Category: Conversation

Why Writing Matters When Chaos Strikes

Writing matters in a world of chaos to reflect on the emotional, psychological, and social instability that arises from uncertain contexts – the chaotic context of the inhumane now we live in, globally. Writing becomes both a cognitive tool and a form of resilience. Writing is the salvation to preventing future generations from drowning in a well of hopelessness—writing creates meaningful connections asserting that our struggles unite us.

At a psychological level, writing externalises thought. When ideas, fears, or emotions remain internal, they are often fragmented and difficult to process. Writing forces organisation and coherence: it turns scattered impressions into ordered language. This enables the noise of the voices that perpetuate chaos to be represented in the language of the human heart— the struggling, suffering, starving, dying masses who cannot articulate their pain in fear of the horrific outcome emanating from speaking out, exposing, and resisting chaos. The written word structures thoughts through language to enhance clarity as timeless documented memory on the historical unfolding of chaos and its impact on human survival.

Writing also preserves meaning across time. In chaotic periods, events can feel fleeting or distorted under the gunfire of misguided political rhetoric. By recording experiences, individuals create a stable reference point—a narrative that resists confusion. This archival function is central where written accounts become the foundation for understanding past crises, from wars to personal struggles.

Socially, writing enables communication when direct expression may fail. In chaos, spoken communication can be reactive, emotional, or misunderstood. Writing introduces deliberation—the opportunity to refine ideas, choose precise language, and convey complex perspectives.

Writing also functions as a form of agency. When external circumstances feel uncontrollable, the act of writing restores a sense of authorship. It allows individuals to frame their own narrative on the chaos experienced, rather than being passively defined by events.  Writing personal stories during crisis times reclaims identity and empowerment.

Even in isolation, written words can reach others across distance and time, creating shared understanding. Literature, essays, and even personal reflections remind individuals that chaos is not experienced alone. Through writing, private struggles during chaotic times become part of a broader human dialogue to hold onto our prized values that make the world a compassionate inhabitable place for all.

Essentially writing matters in a world of chaos because it transforms disorder into meaning. It is not merely a method of communication, but a way of thinking, remembering, and asserting control—an intellectual and emotional anchor when everything else feels unstable.

 

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7 Practical Suggestions on Creating a Compelling Sense of Place – Part 3

Writing a compelling sense of place means making the setting feel alive—not just where the story happens, but how it feels to be there in the moment during a significant event or situation, and why it matters. Here are some practical suggestions on ways to do it

  1. Engage more than sight

Strong settings use multiple senses.

  • Sound:distant traffic, buzzing insects, echoing halls
  • Smell:rain on a grassy patch after a hot day, old books, salt in the air
  • Touch:gritty sand, humid air sticking to skin, cold metal
  • Taste  (limit use) :dust in the mouth, bitterness of smoke

Example:

The fan creaked and groaned as if knowing it faced a losing battle against the summer heat.

  1. Filter the place through the character

The setting should reflect who is experiencing it. Two characters in the same place will notice different things.

Consider:

  • What would thischaracter care about here?
  • What makes them edgy, angry, or nostalgic?

Example:

The summer heat made Moira faint, the infernal sun created a cremation site in their backyard. Her cousin, energetic and unaware of the rivers of sweat dripping off him, kicked the ball around the yard multiple times.

 

  1. Choose specific, concrete details

Make a place believable. Avoid generic words like nice, busy, or beautiful.

Food carts hissed with steam while cyclists threaded through stalled taxis, bells ringing in sharp bursts.

Rather than, ‘it was a busy street.’

  1. Let setting interact with action

Weave the story into what’s happening.

Example:

He shoved the door open, and warm bar air spilled onto the cold sidewalk, carrying laughter and the smell of fried onions.

  1. Use setting to support mood and theme

The place should reinforce the emotional tone of the scene.

  • Tension → narrow spaces, harsh light, noise
  • Calm → open spaces, steady rhythms, soft textures, natural romantic landscapes
  • Isolation → emptiness, distance, silence, derelict buildings

Example:

The field stretched empty in every direction, the sky so wide it made her feel smaller with every step.

  1. Don’t over describe

A few strong details are more powerful than a full inventory.

Rule of thumb:

  • 1–3 vivid details per paragraph is usually enough
  • Let the reader’s imagination do the rest
  1. Make place matter to the story

Ask yourself:

  • Would this scene work just as well somewhere else?
    If yes, the setting might not be pulling its weight.

Ways to make it matter:

  • The place creates obstacles
  • The place holds history or memories
  • The place mirrors change in the character

 

Subscribe, share and add ideas to help aspiring writers.

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Creative Self-Care

A creative life brings much joy and excitement where it’s easy to forget that it is work. And as with all work, the mind and body tire when passion pushes on in a hedonistic surge, and more so when creating new worlds peopled with exciting characters doing extraordinary things or making the ordinary quite exciting.

Putting the foot on the brake when exhaustion sets in does not send the creative muse into permanent banishment—quite the opposite. A brief pause, a day or perhaps two, refuels the creative well with the elixir needed to push to the next level of creative intentions. It is only the physical act of doing that is on a temporary hiatus to clear the mind to absorb new inspiration, the sights, sounds, movements, to see the everyday and old with refreshed eyes.

The pause could be time spent to catch up on much needed relaxed reading, beach walks, feeling the outdoors, meandering in a museum, taking in a movie, going to the theatre, or out to breakfast or dinner with yourself. Me time invigorates the creative mind and spirit. Although most creatives work in solitude and might crave company, it is elected carefree time alone, whether in a crowd or on a private beach, that eases mental exhaustion generated by passionate overwork.

 

 

 

It is the creative’s passion that invests extensive time, and intense hard work to produce a work of art, be it a manuscript, painting, a sculpture, or music. The ultimate piece, the artwork outside the physical form has its own story to tell as one of sheer commitment for the love and euphoria generated by creating—early mornings before the world wakes, late nights, and oftentimes all night, fobbing off distractions and knowing when to say no to external demands irrespective of who makes the demand.

Only the creative knows what matters most.   

Allow the self to enjoy one’s own company away from the work to fine tune the energy and inner wellness of the mind and body without the noise of mental chatter. The creative soul needs that one-on-one with the self.  Decide if this one-on-one with the self should be a weekly, fortnightly or monthly date. Go out for coffee with yourself. Take a walk on the beach alone. Human gregariousness is always there to pick up when the time is right.

 

 

Work and life…life and work are indistinguishable for the dedicated creative

 

Have you ever set a date with yourself? Go to your favourite place once a week, alone, for a month and journal your thoughts and feelings. Something that might surprise you is that you will return after each date teeming with ideas for a new project. Time out is beneficial for productivity—the energy and freshness ignite thinking outside the four walls of a writing/creative/workplace space.

 

Fill the creative well with some time out.

 

Never be afraid, or think it selfish to enjoy your own company—you are your own best friend, number one in your tribe.

 

 

Just as we free-write in our journals every day, that private time with intimate words on a page—quite a different energy to drafting a manuscript—in the same vein, getting out of a regular creative space be it in an office at home, or elsewhere, is a self-made retreat for the creative spirit. Going AWOL for a day is liberating for creative energy, for all energy! Try it!

 

Make a date with number one. Enjoy your own company and return blessed and refreshed.

 

 Happy Creative Rest!

 

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2020 and Beyond – Voices in Literature

Diverse voices exist in literature but are under-represented by trade publishers.

 

All hail the dawn of self-publishing!

 

 

The tragedy of George Floyd’s death in the United States has sparked a resurgence for the recognition of black writers. Read the rumble in the UK here on what the newly found Black Writer’s Guild has initiated.

It is shocking to note that black writers are offered a lower advance to that of their white contemporaries, and editors ask for white or racist characters to be added to books.

 

As an author of colour, in Australia, I faced the dilemma of whether I should create a neutral non-black pen name to get publishing recognition. But my writing mission is, In our angst and joy, we are ONE under the sky of humanity, which does not support using a pen name and so authenticity prevailed.

My apartheid past in South Africa had stolen the right to feel comfortable in my skin or to dare to speak out against racism. Hence my debut novel Across Time and Space and the sequel Vindication Across Time, present the bald face of racism as a universal disease through my eyes. My third novel, Souls of Her Daughters exposes injustice on multiple levels.

 

Fear makes one believe that a name that hints at race would be bypassed by publishers and readers. Listen to the words of author Michael La Ronn who articulates the issues black writer’s face in writing and publishing. Note what he says about gaslighting 

 

 

Racism – Inequality – Injustice – Prejudice – by any name must be caught and called in the books we read, movies we watch and conversations we have

 

 

The Zulu word Ubuntu refers to the human spirit as it should be:

 

  • I am because we are
  • humanity towards others
  • the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity

 

 

In writing multicultural stories as I do – the spirit of Ubuntu prevails.

 

 

 

 

What will you be reading and watching in the renaissance of Black Lives Matter in literature?

 

I recommend watching the movie In My Country on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South Africa and Rabbit-Proof Fence on Australia’s Stolen Generation.

 

From the Uncle Tom’s Cabin and beyond, voices have raised the alarm but sadly the call to end racism fell on deaf ears. Now it must be made history, an unforgotten one to remind us that prejudice is heinous and should be obliterated from the stage of life. Diverse voices that are in the main ignored, share why the human condition needs a radical shake-up.

 

Feel the angst, walk a mile in the shoes of the racially downtrodden – only then will you know the corrosive impact of racism.

 

The wound of prejudice cuts deep to the soul leaving indelible scars.

 

But you pick your head up, as you do, to face another day no longer silent especially to subtle bias…

 

 

In the wake of the change in 2020 and beyond, walk a mile through these suggestions to know and feel that in our diversity the common factor is that we are emotional beings with the capacity to rectify prejudice by the stories we tell and read.

 

 

Here are ten suggestions where diverse voices rip out your heart to sensitise your soul.

 

  1. Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela
  2. . My Place -Sally Morgan
  3. Talking to My Country – Stan Grant
  4. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
  5. The Underground Railroad – Colson Whitehead
  6. Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates
  7. Cry the Beloved Country – Alan Paton
  8. The Power of One – Bryce Courtney
  9. The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
  10. Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence – Derald Wing Sue

 

May you write and read stories that share histories to sensitise our souls to dismantle racial bias.

 

 

 

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May I tell you?

Growing up in apartheid South Africa as a non-white person, living under the Group Areas Act where you only saw people like you with the same coloured skin, living with the knowledge that your people had to be hidden from view — white view — left scarred for life and needing immense strength to shelve the hurt and pain in memory’s hinterland.

 

This divisive system invites shame — why am I not good enough? Why can’t I eat at that wonderful seaside restaurant? Why can’t I go to a school with its English countryside setting and Victorian buildings? Why am I afraid every time I see a police officer or paddy wagon? Why can’t I lift my eyes above the ground? What have I done to be born black?

Here is why…

Racism is hatred that unleashes a plethora of negativity both ways: Unchecked power that intensifies with acts of brutality that crucifies an already broken self-concept. Systemic injustice — physical, emotional, and psychological feeds the depraved hands of power. How does the victim deal with an enforced erosion of who they are?

Let me tell you…

There are only two ways: head down — mind their manners or take to the streets to protest. Stop! When power strikes up against protest it is obvious that human survival instinct kicks in and violence erupts. Nobody wants violence — justice is all the victim wants — a fair go — it starts out as a peaceful protest, and if left to do just that, no force is necessary. Let the voices crying out for change be heard or it speaks of intolerance to change.

Then somebody cries ‘looters!’

This is why this happens…

The downtrodden are as the words say it, the ‘have-nots’— denied, deprived, shamed, and blamed for all the ills of the land. Human instinct kicks in again and necessity guides reaction/behaviour. Before we cry ‘looting’ investigate what underpins it. Where there’s social inequity the ‘haves’ have ‘looted’ the country for a very long time taking more than they needed — perpetuating inequity.

History tells us that peaceful protests become violent when the hand of power strikes. Decades before Nelson Mandela sat at the helm of government in South Africa, the country was on the brink of civil war and the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 like the Soweto riots of 1976 started out as a call for justice but led to police taking up arms against protesting civilians who wanted their voices heard.

#BlackLivesMatter is a timeless cry for justice from the time of Rudyard Kipling who referred to the people of the African continent as ‘half-devil and half-child, ’ in his 1899 poem, White Man’s Burden.
Colonialism stole the right to justice — a fair go, for original inhabitants of the land. Assimilation — one way or no way denies culture, heritage and the right of recognition.
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Remember those fallen at the hands of racial prejudice — countless — the loved ones of grieving families — too many still dying at the hands of what can be changed…if they are heard.

 

 

 

 

Listen to this Ted Talk by Amy Thunig: Disruption is not a dirty word that pulls no punches on racism endured by Indigenous Australians in a country I call home.

It’s 2020, and some in the misguided grip of power swim in the quagmire of the barbarism of racial prejudice — educated by book not humane moral code — sure-fire intellect — no emotional intelligence. Silence widens and deepens the stain of prejudice. Speaking out against racism does not always win friends and influence people, but the few who join black brothers and sisters in the fight for justice at the risk of losing their tribe — those are the gems that make #AllLivesMatter, for they will pull together to create liberty, equality and we all need fraternity.

 

What is your choice to be on #BlackLivesMatter?

Stay safe, speak up against injustice but as John Proctor cried in The Crucible – ‘Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! … leave me my name!’

What do you want to be remembered for?

 

 

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Women Who Inspire

 

Often the women around us, those we interact with, those who do not ask for acknowledgement and serve their life’s calling with unstinting passion, must be noted to celebrate them and say thank you for who they are and what they have shared and continue to share.

 

Today amid the chaos in the world, social isolation physically separates us but has allowed us to deepen and broaden our thinking without the usual everyday distractions.

 

This quietening of the mind has heightened my appreciation for the women that inspire and have inspired many lives. As a writer of thriller fiction and contemporary women’s fiction, it is befitting that I pay homage to the women who have impacted my world.

From the corporate world, writing and publishing and health care, here are three women I salute today.

 

Kalyani Pillay (Entrepreneur)

Former CEO, of SABRIC, (South African Banking Risk Information Centre) Kalyani Pillay resides in Sandton, South Africa. Kalyani has inspired many in her passion for instituting protocols for the elimination of bank fraud. A job that entailed being a globetrotter spreading innovative ideas on how to protect ourselves from financial scams, and as an advisor to large corporations, particularly banks. Kalyani Pillay has been head-hunted for presentations at international conferences in her relentless fight against fraud. She has worked as a lawyer, State Attorney for Gauteng, and Special Advisor to the Head of the National Prosecuting Authority in South Africa before she joined the ranks of SABRIC as CEO. Her resilience, dedication, optimism, and integrity are qualities that inspire for as long as I can remember.

Here is Kalyani Pillay’s inspiring interview with, Dudu Msomi on her show, ‘WisdomPersonified’ to illustrate the passion, courage, determination, and humility of a woman of note.

 

 

 

Brenda Mohammed (Author/Poet)

Trinidadian author and Founder of the How to Write for Success Group, a rapidly growing literary group. Brenda Mohammed promotes rising stars in literature, and assists in expanding the repertoire of existing, established authors with selfless commitment through collaborative writing of anthologies in the prevention of suicide and against domestic abuse. She is a noteworthy multi-award-winning novelist and poet. As a former banker and seasoned traveller she exudes a resilient spirit as a cancer survivor, depicted in her memoir I am Cancer Free, and one who has the Midas touch in creating bestsellers. These attributes make Brenda Mohammed an inspirational woman as my peer and mentor in my role as an administrator in the HTWFS group. Brenda’s book How to Write for Success offers nuggets of wisdom on writing and publishing, serving as a handbook for writers of any genre. Her warmth and generous nature in promoting the love for reading in children is evident in her contributions and interactions with schools in Trinidad. Brenda Mohammed is highly valued by her administrators and followers in the How to Write for Success group.

 

 

It isn’t where you came from. It’s where you’re going that counts.

~Ella Fitzgerald

 

 

 

Queenie Naidoo (Health Care Professional)

Retired South African nurse, residing in Australia, Queenie Naidoo, in her eighties today, is passionate about healing as she ever was. She served the poor and destitute, the ill and dying with devotion. She was fondly known to many as, ‘Sister Queenie.’ She garnered the support of local doctors in the town of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, to donate medication which she dispensed at the free medical community clinic she steadfastly ran, for many years, on Sunday mornings, to serve those who were unable to access medical treatment. Her home was a haven to the ill, depressed, and ailing hearts. Her sense of humour and maternal warmth drew many to her. Her lifetime commitment to healing and supporting the physical and mental health of her patients resonates today with the selfless and potentially dangerous work of health care professionals during this global pandemic we currently face. Added to Queenie Naidoo’s inspirational credit is her creative talent in having produced a theatrical performance, God the Last Refuge, staged at the King Street Theatre in Newtown, Sydney, in 2014. Queenie has inspired me from the cradle as my loving, caring, mother and continues to do so to this day.

 

We never stop learning and growing with each passing day, hence inspirational individuals are the heartbeat of the societies we inhabit.

 

I have handpicked three inspirational women, there are many more who inspire us every day. Please share the inspirational women in your world in the comment box below.

 

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Writing and Publishing During a Global Crisis

 

 

Every corner of the world has been hit by Covid19 — life for millions has come to a grinding halt. Businesses have shut down left, right and centre. Bookstores have closed their doors. Libraries are no longer a sanctuary as silent voices are in lockdown.

 

The question tossed around is: do we go ahead with the launch of a new book?

My heart says yes but my mind says, should I? Then a voice whispers an answer: yes, launch it online, reach people who need to move out of the mental space of the current crisis we all face. We need the sanctity of books. Bookshops continue to take orders online if a digital book is not a preference.

 

In the face of a global crisis, publishing is vital now more than ever before — it says we are here, later it will speak confirming that we were here, and this is what we did. It is akin to writing historical fiction. The Great Books of the world brought us knowledge of people, cultures, events, aspirations, challenges and celebrations from eras long before our current existence. Without those scribes, the artists of the past, we would be as ignorant of the world as the occupants in Plato’s cave.

 

Literature is the light into now, the glow of the past and spotlight into our dreams of the future.

Books imprint memory

 

Writers have the acute ability to sense mood and observe human behaviour down to minuscule details. So, why wait? It is time to pick up the pen of prose or poetry. Each will speak of this time and of our dreams and visions. Leave the messages that say we are indeed one.

 

In our angst and joy, we are ONE under the sky of humanity

 

Forthcoming Title This April

 

 

To ignite compassion, we must walk in the shoes of angst, or suffering, to extend love and care to others because we know it—we feel it. Stories elicit compassion and bring meaning more particularly as we sit in self-isolation to protect our loved ones and communities.

 

Writing and publishing must go on, as must, soft digital launches of news titles and relaunching of backlists. Lower prices, offer free titles, reach the masses by bringing meaning to the lives of those living in fear of what the next news bulletin or press conference will announce. Our uncertainty unites us in our desire for a renewed tomorrow. We inhabit the same house under a global sky.

 

 

Now we speak with the same human voice in our sans streets, sans parks, sans beaches… but we should never be reduced to fearing each other.

 

 

Keep literature flowing for generations to come—it is within our control, thanks to the digital platforms that serve us.

 

 

Keep Writing, Keep Reading.

Stay Safe.

 

This time will pass. Keeping hope alive through poetry and stories.

 

 

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From Sydney to Seychelles

 

Today we travel across the Indian Ocean to meet Magie Faure-Vidot. Magie is a French-language poet from beautiful Seychelles. She has published work in English and Seychelles Creole. She is the Chief Editor/Director of the Publication SIPAY and is an inspirational supporter of rising poets and writers. She is tireless in her dedication to upholding international close connections between writers of all genres and forms.

Recently she has travelled to India for the World Thinkers’ and Writer’s Peace Meet attending two international events in December 2019 in Vijayawada and Kolkata.

 

 

Meet the Poet

Magie Faure-Vidot was born in Victoria. She is a member of the Institut Académique de Paris and the Académie Internationale de Lutèce. She has won numerous prizes over the course of her career, including the Coupe de la Ville de Paris, a Lyre d’honneur, and six silver and numerous bronze medals in various international literary competitions, and she has represented her home country at many international poetry festivals and other initiatives. Her work has been discussed in critical studies of Seychellois literature. She has also achieved some fame as an oral performer.

After living for some time in Lebanon, England, Italy, and France, Faure-Vidot returned to Seychelles. There she co-founded and continues to codirect, both the online literary review Vents Alizés and the online publishing house Edisyon Losean Endyen, both of which she runs in conjunction with Hungarian poet Károly Sándor Pallai. Her work is regularly published in Seychelles Nation and The People, and she is the Chief Editor/Director of  SIPAY,  the only Seychellois international literary magazine. Her poems were published in the international poetry anthology Amaravati Poetic Prism in India. In 2017, she received the prestigious Seychelles Arts Award in literature for her outstanding literary work and achievements. She writes for Spirit of Nature where she features amongst the 60 poets published in 2019.Opa Anthology of Poetry.

She is a member of the World Nations Writers Union Kazakhstan. She is the Regional Director – East Africa and Central Asia and on the Administration Council of  MS.

Additional information on Magie Faure-Vidot is available on Wikipedia.

 

 

Getting to know  Magie

 

 When did your love for poetry begin?

The love for literature began when I was a kid. My parents worked on a vast agricultural property and had many animals. I loved them so much that I used to tell them small stories. We lived close to the beach and I had my private beach where I used to enjoy the sea, the birds, coconut trees, swimming with small fish, and playing with crabs. Being a loner, I had to keep myself busy. The sea carried me to faraway imaginary places. And I would always be asking my parents to buy me pencils and exercise-books.

 

 

 What do you enjoy the most about living in Seychelles?

The island life, friendliness of the inhabitants, no snow but the sand.

 

 

The View From Magie Faure-Vidot’s  Home in the Beautiful Island of Seychelles  ~ A Creative  Haven

 

 

Tell us about the International Literary Journal, SIPAY. When did it begin? What is its aim?

SIPAY saw birth in 2008 but registered in June 2009. At first, the aim was to promote the  French language at 60% and 40% shared between our two other national languages, English and Creole. But now it has taken another turn. It is affiliated to Motivational Strips, and  Spanish has been added to the three languages. SIPAY is now an International Literary Magazine and opportunities are given to various writers all over the globe. SIPAY is a non-political, non-religious magazine. SIPAY is distributed to the Ministry of Education for all the schools, Ministry of Culture, Creole Institute, the National Library, the National Journal (NISA), and some private individuals. One copy is posted to all contributors at no charge. SIPAY is a non-profit making publication. Money generated from the sale is reinvested in the next edition.

 

Describe your typical writing day.

I write when the urge tickles me. First, however, I take care of my home, family and animals  – three dogs, and I feed some fifty birds every day. I then take to writing, attending to posts in  MS, Lasosyasyon Lar san Frontyer, Congo Ecrit etc.

 

 

What are your future goals for literature both within Seychelles and internationally? 

I’m planning my 7th book, assisting the Lasosyasyon Lar San Frontyer as a Chief Consultant and Congo Ecrit. I  attended two international events in December 2019 in Vijayawada and Kolkata.

 

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I extend my gratitude to Magie Faure-Vidot for sharing her illustrious writing journey. You can connect with Magie Faure-Vidot for more information on her recent literary travels and works:

Email

Website

Facebook

 

 

Please leave your thoughts in the box below:

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Do We Need Migrant Literature?

 

 

The world is a melting pot,  an ever-increasing paradise of voices that need to be heard if tolerance and understanding are to reign for peaceful coexistence.

Migrant literature, while evident through powerful voices, needs new sounds to add to the colourful history that should be shared if we are to live side by side.

Knowledge is necessary to foster understanding and compassion to move us closer to our innate humanity. Living in international communities in the 21st Century is a goldmine of multiculturalism that offers rich insights on culture and values.

What better way than to extend understanding through the literature we read and write. This could be a work of fiction, a non-fiction book, or a blog that creates connections to our neighbours near and far.

Literature is and should continue to be a vehicle that dispels ‘otherness’ or the ‘outsider’

Continue reading “Do We Need Migrant Literature?”

School BOOK TALK

It’s with gratitude that I write this post today in respect for the invitation to speak on reading and writing at a local school whose English Faculty and Librarian are tirelessly working to foster a love for reading to encourage students to expand their horizons and improve their speaking and writing skills.

 

Leading up to my talk, students were asked to send me their response to, ‘I enjoy reading because…’ – a simple question that elicited some thoughtful responses from teenagers.

School Book Talk

Here are a few lines that suggest that young readers seek refuge between the pages of a book:

  • I enjoy reading because it is a spectacular and intriguing ticket to a distinctive and captivating dimension which either creates a gulp of despair or a shiver down my spine.
  • I enjoy reading because it allows me to be in two places at once.
  • I enjoy reading because it allows me to escape reality without leaving the comfort of my home
  • I enjoy reading because it allows me to broaden my horizons without having to get on a ship and sail halfway across the world…
  • I love reading because my heart is satisfied- my heart learns more than my brain can ever know- I learn priceless lessons. It’s the portal to my heart.

 

Additionally to complement the study of Cry Freedom I was asked to share my apartheid, South African experience on a personal level to forge greater connections to students’ appreciation and understanding of the world through the study of their school selected text.

The sharing of a terrible history elicited compassion and questions from students on how one overcomes this decimation of one’s people and identity and yet remain simple and humble, free from anger. My response was, that drawing from family values, the people one associates with and careful selection of role models will ultimately work in sync to fortify and support the entrance into light from darkness. I cited Nelson Mandela’s ideology of tolerance, acceptance, and forgiveness as the selfless way forward. This attribute shapes the crafting of the character, Marcia Ntuli, in my novel Across Time and Space.

The final message was that reading expands understanding of diverse ways of thinking, promotes exposure to varied writing styles and elicits inspiration from the unique crafting of characters and their experiences.Ultimately it’s about allowing strength to grow from fear.

 

 

 

 

To Quote Jane Austen:

I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! – When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.

Here’s to many hours of delightful and informative reading!

What are your views on the benefits of reading for teenagers today and into the future? Extend the conversation today.

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Fear Is Thy Strength

After an evening at the amazing Headlong, Nottingham and Almeida Theatre production of 1984, the timeless warning of the danger of unchecked power and the futility of resistance invited thoughts about the state of society in other areas of power, control and fear.

The passive aggressive comment, the staring down to intimidate, the proclamations of intellectual superiority, cultural, religious or racial bias uttered from a monocultural, bigoted point of view instils fear in the targeted individual which reverberates with the mental torture, Orwell’s, Winston Smith undergoes.

Sleepless nights, dreaded days, endless bouts of nausea, skulking in the shadows away from penetrating eyes, questions about questions.

 

The long day’s journey into another sleepless night becomes relentless. Guilt, self-questioning and a whittling away of self-confidence reeks of the fascism of workplace politics.

 

Competitiveness of the narcissistic ladder climbing co-worker or the sadistic joy in pulling others down is yet another corrosive dimension of inhumanity.

 

Systemic torment dims the light of the once vibrant, optimistic individual, the light is interrupted as dark days take over. Winston Smith tried to hang onto the waning light in Nineteen Eighty-Four.

With every knock…

 

The eroded self-confidence and panic attacks sends the tormented individual hurtling into a bottomless pit of mental anguish …

 

Each act of power and control, topples the victim blow-by-blow…

 

BUT

While the message is bleak, while it might not seem possible, there is a light at the end of the long, dark tunnel, the light of strength.

Fear is thy strength when compassion and love grow from the depths of pain.
In fear, there resides hope.

 

Hope is the light

 

 

 

A video excerpt from the film Nineteen Eighty-Four :

 

 

The flickering light gets brighter as the individual rises from darkness, looking upwards towards the sun, guided by an unseen hand.

George Orwell predicted a future that has become a reality today, not only within the realm of politics and governance but also as a cautionary note to take a closer look in the mirror to decide if our souls are indeed supportive or destructive of each other.

A dark message sheds light on what should be rectified to save ourselves and the ‘unborn’, the next generation, from even darker inhumane acts.

Down with the Big Brothers and Sisters that attempt to intimidate while asserting their own self-obsessed grandeur!

What will you do today to uplift someone from the quagmire of human cruelty?

 

 

 

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To Speak or not to Speak

A writing life is one of solitude if writing in crowded spaces is not conducive to creative thought.

While writing fiction might entail living within the confines of one’s imagination, there emerges the gratitude for precious moments spent with close friends and family who understand the writer’s period of ‘absence’ from the social hub. The art of conversation keeps books alive as stories unfold, are morphed and recreated to generate hours of pleasurable reading.

 

Precious moments are often a coffee catch up and soulful reconnecting.

 

Being in the moment, in conversation with the person should be valued for the human connection with authentic people who do not pry, question only when needing honest clarification, and accept the sheer pleasure of personal engagement.

 

 

Being in conversation with someone, seeing their joy and fear, hearing their laughter and feeling their moments of distress is priceless-no mobile phone interaction or other social media platform can replicate the shared face to face rather than face-time interactions. To be able to reach out and touch someone’s hand to console them or share belly-aching laughter is the essence of human communication and interactions.

 

I recall some years ago being in a restaurant in LA, having an early dinner, after a day of sightseeing, when I noticed a young family, parents and two children at dinner with heads down, eyes glued to their handheld devices as they scrolled through their distractions, eating dinner in silence.

 

Cyberspace engagement in favour of human company is creeping into relationships, eroding the exhilaration of animated or quiet conversation between and among people. This makes those in company, particularly the elderly, for whom a virtual world does not equate with social engagement, feel ignored or unimportant.

 

Looking someone in the eye as they speak to you indicates you are present in the moment and responsive to what they are saying. Attentiveness says you are valued.

 

My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company. ~ Jane Austen

 

Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative~ Oscar Wilde

 

A single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a month’s study of books. ~ Chinese Proverb

Are we slipping further and further into an age where the only conversation we might be exposed to will be the dialogue in a novel?

 

Are you keeping the art of face-to-face conversation alive? Share today what you value the most about conversations with good friends and family, or if you have a different view. Please share your views in the comment box below.

 

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Fertilising the Imagination

 

When access is denied, imagination provides fertile ground for creativity.

The absence of television in apartheid South Africa was strategic, to keep the masses ignorant regarding democracy and justice in a bid to thwart the emerging voices of resistance. Avid reading and listening to the radio for recreation offered many hours of joy in a world where outdoor games were limited in apartment blocks.

 

 

My About page with a brief biography on my origins as born in South Africa meant that I had a childhood in an era devoid of a television set in the family lounge room. The only ‘moving pictures’ apart from the local cinema were those created in my imagination.

 

Radio held its own fascination with the popular weekly, Friday evening, crime fiction episodes of, Squad Cars. I listened intently, forming images in my mind about places and situations in each episode. My rite of reading passage into the world of crime depicted through voices and sounds grew each week. Crime/Detective/Adventure fiction in children’s books from the Famous Five series to Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and ultimately Agatha Christie’s and Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories were hunted down each week at the local library. Visions of snaking queues of children lining up, thirsty for their favourite book is imprinted in my memory. Such were the days…

After school radio programs for children were eagerly anticipated, excitement gained momentum with the chatter of voices speculating what  Noddy (by Enid Blyton) would be getting up to and whether Mr. Plod, the policeman’s kind and watchful eye over Toyland would save another day. Empathy for the skittles who did not seem to care whenever they were run over, filled my waking and sleeping hours. The imagination was ablaze with stories that wove into the stories of my mind’s eye. The imagination was fertilised with self-created images of places, characters, and events. An emotional investment of compassion for those who struggled or were mistreated and revulsion for those who harmed others was set in motion.

Listening and reading awakened the inner being as fodder for the imagination in the years ahead in the creation of my own stories – in the adult years, I turn back to my own voice recordings of my reactions to places I have visited, places that I have been moved by, to mulch and refresh an evocative sense of place through the voices and visions of my characters.

Audio books are a blessing, like reading is, to supercharge the imagination for a personal take on people, places, and events that ‘moving pictures,’ with all its commendable grandeur, might not quite fuel.

‘Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere’- Albert Einstein

What do you think?

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