An Afrikaans poet who spent about a decade teaching at Graeme College and PJ Olivier High School has recently won the prestigious Ingrid Jonker Prize for his debut poetry collection.
Melt Myburgh published Oewerbestaan in July last year, describing it as his solo flight that had been building up for 20 years. Many of the poems in the collection feature the Northern Cape's landscape and ways of life – Myburgh is an Upington native – and also the similarities it shares with Spain, where he travelled to, following in the footsteps of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.
Since winning the prize in September, many doors have opened for Myburgh. He has been invited to book talks around the country and on 12 November Oewerbestaan will be launched in Johannesburg. He said the Ingrid Jonker Prize also means a lot to him because it is awarded by a panel of other poets. Since 1965 the award has been given to an English or Afrikaans poet for an outstanding debut publication, in honour of Jonker, who was a South African poet who wrote in both languages.
Myburgh was in Grahamstown last week, and in an interview with Grocott's Mail said that while he was in the city he had visited PJ Olivier to talk to the pupils and remind them of the rich literary tradition of their language. “The Afrikaans community here is small, but staunch,” he said in the interview. He also pointed out that Grahamstown has been home to South African writers such as André Brink, Reza de Wet, Etienne van Heerden and W. E. G. Louw.
Besides always feeling at home when he returns to Grahamstown, Myburgh said that he admires the city for being a forward-thinking place. “Grahamstown seems to always be ahead, like with the festivals and wonderful educational institutions. The mothership is here. Grahamstown still sets the example,” he said.
He also thinks that Grahamstown appears more racially integrated than other parts of the country, like the Western Cape where he currently lives. “We are living in a scarred kind of environment. There are no quick fixes,” he said. “Grahamstown, compared to the Western Cape, is ahead of its time in terms of integration. Very advanced. The Western Cape is a fool's paradise.”
He mentioned the previous Victoria Girls' High School principal, Madeleine Schoeman, who is now the principal of Ntsika Secondary School in Extension 7. “I think it's very important in the development of a community – addressing the real challenges – and she puts her money where her mouth is.”
Myburgh is now project manager for the annual Woordfees run by the University of Stellenbosch, and will be reading for his Masters in Creative Writing next year – to help him work on his next book of poetry – and to be a more disciplined writer, he said.
An Afrikaans poet who spent about a decade teaching at Graeme College and PJ Olivier High School has recently won the prestigious Ingrid Jonker Prize for his debut poetry collection.
Melt Myburgh published Oewerbestaan in July last year, describing it as his solo flight that had been building up for 20 years. Many of the poems in the collection feature the Northern Cape's landscape and ways of life – Myburgh is an Upington native – and also the similarities it shares with Spain, where he travelled to, following in the footsteps of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.
Since winning the prize in September, many doors have opened for Myburgh. He has been invited to book talks around the country and on 12 November Oewerbestaan will be launched in Johannesburg. He said the Ingrid Jonker Prize also means a lot to him because it is awarded by a panel of other poets. Since 1965 the award has been given to an English or Afrikaans poet for an outstanding debut publication, in honour of Jonker, who was a South African poet who wrote in both languages.
Myburgh was in Grahamstown last week, and in an interview with Grocott's Mail said that while he was in the city he had visited PJ Olivier to talk to the pupils and remind them of the rich literary tradition of their language. “The Afrikaans community here is small, but staunch,” he said in the interview. He also pointed out that Grahamstown has been home to South African writers such as André Brink, Reza de Wet, Etienne van Heerden and W. E. G. Louw.
Besides always feeling at home when he returns to Grahamstown, Myburgh said that he admires the city for being a forward-thinking place. “Grahamstown seems to always be ahead, like with the festivals and wonderful educational institutions. The mothership is here. Grahamstown still sets the example,” he said.
He also thinks that Grahamstown appears more racially integrated than other parts of the country, like the Western Cape where he currently lives. “We are living in a scarred kind of environment. There are no quick fixes,” he said. “Grahamstown, compared to the Western Cape, is ahead of its time in terms of integration. Very advanced. The Western Cape is a fool's paradise.”
He mentioned the previous Victoria Girls' High School principal, Madeleine Schoeman, who is now the principal of Ntsika Secondary School in Extension 7. “I think it's very important in the development of a community – addressing the real challenges – and she puts her money where her mouth is.”
Myburgh is now project manager for the annual Woordfees run by the University of Stellenbosch, and will be reading for his Masters in Creative Writing next year – to help him work on his next book of poetry – and to be a more disciplined writer, he said.
