The Jakes Gerwel Foundation and Oude Leeskamer in Stellenbosch are thrilled to announce that Johannesburg writer Zama Moyo is the recipient of their first writer’s residency, taking place at Oude Leeskamer’s luxurious writer’s room in April.
“I’m so stoked!” said Moyo, who is currently waiting for his PhD Political Science dissertation titled “The moral plausibility of South Africa’s National Development Plan: a relations-based approach” to be examined.
“It means a lot to me. It means a much welcome change of scenery and steeping in a part of the country I’ve never been to before. It means hope, coming after the fire that’s been PhD work and wonky health before and through that. It means once again taking myself seriously as a writer or, at least, someone who wants to write well, and meaningfully, and consistently. It of course links me to the Jannie Mouton Foundation, itself a fascinating institution with a fascinating founder.”
Moyo, who was a mentee in the 2020 JGF and NB Publishers mentorship programme for writers of fiction and non-fiction, is looking forward to “doing plenty of exploring, good food and the joy of reconnecting with Audrey Jantjies, who’s become my sister-friend, and Lebo Mazibuko, who’s since moved to Cape Town.”
Uppermost in mind, besides the surrounding green scenery at the Leeskamer, there is the “calming thought of many hours of solitude, writing, wrestling – those three seem to be companions,” Moyo says.
“The thought of working on fiction again is both appetising and intimidating to me. I’m not naturally a plotter of story, so it’s a challenge. But I love writing dialogue, I love making observations about the seemingly inconspicuous and then riffing on that – my editor Angela [JGF mentor Angela Briggs] must often temper my endless digressions – but, hey, I love that part of the process too. As Lauren Berlant puts it, I think in The Hundreds, ‘riffing is the first freedom’.”
The second JGF and Oude Leeskamer residency, which is open only to previous or current JGF Paulet House residents, will take place from 11 to 25 November 2024. The closing date for applications is the 16th of August. Click here for the application details.
Oude Leeskamer is a cultural and heritage centre situated in a historic building in Stellenbosch.
In 2017, the Oude Leeskamer became the property of the Jannie Mouton Foundation. The building was remarkably restored to now host five unique spaces, namely Jannie se Leeskamer, an art gallery, a writer’s flat, De Eetkamer Restaurant, and the Jannie Mouton Foundation offices.
Oude Leeskamer’s vision is to be a leading heritage asset with the aim of protecting historical value. At the same time, it aims to be a living space that celebrates South Africa’s unique and diverse arts and culture.
Zama Moyo lives in Johannesburg. He completed his honours in international relations at Wits University. While busy with his honours, Zama was selected as an intern at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). He completed his MA in ideology and discourse analysis at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. Zama has always loved words and penned a number of reflective essays on his personal blog Thought Box. He has also written on a broad range of issues related to current affairs. In 2013 he was selected as a finalist in the Global Human Rights Essay Contest which focused on ‘Human Rights Cities’. He is currently working on his doctoral thesis – On the intersection of ethics and public policy – at the University of Pretoria.
