Cape Town Book Fair discussion

The state of South African writing

Rosemund J Handler*

This discussion took place between Finuala Dowling and Rosemund Handler on Sunday 19 June 2006 from 16h00 to 17h00, at the Cape Town Book Fair, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The topic was writing in South Africa.

The subject – the state of South African writing – wasn’t easy to do justice to at bustling Book Fair. But what Rosemund wanted to concentrate on, was a little about South African women’s writing, but more importantly, to pose some questions which require deeper exploration and further debate.

It’s a sad state of affairs when a white woman journalist writes in the Sunday Times that most of the writing by women is by white women – and then goes on to question whether, in fact, white women writers have anything to say. This seems tantamount to speculating whether white women writers belong in post-apartheid South Africa at all! Jacobson’s implication that white women are writing because we can, because we’re educated enough and have the time, is one argument, and may have a grain of truth to it. But women’s writing – black or white – is about the stories they have to tell, and to suggest that white women have nothing fresh to offer readers because we’re educated, even privileged, is ludicrous enough to make me wonder whether Jacobson is unaware (as unlikely as this must be) that not only are women all over the world (privileged or not) prolific writers producing exciting, innovative works, we are also the book buyers and readers. And we buy – and read – a lot of books! (Fortunately for male writers, quite a few of theirs too!) Women of all colours and creeds in South Africa have powerful, multifaceted voices that reflect a fascinating range of experiences and imagination, and the fact that we’re communicating about our lives and our worlds can only make the ones we’re living in – be it in a mansion in Houghton or a shack in Khayelitsha – better.

Leading on from Jacobson’s article, the real questions that should be posed – and debated – are these:

• How seriously are women writers taken in this country?

I suspect, as in the UK in days of yore – and probably still today, to a lesser extent – not seriously enough. Women’s writing in South Africa appears to be regarded in a somewhat frivolous light, as entertainment value – magazine fodder – rather than serious works. (Why can’t they be both?)

• How seriously do women writers take themselves?

Judging from the aforementioned journalist, not very seriously – at least in regard to white women and what they have to say.

• Does the quality of attention given to women writers in the media differ from that given to male writers?

I would venture to suggest that there is a profound and disturbing difference, judging by the media coverage and the few available prizes awarded in South Africa. Male writers are taken as Serious Writers. They win the prizes and are accorded, in some cases, an almost sycophantic respect by the media. SAFM’s Book of the Week, for instance, features local male non-fiction writers, a few male fiction writers, and occasionally a well-known female poet, or a woman writing about a social issue.

Some of the questions I would like to see debated:

• How does the media space devoted to women’s writing compare with that devoted to men?

• How do reviewers select which books to review from the slew of them they receive each week? Are they randomly allocated to a shortlist of reviewers? How does this process influence the quality and bias of the review?

• Following on from the above question: Do women reviewers review more fiction than non-fiction, and vice versa for male reviewers?

• Is there any effort on behalf of the media to ensure that an arm’s length relationship exists between the reviewer and the writer whose work is being reviewed?

• How constructive – or destructive – is reviewing in this country? Do reviewers frequently have an axe to grind? How important is it to write a well-balanced, constructive, thoughtful review? What qualifies a writer to become a reviewer?

• Should novels be reviewed by other novelists?

• Is a new writer who is well known in some other field automatically accorded a much greater slice of the media pie – and taken more seriously – than a new writer who isn’t well known in another field?

• Do reviews influence retail book buyers and librarians, or help to sell books? Do good reviews sell more books and bad reviews fewer?

• Does bias exist with publishers and the media as to age and attractiveness, especially in regard to women writers?

LitNet would like to open the floor and ask for your comment on Rosemund J Handler's questions. Email your responses to sharon@litnet.co.za to get the debate going.

LitNet: 12 July 2006

Send other comments to webvoet@litnet.co.za to start a discussion on SêNet, our interactive opinion page.

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