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Date : 27/05/2005
Source: Department of Arts and Culture
Title: Jordan: Launch of National Literature Development Initiative and Exhibition


  Minister Z Pallo Jordan’s speech at the launch of National Literature Development Initiative and Exhibition, Johannesburg

The Director of Ceremonies,
The National Librarian,
Deputy National Librarian,
Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since the invention of writing, literature has been a critical vehicle for the socialisation, politicisation, conscientisation, education and entertainment of human beings. A culture of reading has historically been the means whereby knowledge, information have been passed down from era to era, place to place, from one group to another, from one society to another. For centuries the ability to read and write was the monopoly of a few in all societies. Indeed, it was against the law to teach certain classes of people these skills, precisely as a means of keeping them ignorant of the society and the world they live in, as a direct means of social control

The first recorded example of humanity’s capacity to reason abstractly is a tiny clay tablet, presently on display at the National Assembly in Cape Town. This piece of clay contains abstract geometric designs and was found along the west coast of the Cape. The first attempts to record human experience through writing comes from the other end of the African continent, the Nile Valley, where an ancient African priesthood invented hieroglyphics, or holy signs, that recorded the ideas, thoughts and emotions of humans so as to give them permanence and to store them for future generations

Our forebears, who mastered the art of writing, acquired an extremely important instrument. Writing freed communication amongst people from the need for personal contact. The written word made it possible to receive the words of those who went before us; to receive the words of those who live in the present; and to pass down to the future our own words. Literature emancipated humanity from the constraints of time and space. Having learnt to write our thoughts, opinions, emotions, beliefs, values and experiences, these became timeless. They could be transferred from one place to another; they could be carried from one environment to another; and they could be carried from one people to another.

The invention of writing was probably the most profound Cultural Revolution experienced by mankind. Its consequences have shaped, reshaped and in the future will reshape the world we inhabit in ways that no one can anticipate.

This exhibition of literature forms part of the Department of Art and Culture’s programme marking the first 10 years of democracy. As the programme states: “The purpose of the project is to display outstanding South African literature in all the official languages at national and provincial levels. The exhibitions are expected to encourage young and developing artists, and in particular women writers, to write literary works in their own languages and to promote multilingualism.

The exposure and promotion of South African literature in this way should contribute to nation building and the furtherance of the African Renaissance by raising awareness of works of quality that have been produced over the years in previously disadvantaged languages, not only among those fortunate enough to have been exposed to the literature of their own culture, but among all South Africans. The exhibitions and other events will highlight the possibility of exploring and expressing the broader human experience in indigenous African literature.”

Today’s exhibition is the starting point of what will be a sustained campaign. Our intention is to actively promote literature by inspiring a culture of reading amongst South Africans. Reading can be a source of knowledge; it can be the means by which we acquire information; it can also be a source of amusement and fun. All this we want to do by widening the access our people have to literature and by making them aware of literature and its great virtues.

A number of surveys and studies tell us that poor performances in reading among both learners and adults owes much to the absence of reading material in the African languages. These same studies suggest that people can most readily be encouraged to read when there is material available in the languages they have the greatest facility in. We want t remedy that. We therefore envisage the dissemination and translation of outstanding works in our various languages. To achieve this we will enter into partnership with publishers’ associations, writers’ associations, our universities, and the Department of Education.

The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) is hosting and funding this national exhibition, but the selection process was devolved to the provinces. It was they who selected the authors and their literary works. This is yet another example of cooperative governance in action.

We allocated each province a language or languages on which to concentrate. From that language or languages each was tasked to identify outstanding literary works. The provinces in their turn appointed a selection committee to establish criteria and to identify works of outstanding quality. These are the literary works that will be exhibited in each province, but they have also been loaned to the DAC for its national launch.

Evaluators and adjudicators from the provinces assessed the standard of the literary works submitted. Working for no remuneration or honoraria, but driven by their passion for literature, I can without fear say they have performed their duties well. We thank them, each and everyone, for their dedication and commitment.

Books are the bridge that spans gulf between the past and the future. They are “...the memory of peoples, communities, institutions and individuals, the scientific and cultural heritage, and the products through time of our imagination, craft and learning. They join us to our ancestors and our legacy to the future generations. They are used by the child, the scholar and citizen, by the business person, the tourist and the learner. These in turn are creating the heritage of the future.”

We want to open up this vast treasure house to all our people, by bringing these repositories of centuries of learning and culture to them in words that they can most readily understand.

To stimulate and spur on the culture of reading I shall be instituting a number of literary prizes this year. First we shall have a prize for original work in the indigenous languages. As soon as we have completed consultations, the prize shall be given a name so as to give it an identity.

Secondly, we shall have a prize for new work in the indigenous languages, all nine of them, which we hope will encourage the many talented and gifted young writers out there to set out their hopes, dreams and ideals in the languages they speak at home.

Thirdly, we shall offer a prize for literature in translation, from anyone South African language o another.

Obviously, the DAC does not have the capacity t manage all these on its own. We shall therefore rely on the support and commitment of our tertiary institutions and that of our writers themselves to provide the panels of judges and readers who will evaluate the works and award the prizes.

So from this podium, let the word go out to all who write, want to write and think they can write – this is an open invitation to you all. We want to see your works in print. Let today be the commencement of a movement to enrich and nurture a truly South African literary tradition.

I feel extremely privileged to have been assigned this tiny role in what could evolve into a Renaissance of literature not only here in South Africa, but in our region, and indeed the continent.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
27 May 2005
   

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