JM Coetzee, Ivan Vladislavić, NoViolet Bulawayo, CJ Driver and Isobel Dixon recently took part in the in the 10th annual Worlds Literature Festival, organised by Writers’ Centre Norwich.
Bulawayo read from her Etisalat Prize-winning novel We Need New Names, while Coetzee read a short story identified by festival-goers on Twitter as “Nicht Verloren” (probably his much-talked-about 2009 story “Nietverloren” from Ten Years of the Caine Prize for African Writing). Vladislavić read a short excerpt from Double Negative, which was recently re-released in the United Kingdom along with The Restless Supermarket.
Rowan Whiteside of Writers’ Centre Norwich reports that Vladislavić’s reading had the audience enraptured:
The highlight of the week, however, was seeing Ivan read from Double Negative to a packed audience. It was probably one of the best readings I’ve ever heard from an author (and I’ve been to a lot of literary events). Ivan read alongside Nobel Laureate JM Coetzee and began by saying what an inspiration Coetzee was to him, and how honoured he was to read alongside such an iconic writer.
There was a pindrop silence as Ivan read. The words seemed to sluice the audience from Norwich to South Africa, 200-odd people transported from a dark theatre to a sun-baked land, rich with possibility. The power of Ivan’s writing seeped into the room and created a world filled with bright imagery and ordinary tragedy.
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Writers’ Centre Norwich tweeted from the event using the hashtag #worlds14:
Now NoViolet Bulawayo reads , the final reading of the afternoon. #worlds14
— WritersCentreNorwich (@WritersCentre) June 18, 2014
NoViolet's 'We Need New Names' is the story of a girl who escapes a shanty town to get to the USA; a strange new country…#worlds14
— WritersCentreNorwich (@WritersCentre) June 18, 2014
'They flee their own land so their hunger may be pacified in strange lands….They will never be the same again.' NoViolet #worlds14
— WritersCentreNorwich (@WritersCentre) June 18, 2014
Our first reader is Ivan Vladislavic, who'll be reading from his novel Double Negative. (It's marvellous!) #worlds14 pic.twitter.com/lfBxH4tXsA
— WritersCentreNorwich (@WritersCentre) June 19, 2014
Our next reader is Nobel Laureate JM Coetzee. #worlds14 pic.twitter.com/PIOGOtwL5i
— WritersCentreNorwich (@WritersCentre) June 19, 2014
JM Coetzee will be reading a short story called Nicht Verloren or Not Lost. #worlds14
— WritersCentreNorwich (@WritersCentre) June 19, 2014
JM Coetzee's Nicht Verloren is about the loss of Eden. #worlds14
— WritersCentreNorwich (@WritersCentre) June 19, 2014
JM Coetzee reads in #norwich #worlds14 pic.twitter.com/qdotoKd4Ya
— Chris Gribble (@WCNchris) June 19, 2014
Nobel Laureate JM Coetzee reads at #worlds14 from his short story Nicht Verloren. http://t.co/IQJTCntNjn
— WritersCentreNorwich (@WritersCentre) June 19, 2014
great evening yesterday at #worlds14 meeting #jmcoetzee and chatting with @isobeldixon and #ivanvladislavic about varieties of African soap.
— Edward Wilson-Lee (@EdwardWilsonLee) June 20, 2014
Book details
- Double Negative by Ivan Vladislavic
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EAN: 9781415201329
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- The Childhood of Jesus by JM Coetzee
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EAN: 9780099581536
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- We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
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EAN: 9780701188047
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- JM Coetzee: Two Screenplays: Waiting for the Barbarians and in the Heart of the Country by JM Coetzee
EAN: 9781775820802
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- Shades of Darkness by Jonty Driver
EAN: 9781868421978
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- The Tempest Prognosticator by Isobel Dixon
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EAN: 9781415201619
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