21 – 26 February 2017, Grahamstown
It is Puku Story Festival time in Grahamstown again and festival organisers are thrilled to announce that this year’s guest of honour is legendary musician, poet, storyteller and teacher Latozi Mpahleni, better known as Madosini. Widely acknowledged as the foremost living player of isitolotolo, uhadi and the umrhube mouth bow, Madosini is truly a national treasure formally recognised by the Department of Arts and Culture as a Living Legend.
Festival director, Ziyanda Gysman can hardly contain her excitement at having Madosini at the Festival this year. “Alongside other iconic Eastern Cape writers and artists such as Dr Sindiwe Magona and Dr John Kani, Madosini is internationally acclaimed in her field and has performed all over the world, but her work has not received the recognition that it should in the province of her birth, especially among the youth. Just as the Puku Story Festival gave the children of Grahamstown schools exposure to Sindiwe Magona and John Kani, so will we bring Madosini to the same audiences.”
This year’s celebration, which will mark the opening of the festival, will be a community event held in partnership with the Makana Municipality. The event will take place at the Noluthando Hall and will focus on activities for school learners, members of the Community Works Programme and guests from Elithembeni Old Age Home and the students from the local Adult Education and Training School. As has been the tradition of the past four years, International Mother Language Day will also be celebrated with the St Phillip’s Church Congregation in Fingo Village. This celebration on Sunday 26 February will mark the closing of the festival.
School Roadshows, focusing on Grades 1 -3 learners are scheduled for 22 February, in partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Education’s Grahamstown District. Visits to three farm schools by the Puku Story Festival team will include storytelling sessions, presented in isiXhosa. The Nelson Mandela Institute and Nal’ibali will also present activities to encourage reading amongst children
The main festival venue has changed from the Monument to the new building of the National English Literary Museum (NELM) in Worcester Street, Grahamstown. A highlight of the Festival is the Exhibition that will run daily, alongside book launches, conversations and reading, and open mic sessions. The Exhibition is curated by the National English Literary Museum, and will be a display of isiXhosa children’s books and digital content, with a focus on environmental content.
The Children’s Programme provides exciting and interesting activities for children which will run throughout the day and aims to illustrate how work can be presented across multiple platforms – storytelling, print, theatre and more. The Festival will also demonstrate how to harness the digital space to promote indigenous oral and literary traditions and to foster intergenerational communication between artists and audiences.
Local and national artists, poets and musicians will have the opportunity for conversation on indigenous musical instruments and storytelling with Madosini, as well as young but highly-accomplished poet, musician, storyteller and children’s book writer Zanele Ndlovu, who plays traditional musical instruments with great skill. Zanele will perform and facilitate a workshop on how to make indigenous musical instruments from recycled material.
Young local poet Akhona Mafani who has been involved in the Puku Story Festival since its inception in September 2013, will launch his debut poetry album “Iintonga Zetyendyana”. Dr Mhlobo Jadezweni, of the Rhodes University Department of African Languages will facilitate the launch programme.
Author conversations will focus on new and innovative ways of self- publishing. Graphic designer and author, Siya Masuku will talk about how he wrote and published his book Siyafunda isiZulu. Zanele Ndlovu will do the same for her book Umakhweyana, Neo Mda, son of iconic author Zakes Mda, will talk about taking the plunge in illustrating and designing his father’s new children’s book The Prels of Ukhahlamba.
Unathi Magubeni, an Eastern Cape-based writer whose most recent book Nwelezelanga was shortlisted for the prestigious Etisalat Prize, will talk about how he departed from the corporate world to become a sangoma and pursue his love for writing. Author Sidima Mntubu will add his voice to the challenges of writing and publishing children’s books.
Dr Sindiwe Magona, who was honoured at the 2016 Puku Story Festival, has graciously agreed to join Puku Executive Director Elinor Sisulu in giving a Biography Writing Workshop, focusing on the value of biographies for children and young adults.
The Open Mic sessions that have been so popular in past sessions will be repeated, giving learners an opportunity to demonstrate their skills as storytellers and poets. Acclaimed stand-up comic Tsepiso Nzayo will be Programme Director for the Open Mic sessions, one of which will be dedicated to a poetry reading by local learners in commemoration of the anniversary of the sinking of the Mendi.
Other past festival favourites will be repeated- which include poet and musicologist Hleze Kunju’s popular poetry master classes and screenings of the feature film Intonga.
The site visits to the Printing Press have been extended to include visits to the International Library of African Music (ILAM), the South African Library for the Blind (SALB) and The Albany Museum.
The programme activities are designed to:
- Encourage amaXhosa as a linguistic community to appreciate the educational and cultural value of artists and writers of their language and to ensure that such work is accessed by educators
- Provide a platform for interaction between producers and consumers of these works
- Illustrate how work can be presented across multiple platforms – storytelling, print, theatre – and how to harness the digital space to promote indigenous oral and literary traditions.
- Strengthen children’s awareness of environmental issues
