November 2012
Durban ‘Interest Group for Bibliographic Standards’ (IGBIS) workshop
On the 15h November 2012 Fiona Polak attended a workshop organised by the Durban ‘Interest Group for Bibliographic Standards’ (IGBIS). The workshop was held at the UKZN Library & Information Studies Programme, Pietermaritzburg and was facilitated by Welna van Eeden, formerly of UNISA and also a former IGBIS President. The workshop was titled ‘Subject Analysis for Cataloguers who use the Library of Congress Subject Headings’. The course covered conceptual analysis, subdivisions and South African headings and was most informative.”
October 2012
16th POETRY AFRICA at CALS
The Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN) hosted part of their programme at CALS on Wednesday the 17th October 2012. We were very privileged to share in the following two poets work …
The highly-acclaimed Dr Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali was born in Vryheid, Northern KwaZulu-Natal in 1940. He holds degrees from the New School University, School of the Arts, Columbia University and Teachers College of Columbia University.
After being rejected by the University of Witwatersrand, Mtshali took up menial jobs in Johannesburg, working as a dishwasher, tea boy, messenger and chauffeur, before he became a poet.
His successful first book, Sounds of a Cowhide Drum (1971), explores the banality and extremity of apartheid through the eyes of working men in South Africa. One of the first books by a black South African poet to be widely distributed, Sounds of a Cowhide Drum sparked much debate amongst the white population of the day. This was followed by the more militant collection of poems,Fireflames (1981), an epic poem, The Black Trinity from African Divinity (1997), a musical play based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Thando and Lerato (2008) and a three-act play titled Hang John Matshikiza (2009).
Mtshali has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Southern Africa English Academy Poetry Award in 1971, the London Poetry International Award in 1973 and the South African Lifetime Achievement Literary Award (SALA) from the Department of Arts and Culture in 2007.
Mtshali taught at the New York City College of Technology, but one of his greatest achievements is being founder and deputy headmaster of Pace Community College in Jabulani, Soweto.
Articulating the profundity and importance of Mtshali’s poetry, writer and researcher Michael Chapman states: “[Mtshali’s] poetry has been instrumental…in prompting serious, often uncomfortable re-examination by writers and critics alike on the function of, and the appropriate responses to, literature in a racially turbulent society.”
Nii Ayikwei Parkes is a Ghanaian poet, editor, socio-cultural commentator and author. With an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck (University of London), he serves on the boards of the Poetry Book Society, the Arvon Foundation and the Caine Prize.
Author of the acclaimed hybrid literary novel, Tail of the Blue Bird (Random House), which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize and translated into Dutch and German, Ayikwei’s poetry and short story writing has recurring themes of power, cultural conflicts, love, family and the friction between capitalism and humanism.
A 2007 recipient of Ghana’s national ACRAG award for poetry and literary advocacy, Ayikwei has held visiting positions at the University of Southampton and California State University and delivered lectures and talks on poetry and creative writing at universities internationally. He has also been recipient of numerous awards, grants and residencies, including a 2009 Booktrust residency, and a 2011 grant from the James Irvine Foundation for a series of talks in California.
As a socio-cultural commentator and advocate for African writing, Ayikwei has sat on discussion panels for BBC Radio with literary heavyweights such as Booker winners, Margaret Atwood and A.S. Byatt, and also runs the African Writers’ Evening series at the Southbank Centre, London. He also consults for organisations on cultural policy and programming and was a member of the panel of judges for the 2012 Commonwealth Prize.
Together with his latest collection of poetry, The Makings of You, Ayikwei is currently completing a book of short stories titled The City Will Love You for Random House, as well as two projects for stage.
He lives in Accra and London.
September 2012
Crafting words in shared silence
From the 2nd to the 25h September, Fiona Polak, CALS’ Librarian, attended a writing course at the Buddist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, entitled “Crafting words in shared silence”. Professor Dorian Haarhof, an ex Professor of English at the University of Namibia, facilitated the course. There were 12 participants, including poets and journalists. Participants were taught how to begin and develop writing in a number of genres. Fiona enjoyed the course and found it to be most beneficial. One of the poets who attended the course, Rene Bohnen, kindly donated a copy of her published work “In die niks al om” to CALS.
August 2012
Visiting Ph.D student from Yale University in the United States (June, July, August 2012)
Matt is a first year Ph.D student from Yale University in the United States. He received a grant from his university to conduct some preliminary dissertation research. His interest in the South African community arts groups, particularly those that were active in the 1970’s, brought him to this university. He did his Master’s thesis on a comparative study of four literary journals – Drum, The Classic, New Classic and Staffrider. He found that it seemed that writers were beginning to come together in interesting collaborative ways – running workshops and branching out to work with artists in other mediums.
He came to CALS hoping to get a bearing on how South African writers in the 1970’s were working together. It is from this base that he hopes to build out into a larger study of community arts in South Africa. Matthew came to UKZN a couple of years ago and did some work in the Alan Paton Centre.
Matthew Keaney (standing with Mrs Fiona Polak of CALS)
Launch of the Zulu Literary Museum at CALS (24th August 2012)
- WITNESS: Launch of the Zulu Literary Museum at CALS
- WITNESS Feature, 29th August 2012
- Feature in SABC Education
Article written by Vicky Crookes of UKZN
UKZN launches South Africa’s first Zulu literary museum
South Africa’s first Zulu literary museum was launched at the Centre for African Literary Studies (CALS) on the Pietermaritzburg campus during the recent Midlansds Literary Festival.
Officially opening the facility, Professor Donal McCracken of the Centre for Communication, Media and Society, paid tribute to Zulu culture quoting a former British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli: ‘The Zulu’s are a remarkable people; they put an end to an empire, they convert bishops and they defeat generals.”
McCracken said: “I trust that the isiZulu literary museum, here in an institution, will prosper, grow from strength to strength and comprehensively reflect the literary writings of that truly remarkable people.”
The Zulu literary museum was made possible through generous sponsoring from Pietermaritzburg-based Shuter & Shooter Publishers who handed over a cheque for R125 000 at the launch.
Publishing Director for Indigenous Languages at the company, Mr Ray Wela, said the museum was critical for the preservation of the isiZulu language. “Someone had to take this initiative forward and we are grateful to the university and CALS for doing this.” said Wela.
According to UKZN lecturer in the discipline of Afrikaans, Dr Darryl Earl David, who is the inspiration behind the Zulu lierary museum, no other African language literary museum has been opened in the 18 years of democracy.
However, there is an English Literary Museum in Grahamstown and an Afrikaans Museum in Bloemfontein. “A literary museum is truly the holy grail in literary circles,” said David, who thanked the Acting Director for CALS, Professor Christine Stilwell, “for having the belief in my vision and for seeing it through.”
The Centre for African Literary Studies is the ideal home for a isiZulu literary museum as it boasts one of the largest repositories of African literary in the world.
Opened in 2004, the Centre came into being to house the colletion of Professor Bernth Lindfors, one of the largest private collections of African literature. It has been described by renowned bibliographer, Mr Hans Zell, as “a rare and quite unique collection, unparalleled in the world.”
Stilwell, described the Centre as an ideal space “where people can experiene and celebrate African identity and achievement. It creates a view of the wider Africa for local students and scholars.
The launch of the Zulu Literary Museum will provide an opportunity to focus on Zulu literature and begin building a very fine collection that does credit to the literary tradition in our province,” she said.
Stilwell paid tribute to the National Library of South africa, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial and Public Library and Information Service and the UKZN libraries for the donation and loan of material in isiZulu.
The official launch of the museum spearheaded the three-day 2012 Midlands Literary Festival which provided literary enthusiasts with a feast of cultural entertainment, including poetry, book launches and generally all things literary.
Renowned author and story-teller Ms Gcina Mhlophe, who was one of the presenters at the festival, participated in festivities around the launch. She said she was very proud of the facility, and would tell everyone she knew to visit it.
The museum is the brightest feather in our cap … not just for KZN, but for the whole country,” said Mhlophe.
Some photographs from the day …
May 2012
Visit by Drake University students (May 2012)CALS was once again most honoured to host the lecture taken by Prof. Malaba for the Drake University students
March 2012
Article out of the UKZNDABA (Volume 9, Number 3, March 2012)
February 2012
The Afrikaans Collection – donation by Professor Dietloff van der Berg
“CALS has acquired the personal collection of Professor Dietloff van der Berg, Afrikaans/Nederlands and Vertaling/Translation Studies, School of Language, Literature and Linguistics. He wrote a chapter on “Translating in the cultural and linguistic melting pot of post-Apartheid South Africa” in a book published by Jerome Publishing (2004). The launch took place on the 8th December 2011.”
New Acting Director for the period 1 February – 31st July 2012
CALS has been left in the capable hands of Dr Ruth Hoskins whilst Prof. Christine Stilwell is on sabbatical leave for the above period
January 2012
MEC visit to CALS
The MEC for the Department of Arts and Culture visited CALS in January 2012 as part of the ANC Centenary Celebrations
2012 International Library Week
Phindile Mngadi, Wiseman Masango and Thobeka Vilakazi
December 2011
Launch of the Afrikaans Department &
November 2011
The 2011 Post Graduate Diploma in Information Studies
students produced posters and pamphlets to inform their target audiences about, and to promote, CALS. The excercise formed part of their materials development assignments. The products are now on display at CALS. CALS’s interns, Kerisha Chanderdeo and Mayezana Madida produced two of the best posters and pamphlets. They were also awarded the Jim Milton Scholarship for 2011, together with part-time students Nancy Mudau and Anita Somers. The award goes to the top performing Library and Information Studies students each year.
October 2011
Institutional Linkages
The Staff of CALS were delighted to receive a donation of books by Mr Peter Rovik from the Centre for Creative Arts as part of a Time of the Writer 2011 book distribution project supported by the Department of Arts and Culture in conjunction with Read SA.
Steven Kerchoff, the Regional Information Resource Officer with the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria gave a talk at the Department of Information Studies at 9.45 on Wednesday, 5th October 2011. The talk was entitled “Librarians in the 21st Century: The Future of the Profession”. This talk was followed by a visit to the Centre for African Literacy Studies.
The Staff of CALS were delighted to receive a donation of books by from the Centre for Creative Arts as part of a Time of the Writer 2011 book distribution project supported by the Department of Arts and Culture in conjunction with Read SA. , the Regional Information Resource Officer with the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria gave a talk at the Department of Information Studies at 9.45 on Wednesday, 5th October 2011. The talk was entitled This talk was followed by a visit to the Centre for African Literacy Studies.
The Staff of CALS were delighted to receive a donation of books by from the Centre for Creative Arts as part of a Time of the Writer 2011 book distribution project supported by the Department of Arts and Culture in conjunction with Read SA. , the Regional Information Resource Officer with the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria gave a talk at the Department of Information Studies at 9.45 on Wednesday, 5th October 2011. The talk was entitled This talk was followed by a visit to the Centre for African Literacy Studies.
Inaugural Lecture : Wednesday, 5th October
Prof. Malaba successfully delivered his inaugural lecture at the Collin Webb Hall, UKZN (Pietermaritzburg Campus) entitled “Literature, power and governance: Southern African Perspectives”
Associate Professor, Political Science, Duke University; Associate Department Chair; Co-Director, Centre for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Gender in the Social Sciences – Kerry L. Haynie gave a talk at CALS at 12 noon on Monday the 24th October on The New Race Politics in the U.S. : Is Obama just the beginning?
September 2011
Seminars
Prof. Malaba currently hosts his series of English seminars on Imaging Africa in the CALS boardroom. 15th September – David Nel presented a paper entitled “Transculturation and Transformation in Nape – Motana’s Fanie Fourie’s Lobola and son-in-law of the Boere” currently hosts his series of English seminars on Imaging Africa in the CALS boardroom. 15th September – presented a paper entitled “Transculturation and Transformation in Nape – Motana’s Fanie Fourie’s Lobola and son-in-law of the Boere” currently hosts his series of English seminars on Imaging Africa in the CALS boardroom. 15th September – presented a paper entitled “Transculturation and Transformation in Nape – Motana’s Fanie Fourie’s Lobola and son-in-law of the Boere”
2011 Staff Activities
Fiona has been for training in WORKFLOWS. She also attended the “Preserving Heritage in a changing society” conference which took place on the 1 September at the Voortrekker/Msunduzi Museum.
Darlene has been for training in Website Construction and Maintenance as well as MS Publisher. She also attended a Change Management workshop recently offered on campus. She attended the Support Staff meeting on restructuring on Thursday the 6th October. Christine and Fiona attended the UKZN Special Collections Open Day at the Killie Campbell Library on Thursday, 6th October. Christine did a really good presentation of CALS at this function and we are hoping to be able to display it soon on this website.
August 2011
Critical Studies Forum’s
The Critical Studies Forum is a group of students and staff on the Pietermaritzburg campus of UKZN who wish to critically engage with current issues, and studying academic scholarship on them, collectively.
August 2011
This meeting was held at the Centre for African Literary Studies on the Pietermaritzburg Campus
The discussion focused on the writings of Mahmoud Mamdani and addressed the following questions
What does it mean to be an engaged intellectual, now, here
a. inside the academy (i.e. what does it mean for what we learn and/or teach, how we learn/teach, etc);
b. outside the academy (i.e. what does it mean for what and how we respond to in our context, for what and how we do research, etc);
c. how do these two (inside and outside) relate?
CALS Strategic Planning Workshop
The staff and interns met on Thursday, 25th August 2011 to plan for the year ahead. Despite many areas of critical uncertainty with the reconfiguration of the schools at UKZN CALS has take stock of its progress since May 2011 and mapped out its priorities for action.
June 2011
Short Story Day
CALS celebrated Short Story Day on 21st June 2011 by inviting staff and students to at the centre.
Short Story Day celebrates the most succinct form of fiction on the shortest day of the year in the southern hemisphere, the 21st June. This day is celebrated else in South Africa annually and is intended to re-ignite a passion in the region for this overlooked genre, and in so doing stimulate new and existing southern African writing and publishing. CALS mounted a display showcasing some of the short stories in its collection of African literature and invited visitors to enjoy the unique library and reading space which CALS represents and sit reading the stories at CALS.
May 2011
Visiting Academics
Professor Stephen Mutula from the University of Botswana’s Department of Library and information studies visited CALS on 30th May 2011.
Prof Mutula is well known for his book on Digital Economies and will be a valued advisor on digitisation.
On the 12th September Professor Shane Graham (Utah State University), who gave a paper for the English Department’s regular seminar programme (Howard College) entitled Peter Abrahams, Langston Hughes and the “Black Atlantic”, visited CALS.
Shame Graham, an Associate Professor of English at Utah State University, is the author of South African Literature after the Truth Commission: Mapping Loss (2009) (co-published by the UKZN Press): The principal editor of Langston Hughes and the South African Drum Generation: The Correspondence (2010). He has published articles in such venues as Modern Fiction Studies, Theatre Research International, Studies in the Novel, and Research in African Literatures, and he serves as Book Review Editor for Safundi: The Journal of South African and American Studies. He is the host of a program on Utah Public Radio called “Radio Cosmopolis.” from the University of Botswana’s Department of Library and information studies visited CALS on 30th May 2011. Prof Mutula is well known for his book on Digital Economies and will be a valued advisor on digitisation. On the 12th September (Utah State University), who gave a paper for the English Department’s regular seminar programme (Howard College) entitled , visited CALS.
Africa Day Celebration
On the 25 May 2011 CALS celebrated Africa Day. Some of the African Books from the collection were on display for viewing and posters celebrating Africa Day were displayed elsewhere on the campus. We had an excellent turnout.
March 2011
14th Time of the writer’s festival on 16 March 2011
CALS was delighted to host and welcome three authors: Sahar EL-Mougy (Egypt), Prof Achille Mbembe (Cameroon) and Dr Raj Patel (UK). This event was very well attended and once again successful.
Book Launch
On March 30th, Professor Philippe Denis (in conjunction with the Alliance Français) launched his book Lettres d’Afrique du Sud: la nation arc-en-ciel à la croisée des chemins.
September 2010 – October 2010
The British Council’s World Word’s Project
The British Council’s World Word’s project was held in the CALS boardroom from 29 September 2010 – 2 October 2010. The World Word’s Language and Literature workshop is interactive and the programme makes provision to present a country report on the status of language and literature teaching and learning.