WISER, University of the Witwatersrand
Monday June 13 2011
Venue: WISER Seminar Room
When Lewis Nkosi passed away on September 6, 2010 at the age of 73, South Africa lost an intellectual and literary voice as unique for its lucidity as its peerless range. Novelist, essayist, critic, playwright, editor, journalist, and scholar, Nkosi earned each of these designations individually, and this diversity has sometimes obscured the overall magnitude of his contribution to South African culture.
In order to commemorate Lewis Nkosi as both writer and individual, we are organizing a day-long series of seminars to analyse and discuss his writing in a collective fashion. We have chosen to focus on three aspects of his literary production: the critic, the essayist of exile, and the novelist. In order to create an open space for both personal reflection and critical evaluation, we are inviting writers and academics who knew Nkosi well to begin each seminar with framing observations regarding a selection of, or a single, text/s. The seminar coordinators will then lead a discussion among all of the participants about the readings. At the end of the morning session, a panel discussion entitled Remembering Lewis will bring together several of Nkosi’s long-time friends and collaborators to reflect on his life, important relationships, and personal contributions to South African letters.
08h30 – 09h00: Registration and Tea
Sessions 1, 2 and 3 Registered Participants only
09h00 – 10h00: Session 1
‘Nkosi as Writer of Exile’
Liz Gunner (WISER, Wits)
Jazz, Nkosi, Home and Exile
Skhumbuzo Mngadi (UJ)
Exile, Alienation and Psychiatry in Nkosi’s Writing in Exile
10h – 10h15: Tea break
11h15 – 12h15: Session 2
‘Nkosi as Essayist’
Leslie Dikeni (Mapungubwe Institute)
Semiotics: Lewis Nkosi: The Misunderstood Intellectual
Jon Soske (WISER and CISA)
The Pleasures of Intellect: Nkosi on the DRUM Decade
11h15 – 12h15: Session 3
‘Nkosi as Novelist’
Lindy Stiebel (UKZN)
Working from the Private to the Public in Lewis Nkosi’s novels
Phakama Mbonambi (publisher and editor: Words etc literary journal)
The Phenomenon of Mating Birds
12h15 – 14h00: Lunch
14h00 – 15h30: Panel Discussion – Open to the Public
‘Remembering Lewis’
Chair: Sandile Ngidi (writer and literary agent)
Nadine Gordimer (novelist)
Oswald Mtshali (poet)
Alf Kumalo (photojournalist)
*WISER Seminar Room is on the 6th floor Richard Ward Building, East Campus, Wits University.
Space in the seminars is limited.
Participants are required to RSVP by emailing Najibha Deshmukh on najibha.deshmukh@wits.ac.za Once you have registered you will be sent a selection of materials in order to prepare for the seminar.
Please note, all seminar participants must prepare by reading the texts to be sent.
