Thursday 23 July 2015

Everyday Matters featured on the Radio 702 Book Show

Redi Tlhabi and Jenny Crwys-Williams recently discussed local books that are making waves in the literary landscape.  You can listen to the whole podcast on Soundcloud or skip to 23:00 to listen to a brief discussion of Daymond's book.

Margaret Daymond in Conversation with Nancy Richards on SAFM Literature

Margaret Daymond was in conversation in Nancy Richards on the 28th of June.  The exchange was part of the SAFM Literature programme and you can listen to the podcast on SAFM Literature's iono.fm account here.  

Thursday 2 July 2015

Launch of Everyday Matters in Bayreuth, Germany

Margaret Daymond atteneded the 41st annual African Literature Association  conference, held at the University of Bayreuth, Germany.  Her paper was titled "The Fringe Benefits: Imraan Coovadia’s Representation in High Low In-between of the Ambiguities of Indian identity in post-Apartheid South Africa".  The conference also saw Daymond facilitate the first European launch of Everyday Matters.  Presenting to a full house, Daymond read excerpts and spoke about the difficulties she faced in dealing with letters and the intimate details contained therein.

Tuesday 28 April 2015

Launch of Everyday Matters at 18thTime of Writer Festival




Margaret Daymond launched Everyday Matters at the 18th Time of the Writer festival held in Durban from 16-21 March.  Also on the panel was her colleague Prof Lindy Stiebel (far left) who launched another collection of letters entitled Letters to my Native Soil: Lewis Nkosi writes home (2001-2009).  

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Everyday Matters spotted as one of the top ten local titles at Exclusive Books.


Everyday Matters: Selected Letters of Dora Taylor, Bessie Head & Lilian Ngoyi has been featured as one of the top ten selling South African titles in an Exclusive Books store.  While we are not sure which store this is, the news is exciting and it is great to see that there is an interest in the art of writing letters. 

Monday 13 April 2015

Launch of Everyday Matters, by MJ Daymond, at Ike's Books in Durban.

Thursday 26 March saw MJ Daymond launch her new book, Everyday Matters: Selected letters of Dora Taylor, Bessie Head & Lilian Ngoyi.Ike's Books and Collectibles was filled with familiar faces from the UKZN English department, friends of the editor, and numerous other bibliophiles.  At 17:45, 15 minutes before the launch was to begin, the lower end of Florida Road was plunged into darkness by an unexpected bout of load-shedding.  This, however, did not deter either Prof. Margaret Daymond or Prof. Lindy Stiebel as they spoke through the darkness and above the distant din of an approaching storm.  Stiebel introduced the editor and gave a brief talk about the importance of correspondence via letters and how the medium is in decline due to SMS, social media, and e-mail.  These ephemeral digital communications, Stiebel suggests, are no less important than their hardcopy counterparts but are far less regularly saved and cherished.  This phenomenon may, at some point in the future, complicate the process of compiling volumes such as Everyday Matters as the correspondences are often lost through deletion or computer crashes.

Following Stiebel's introduction, Daymond took to reading some letters by all three of her selected writers.  As Daymond's reading progressed, it became apparent that all three women had placed particular importance on the concept of home, either as a physical space or as an ideological or emotional one.  Taylor's letters expressed sadness at the loss of her home whereas Head's correspondences gave insight into her elation at finally owning one of her own.  Ngoyi's letters outlined her experiences of being trapped inside her home during her 18 year house arrest.
As reading by the light of cellphones proved difficult, the launch was cut somewhat short but the celebration of both Daymond and her book continued for a while afterwards by candlelight.

Word and images used with permission from the KwaZulu-Natal Literary Tourism Project.