Issue no: 06 an icon is known all over, you are always vulnerable and stand a chance to be criticised and corrected. There is so much to do with embarrassments or either a handshake as a bonus.
What has been the highlight of your writing career? Having to perform and work with the likes of David Maahlamela, MphoRamaano, David Ramakgwakgwa, OupaMongwe, Moses KhaizenMtileni, PhillippaYaaDe Villiers, MmatshiloMotsei, LefifiTladi, SizaNkosi, Antonio Lyons, Dr Raphael d ' A b d o n, M a t e t e M o t s o a l e d i, GoodenoughMashego, Tshifhiwa GivenMukwevho, VonaniBila and just to name a few.
There is an on-going discussion about lack of interesting in reading. What ' s you take about this? I don ' t think it is specifically all about lack of interest in book reading. Books are expensive and less accessible. Our precious local government structures must account to supporting local content. Try to shelve as many books as possible for the convenience of local readers. If I personally can ' t afford to buy a book then I am less likely to be informed on the successes of literature. Otherwise we will live to see a growing number of readers buying more airtime, cigarette and alcohol than books, because they seem to be found in every corner and space within the country. How many bookshops do you know from your hood?
Also majority of writers are discouraged by the fact that there ' s not much money in writing particularly in SA as compared to other countries. What ' s your view on this? Are we going to see a decline in writers in SA? Unfortunately, that is the truth. I know of great writers who wish to write but fail as a result of Human Resource Management, radiography, public admin and so forth. I know of a genius writer who left writing for mining. People no longer buy books, they prefer anything digital( tell me about it). Mainstream Publishing houses are closed down as a result of profit that seems to be none. Fortunate enough we have independent publishers like Theinksword, Timbila Poetry Project, Geko Publishing and Tenworkers Media who are not afraid to publish new writers. Yet on the other hand bookstores like African Flavour Books, Xarra Books and etc. who are doing their utmost to see that local books / authors remain supported. So, if we don ' t work together we will never get close to improving our readerships. Politely, I am appealing to those responsible departments that seem to be degenerating to disregard its promises if not commitments. It is the state of literature in SA at stake, but I am convinced that writers continue to write, and always will even when it rain and hail in bullets.
What do you aim to achieve with your writing? To achieve a reading nation and also to have my work prescribed for school syllabi.
www. megaartists. co. za Nov-Dec 2015 Page 27