The streets were filled with what sounded like a mixture between a gospel choir and a protest march on Monday morning when Wordfest took to the streets.
The streets were filled with what sounded like a mixture between a gospel choir and a protest march on Monday morning when Wordfest took to the streets.
From as early as 8.30am this avid group of about 50 were seen leaving from the Drostdy Arch. People were dressed in colourful beanies and scarves, some were adorned in Basotho blankets and pointy straw hats and others wore garments covered in traditional African print.
They were all carrying signs that said “Die boek is altyd beter as die fliek” (The book is always better than the movie)and “sakh’u mzantsi ngosiba” we are building South Africa through writing.
Their parade was accompanied by the sound of whistles and the latest South African noise-maker, the vuvuzela.
Chris Mann, convenor of the WordFest, explains that WordFest was supposed to take place this week but has been postponed to next year because of financial and logistical reasons. But a mini local Word Fest took place in the Eden Grove building on campus from 21 to 23 June. The assistant coordinator of Wordfest, Velile Msipa, says that this march was a representation of the four dominant languages in the Eastern Cape: English,
Afrikaans, Sesotho and Xhosa. He explains that Wordfest is a celebration of language in its written form. Wordfest is South Africa’s only national multilingual festival of languages and literature with a strong emphasis on development.
Its aim is to show the public that language is a unifying tool and that it can be used to build a nation. Msipa says the march had a dual purpose: to point out that writing is more powerful than violence; and that you can liberate yourself through your writing.
The group was made up of artists who express themselves through language in many different forms. There were novelists, short story writers, poets, and playwrights.
They all come from the Eastern Cape and are using the Festival as a platform to get their message across to the nation.
