Hello and warm greetings from Bukkenburg in Swellendam as we approach the Autumn Equinox.
It has been a rather busy few months here, and we have much to share in this newsletter/blog post. Here’s hoping that you enjoy the contents.
All the pictures should enlarge with a click.
Saturday 18 March
A different sort of event this month as David and his brother John will be in conversation at Bokmakiri Books in Swellendam talking about John’s memoir
‘When They Came For Me : The Hidden Diary Of An Apartheid Prisoner’.
An earlier event to launch the book here, without John, had to be postponed due to increased Covid-19 restrictions in force at the time.
John will be in South Africa during March, taking part in the Jewish Literary Festival in Cape Town on Human Rights Day, March 21, and later for engagements in Johannesburg.
We are delighted that he will finally be here and look forward to a meaningful event in Swellendam with him, and we are most grateful to Eduan Swanepoel from Bokmakiri Books for hosting the event.
The event is open to the public and we hope to see some of you there.
The Venue
Please click for: Bokmakiri Books
Shop 7
Carlton Mall
Voortrek Street
Swellendam
Tel: 083 651 5830
Context
John Schlapobersky, a student in South Africa, was arrested in 1969 for opposing apartheid, tortured through sleep deprivation and eventually deported. In solitary confinement he wrote secretly about the struggle for survival. This exquisitely written memoir is based on two hidden diaries – one in his Bible and the other on toilet paper. He reflects on the singing of the condemned prisoners and the poetry, songs and texts that saw him through his ordeal. The sense of hope through which he transformed his life guides his continuing work as a psychotherapist in the rehabilitation of others. Apartheid and its resistance come to life in this vital historical document, of its time and for our own.
Author
John is a leading psychotherapist and author based in London.
In 1985 he was a Founding Trustee of ‘Freedom from Torture’, a human rights charity.
His publications include ‘From The Couch To The Circle: Group-Analytic Psychotherapy In Practice’ (Routledge 2016), winner of the American Group Psychotherapy Association’s Alonso Award in 2017, now in translation to other language editions.
Endorsements:
‘An exquisitely written memoir about human endurance, survival, repair and transcendence.’
Justice Albie Sachs
‘An intriguing story of endurance and survival. A reminder of times, and the people who resisted them, that should never be forgotten.’
Gillian Slovo
‘One of the most vivid, intimate and sustained accounts yet, of the brutality that apartheid’s torturers unleashed – a remarkable book about our inhumanity and the resilience of the human spirit.’
Jonathan Jansen, Professor, University of Stellenbosch
‘The tale of an ordinary young man swept one day from his life into hell, testimony to the wickedness a political system let loose in its agents and, above all, an intimate account of how a man became a healer.’
Jonny Steinberg, Professor, African Studies Centre, University of Oxford
‘John has made surviving into…an act of creative protest (and) a means to bear witness for the many who did not survive.’
Jack Saul, Director, International Trauma Studies Program, New York.
Please click this link for – An article in The South African Jewish Report
Please click this link for – Jewish Literary Festival
Please click this link to reach the South African publisher of the book: Jonathan Ball
Please click this link for the UK publisher of the book: Berghahn Books
Zavora Mozambique – 1967
UK – 1970s
Life and work at Bukkenburg in the first months of 2023.
Such a busy time here lately!
We are pleased to report that we have at last found a solution – for our studio – to the nightmarish consequence of collapsing electricity supply that is plaguing the country.
It has involved buying a new motor for the fan and installing a Variable Speed Drive to convert our single phase backup electricity supply to the studio, to 3-phase in order to power the motor and be able to fire the kiln.
Sophisticated electrics requiring the services of a really competent electrician to make it all work together. Thankfully Swellendam is blessed with such skills!
And so thankful to have Andrew helping with the whole project.
We have fired the big kiln successfully with this new system and another glaze firing is imminent.
We are sure that it won’t be too long before things finally settle down a bit.
Family visit
Marian and Peter were here from the UK for a few days recently with their daughter Jane and her partner Jonathan. A short but wonderful visit!
Swellendam – On The Way To Everywhere
For the past few years Swellendam has been without an organised, co-ordinated tourism plan or strategy, and we appreciate what is being done by several hard working individuals in their efforts to keep the profile of the town and region visible and prominent.
Co-ordinated and financed by the Swellendam Municipality.
So good to have something for visitors to take away with them as they explore the town and region. We’re looking forward to the benefits from a wide distribution campaign.
Our self-catering guest cottage in the garden, shown above, is available for an overnight stay or longer.
Details and pictures on the ‘Accommodation Page’ Click Here
The studio and gallery are open and working daily, and visitors are always welcome.
Please call ahead if travelling from afar, just to be sure that we will be here and available.
“Dedicate years to honing your craft, whatever that may be.
Creativity emerges through repetition. And whistling”
Hyme Rabinowitz
With our very best wishes
David and Felicity
Bukkenburg – March 2023
Mobile & WhatsApp: +27 (0) 82 342 5453
E-mail: david@pottery.co.za
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