Organisers of the second annual Adam Small Literature Festival, held in Pniel in the Cape winelands at the weekend, have described the event honouring one of the country’s renowned writers and activists as a “success and historic”.
A highly regarded academic, poet and Cape Times columnist, Small died at the age of 79 in June 2016 after a complication during vein bypass surgery.
He was posthumously awarded an honorary membership by the Akademie, a multi-disciplinary organisation that promotes science, technology and literature in Afrikaans, in Stellenbosch.
Small shifted the boundaries of literature and pioneered writing in Kaaps - a language mostly spoken by coloured people in Cape Town.
He wrote about apartheid South Africa and proved himself to be a revolutionary thinker.
Yesterday, organiser Professor Darryl David said the success of the festival was due to its location - Pniel, known for its slave history.
“That is why it makes so much sense to host it here, in the midst of people who really admire and love Adam Small.
"We do not get funding and it is really an uphill battle, but whatever we do, we do it for the love of Adam Small - to keep his memory alive, to celebrate his work,” he said.
Yesterday’s line-up of speakers included retired Constitutional Court judge Johann Kriegler in conversation with former SA Revenue Service spokesperson Adrian Lackay about a book he co-wrote with former Sars group executive Johann van Loggerenberg and Jacques Pauw, controversial author of The President’s Keepers.
“To get the line-up that we have is testimony to the kind of legacy that Adam Small has left behind. All these people made time on a Sunday out of their busy schedule, because of what Adam Small meant to them, what he stands for.
“The community involvement is growing year by year and I have great hope for this festival. I truly believe it can become one of the great book festivals in South Africa.
"It's unique, it's intimate and very different from all other book festivals, and I think when people come here, they realise that,” said David.
He said they were proud they had so many schools attending the festival on Friday.
“This is networking, getting the community involved. I think thus far it is the greatest compliment we have received. We packed the church hall to capacity, which takes about 300 to 400 people, on a Friday. That was really something.”