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The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is hosting a series of workshops focusing on creative writing and has already held five workshops on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). 

Workshops are also planned for the Qwaqwa and South campuses.

They form part of CTL’s recently launched Initiative for Creative African Narratives (i-CAN), a project that aspires to decolonise the first-year academic literacy courses through the use of student-generated short stories. 

It is a collaboration of CTL, Student Affairs and the East, West, North, South and Central Colleges. “We are excited to create a space for our students to develop their creative writing skills,” said Abel Jordaan, coordinator of East College.

The first workshop was facilitated by published author and former Kovsie, Ace Moloi. During the session Moloi spoke about key elements to writing short stories, and the attendees even collaborated on a text about Doubt and Belief. 

“There are so many voices at the UFS that need to be heard, and talent that should be developed. I am glad to be part of it,” he said. Ace has just finished his third novel. His second, Holding my Breath (2016), is still on Bloemfontein’s Exclusive Books top 20 bestseller list.

Selected students at the UFS are being rewarded for their short stories after they have been vetted and edited. The final selection of stories will be included in an anthology to be launched at the National Student Arts Festival to be held on the Bloemfontein campus at the end of September this year.

The project, spearheaded by Dr Peet van Aardt from the Unit for Language Development, is funded by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation. 

“Our goal is to incorporate these students’ stories into the extensive reading component of our Academic Literacy for the first-year’s curriculum. Perhaps, down the line, we can even take it a step further and create a textbook based on these texts,” said Dr Van Aardt.