’s a wrap for 2023!!! Here’s to more fine creations flowing out at Paulet House.
Theo obtained his master’s degree in creative writing at Stellenbosch University. He has been involved with various projects in the arts before in his role as, among others, project manager of the Woordfees, advertising coordinator at NB Publishers, programme manager at the KKNK as well as at the Vrystaat Literature Festival and as executive director of the Breytenbach Centre in Wellington.
Theo is the author of two novels, Skool and Strafjaart.
