Literary festival hits capital next week

Windhoek’s avid writers and readers are invited to take their biennial seat at next week’s Doek Literary Festival.

The free, four-day festival will take place at the Goethe-Institut Namibia from 21 to 24 August and takes place in partnership with Bank Windhoek.

The event will host a number of esteemed local and international writers, authors, poets and artists presenting a programme of conversations, readings, creative writing workshops, poetry and picnics.

This year marks the second instalment of the literary festival and the event theme is ‘Independence – Freedom Through Reading and Writing’.

Featured international authors include Maaza Mengiste, Mukoma Wa Ngu¯gi¯, Chiké Frankie Edozien, Simphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, Zukiswa Wanner, Femi Kayode, Ishion Hutchinson, Ondjaki and Troy Onyango.

The festival’s local writers and performing poets are Roxane Bayer, Filemon Iiyambo, David Smuts, Ndawedwa Denga Hanghuwo, Charmaine //Gamxamus and Veripuami Nandee Kangumine.

Jean-Claude Tjitamunisa is a featured visual artist, and Querida, Gabes and Slow are the festival’s musical guests.

“The Doek Literary Festival celebrates the works of notable African writers, poets, and visual artists whose work has been featured in Doek! Literary Magazine or played a pivotal role in the Doek ecosystem,” says Doek! Literary Magazine editor-in-chief and festival director Rémy Ngamije.

“The festival is a rare and wonderful opportunity for lovers of reading and writing to meet some of the storytellers who shape Namibian and world literature,” he says.

The festival features a diverse curation of award-winning writers, poets and visual artists from Namibia, Angola, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, the United States and Zimbabwe.

Describing the line-up as “a star-studded tour de force,” Ngamije promises a stimulating festival not to be missed.

“With their published works forming the creative framework for discussion, the collection of writers, poets, and visual artists will explore the delights, dangers, past dreams, present conditions, and future challenges of storytelling in the country, Africa, and the world,” Ngamije says.

Festivalgoers can look forward to conversations concerned with migration and the diaspora, history and the challenges of capturing it on the page, the mystery of good crime writing, freedom through reading and writing, as well as a discussion of the conception and creation of Doek Literary Festival.

For more information on Doek Literary Festival, as well as to book workshops and view the full programme of events, visit doek.africa.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com