Cape pen warriors nominated for awards
|Published
Cape schoolteacher Nashville Blaauw has been nominated for his book of poems, “In ’n Coloured huis.” Picture: Supplied
Cape Town - From a 12-year-old girl to a mother sharing her experience of Alzheimer’s and a teacher’s compilation of poems, this year’s 6th AfriCAN Annual Global Honoree Authors Awards will feature 14 authors from the Western Cape.
The awards are the brainchild of motivational speaker, publisher and founder Anthea Thyssen-Ambursley, who has honoured more than 463 authors in the past six years.
The awards are expected to take place on Monday in Johannesburg.
A total of 26 authors from across the country were nominated by Tshienda Publications publicist Haroldene Tshienda.
Thyssen-Ambursley is the founder of AfriCAN Child Your Time is Now (Pty) Ltd and is the author of three books and three continental compilations compiled by various AfriCAN poets on the continent.
Thyssen-Ambursley said the title of the awards had a significant meaning.
“The name AfriCAN (CAN meaning all Africans in Africa) with a ‘can’ mentality to transform their hearts and minds to build a better Africa for all who live in it,” she said.
Thyssen-Ambursley began the honoree awards in 2018 with 21 authors and celebrates self-publishing and child authors.
She said the aim of the awards was to promote ordinary people’s stories that were changing people’s lives.
It became an annual event on July 31, which is her birthday.
“It is overwhelming for me to witness the growth and the increase in reading of local books,” said Thyssen-Ambursley.
“Our nation needs healing, and writing is one way to get rid of trauma. We need to focus on our children more, but it is growing exponentially in the Western Cape.”
She said this year’s theme for the awards is “Unlock the Borders and Pen Soldiers in Africa”, who were helping to rewrite history.
Tshienda, who has published eight books herself, is the director of her company and founder of Poets Vannie Kaap. She said the selection of authors came from all walks of life. These include: Latifah Jacobs, authors of “A Letter to my Perpetrator”; Nashville Blaauw, author of “In ’n Coloured huis”; Mariam Davids, author of “Heartbeats of Hope”; Rodney and Tracey Brown, authors of “Lulu Book 2”; Tracey-Lynne Isaacs, author of ‘Break Me To Make Me’; 12-year-old Leila Phoenix Alexander, author of “Young Minds, Unspoken Thoughts”; Rukeya Mitchell, author of “Living with Alzheimer’s”; Lamees Meyer, author of “Keeping You Motivated”; Ridewaan Arries, author of “The Power of a Decision”; and Samantha Adams, author of “Warrior Outside, Chaos Within”; and many others, such as Quinton Leonard, Zaarah Antulay and Thaakierah Jefferies.
“I nominated the authors who are making a difference in our society using the power of the pen,” said Tshienda.
“Promoting reading and writing is compulsory and there's no age restriction.”’
The authors come from all over the country, from Gauteng to Mitchells Plain.
Leila, from Mitchells Plain, was featured in the “Weekend Argus” Jellybean Journal last year during the launch of her book, a compilation of poems she uses to inspire and motivate others.
Rukeya Mitchell, a mother of two, carried out her research at Lentegeur Library in Mitchells Plain when she began writing her memoirs of being the grandchild of someone who had Alzheimer’s.
She wrote the book to create awareness and feels proud of her achievements: “This is my first published book, though I do have two more completed books which I still have to publish.
“One is poetry and the other is a children’s book.
“I wrote ‘Living with Alzheimer’s’ in honour of my grandmother who suffered from the disease for three years and I was her main caregiver up until her death.
“The book is to bring awareness of the disease and to educate people who have elderly suffering from the disease.
“This is the time the afflicted needs your love and attention the most.
“I'm so excited to receive my award and I know my grandmother would be so proud because she was the one who nurtured the love of reading and writing in me.”
Elsies River High School teacher Nashville Blaauw is known for his Afrikaans poems that were once used during an assessment exam for his students.
“My book I was nominated for, ‘In ’n Coloured huis’, which is my third book, deals with social issues happening in the Cape Flats which are experienced inside homes, secrets in the family, absent fathers, and so many other issues,” he said.
“I feel that by highlighting this it could bring healing to so many families and I feel privileged to be nominated and it says that people are actually paying attention to poetry.
“We say what other people do not say.”