Their two-week residency is called Dialogue Programme for Writers from the Low Countries and South Africa, a collaboration between the Jakes Gerwel Foundation and Passa Porta – the international house of literature in Brussels Belgium.
On Day 4, the two Belgians – Neske Beks and Tom Naegels and three South Africans – Paul Kammies, Lisa-Anne Julien and Danie Marais had fun posing for their group photo. Since the 2022 PEN Afrikaans / PEN South Africa / PEN Nederland Uninterrupted time to write residency, the groups staying at Paulet House in Somerset East, Eastern Cape usually send one or two pictures for use on all the foundation’s social media platforms.
True to their residency name, dialogue was undertaken and there was much deliberation on each pic taken by musician Nash van Zyl, chef Gilbert’s son.
Author of If you save me, Lisa-Anne Julien says of their day 4 deliberations: “I can be a bit extra but only because I want you to have options to choose from :).
I even sent it around to the group for their approval and then regretted it when I got a “hard no” and “can’t you crop this out” and “my face looks funny here”. Lol. I said next time I’ll be a benevolent dictator and bypass this consensus thing! Lol.”
Tally of photos received: five.
The formal pose at the door: Danie, Neske, Lisa-Anne, Paul and Tom.
The below the sign pose: Tom, Danie, Paul, Lisa-Anne and Neske
The all-new Paulet Street pose with cows: Lisa-Anne, Neske, Danie, Paul and Tom. The musician/photographer was probably going for the iconic Beatles crossing Abbey Road look.
The formal pose at the door goes awry: Danie, Neske, Paul, Tom and Lisa-Anne.
Getting the hang of things under the sign pose: Tom, Danie, Paul, Lisa-Anne and Neske.
On Day 5: Their curiosity got the better of them. They abandoned their writing schedules and followed the many roving cows to the other side of town. Not on foot though, chef Gilbert dropped them off and came to pick them up after their wandering about.
In this photo from Left to Right are; Danie, Paul; Lisa-Anne, Tom, librarian in (blue dress) Nwabisa Nteto, Neske and a library assistant. and Ayanda at the back.
“This library is mainly for the kids in the location and is well-stocked. It was also great to learn from the librarian, Nwabisa Nteto, how busy the library is and how much it is being used by the community. They were both so happy that we visited the library and walked through the community,” Lisa-Anne explains.
Vlaams -ZA 2023 made a donation of children’s books and board games to the library.
Photographers: Nash van Zyl and Lisa-Anne Julien
Lisa-Anne Julien is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, but now lives in Johannesburg. After studying dance in New York in her early twenties, she completed her master’s degree in social policy at the London School of Economics before moving to South Africa to work as a development consultant. As a features and travel writer, Lisa-Anne’s work has been published in a wide range of commercial publications, including O, The Oprah Magazine, Elle, Psychologies, House & Garden, New African and Sawubona.
Lisa-Anne received a Highly Commended award in the 2009 Commonwealth Short Story Competition. Her writing residencies include residencies at Femrite – Uganda Women Writers’ Association and the Yale Writers’ Conference. Her manuscript of If You Save Me was long-listed for the UK Mslexia First Novel Competition before being published by Kwela Books in 2021.
If You Save Me was long-listed for the 2022 Sunday Times Fiction Prize and was the joint winner of the 2022 UJ Debut Prize.
2 thoughts on “Vlaams -ZA 2023 residents and their first week in pictures”
Great to have met you!
Thank you. I have forwarded your email to the writers at Paulet House. 🙂