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20 February 2023 | Story Gerda-Marié van Rooyen | Photo Supplied
Nthabiseng (JahRose) Jafta, a Publishing Coordinator at the University of the Free State (UFS), recently received the Silver Medal Award and other accolades at the Eurasian Literary Festival held in Egypt. She says writing is a way of life for her and she writes anywhere and anytime.

Nthabiseng (JahRose) Jafta, a Publishing Coordinator at African Languages Press in the Library and Information Services at the University of the Free State (UFS), recently received the Silver Medal Award and other accolades at the Eurasian Literary Festival held in Egypt. Jafta, an MA scholar (Creative Writing) at Rhodes University, describes herself as an international performing poet, artpreneur, teacher, festival curator, content developer, and creative strategist born in the Free State.

Being an introvert, she says her love for writing gives her a voice. “I can echo my thoughts and colour my grey sky,” she explains poetically. She feels writing is as natural to her as breathing. She is comfortable writing anywhere and anytime. “There’s no physical area needed. We type on WhatsApp in the taxi. We catch brainwaves whenever they appear.” Jafta's creative juices seem to be overflowing, as she confessed to even getting an idea while contemplating her love for writing. “Life throws you prompts from all spheres, but you have to be present to recognise its call. And sometimes the piece decides if it wants to be happy, erotic, or sad.”
 
Her literacy cap serves Jafta's career as a publisher and her creative writing when time allows. “I read and write. Publish what I read or write. I also happen to recite, read, and sing what I write. It’s all in alignment.” This Deputy President of the National Writers Association of South Africa and founder of the Poetic Blues Virtual Festival writes in her mother tongue, Sesotho, and English. She also has additional experience in the poetry industry, as she was previously the Curator of the Macufe Poetry Festival. She also attended the International Writing Centre at Beijing Normal University part time. Her poems have also been translated into Mandarin and published in Chinese literary magazines.

Jafta says besides the growing catalogue of more than 40 publications, she also has an upcoming multilingual poetry compilation featuring Spanish, Danish, Mandarin, Arabic, KiSwahili, IsiZulu, and Sesotho translations from English. This poet believes poetry is a gift that feeds lyrics to melodies. “And that song carries us to humanity's highs and lows. Prose is how we navigate that gift daily. They are rainbows on melting clouds, events plants rejoice on their rhythmic drops.”

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Writer Etienne van Heerden to explore the politics of memory
2013-09-12

 

Prof Van Heerden

Dialogue between Science and Society (DbSS) presents The Politics of Memory, a Personal Narrative by Professor Etienne van Heerden, Hofmeyr Professor at the School of Languages and Literatures (University of Cape Town).

Respondents: Stuart Taberner, Professor of Contemporary German Literature, Culture and Society (University of Leeds) and André Wessels, Senior Professor, Department of History (University of the Free State).

This event is part of the project Contemporary German and Afrikaner Cultural Responses to Issues of Trauma, Reconciliation and Reparation, funded by the British Academy. The UFS partners on this project are Dr’s Cilliers Van Den Berg, Johann Rossouw and Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela. They are co-organising the event with the DbSS Lecture Series.

In his paper, Prof Van Heerden will discuss Afrikaner literature about past and present historical events and how to negotiate the place of literature in a post-apartheid South Africa.

  • Date: Thursday 12 September 2013
  • Time: 12:00
  • Venue: Business School Auditorium, University of the Free State
  • RSVP to Gerald Makamba: makambagerald@gmail.com

Light refreshments will be served.

 

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