Herman Charles Bosman Literary Society Newsletter

Herman Charles Bosman

Literary Society

Newsletter

P.O. Box 28, Groot-Marico, 2850

Cell phone: 083 272 2958

To conclude the Bosman weekend, in which we all participated, one more thing needs to be done: an evaluation of where we stand at present, which will not exclude suggestions for future directions to be explored.

When the Herman Charles Bosman Literary Society kicked off in the 90's of the previous century, local Bosmanophiles were sharing their enthusiasm for Bosman's writings; whence the name of the society. Clearly however, what they were sharing was an enthusiasm for reading, and the choice of name indicated recognition of a level or standard of literary achievement of considerable distinction.

Then not a few of our local members showed themselves to be particulary proficient in the spinning of yarns, a passtime in the Marico that had not regressed since the days of Bosman. Life here at times seems to be made up of little else but stories - the recounting of which becomes a kind of quest for that elusive design called truth - a weaving and embroidering of words and images wherein the quarry will become forever and inextricably enmeshed.

It therefore appeared a worthy objective to document some of these stories, containing as they did the full imprint of experience of a time and place distilled in the unique receptacle embodied by the life of a particular raconteur.

Then again there was the farmschool at Heimweeberg, solitary relic of Bosman's stint as bushveld teacher, overgrown by thornbush, its threshold worn through by the many feet of schoolchildren from bygone days, now only sustained by visits from successive generations of barnowls or the occasional stray cattle passing that way.

No doubt it is excessively ambitious of a handful of bushveld dreamers to imagine these things can be restored or saved as part of the collective memory of a people who recognise the southern tip of the African continent as their home.

Interest in the Bosman/Marico connection saw the HCBLS hosting an annual Bosman weekend in October since the early 1990's.

Visitors who supported our most recent commemorative event are hereby invited to submit their feedback on the weekend and any suggestions and recommendations will be welcome and made accessible on the marico website( www.marico.co.za ) Our first contribution , which is already on the web, comes from Tim Sandham. The photos is from Alan Woodman. If you also have some, please send it.

Die laaste paar woorde om vir julle almal baie baie dankie te se vir 'n heerlike naweek wat ons saam met al die gaste geniet het - vir julle ondersteuning( ook van ons kunstenaars en uitstallers( Plaaslike kunstenaar Johan Moolman stal op die oomblik by die Millenium Gallery in Rosebank, Jhb uit, as u hom daar wil gaan ondersteun.). Ons is miskien net oor een ding spyt, en dit is dat julle toe nie Sondagoggend die mooiste gasteplaas RiverStill kon besoek, soos beplan was nie. Maar dis dalk 'n rede om gou-gou weer terug te kom.

If you came with friends, whose email address is not on our mailing list, please forward this letter to them

My first introduction to the works of Herman Charles Bosman was in standard seven. Our teacher was Nina Yssel, a tall willowy woman with large spectacles, as was the style in the seventies. She had a great sense of humour and a way of making English lessons a lot more interesting than anything we had endured up to then or subsequently. We were an unruly mob of about forty and not keen on listening to another story, but by the time she had read the first 2 sentences of In the Withaak’s Shade we were enthralled. Some of us have remained enthralled in spite of the best efforts of university lecturers to analyse the joy and wonder out of Bosman.

My first introduction to the Marico was somewhat unusual. My friend Fred had often regaled me with tales of incidents and adventures he had had in the area. One day he said: “If you ever want to go there, my brother’s farm is exactly 3 kms beyond the railway line. He’s always there, just pitch up.”

So my wife and I did: the lure of Bosman territory overcoming our resistance to pitching up uninvited to a stranger’s doorstep. When we got out of the car Egbert van Bart was waiting for us. We instantly became old friends.

That was 15 years ago and we have visited Egbert and the Marico as often as possible. In that time there have been some changes in the life of Egbert, and in the lives of the residents of Marico. These days Egbert is reachable by phone, and Santa has changed Egbert’s status from Bushveld bachelor to devoted husband.

But the biggest change is that through the efforts of Egbert and Santa van Bart, Groot Marico is no longer a mythical literary place or faded green road sign on the Zeerust Road, it is now a tourist destination.

Prominent among their achievements is the establishment of the Herman Charles Bosman Literary Society (HCBLS) and their dogged determination to keep it going. We attended a few of the early Bosman Weekends – and I must admit that I wasn’t hopeful of long term success. Firstly the small number of attendees were an odd bunch, many of whom were very zealous, but were never seen or heard of again. Secondly, many seemed enamoured more with the idea of the HCBLS and Marico than by the actual stories. I was becoming frustrated by people who were reeling around in the initial euphoria of discovering Bosman; I wanted to delve deeper into the darker parts of his writings. Thirdly, the Bosman weekend always seemed to coincide with a Currie Cup Final.

So it was with some trepidation that we set off for this year’s Bosman Weekend, but within minutes of our arrival it became clear that the HCBLS had moved up to a new level.

The first sign of this was the long row of luxury four wheel drive vehicles outside the festival site. I’m not sure whether visitors were planning on getting in some off-road action, because if they were they were soon be disillusioned. Upon registration we were split up into 4groups and under the watchful eyes of our local guides took to the streets … on foot. A novel experience, I’m sure, for many Johannesburgers.

· Marico Dusk where we met the artist Bill McGill and his work, and had a sip or two of mampoer.

· Angela’s Bed and Breakfast for an exhibition of Arno Faul’s nature photographs, and a Bosman story, wonderfully read by Joelene Geldenhuys.

· Lavender House for the sculptures of Johan Moolman and Hannetjie Visser, as well as arts and crafts by the local population

· The NG Kerk Hall where octogenarian Johan Lemmer exhibited his sculptures in tandem with the massive canvasses of Kalahari Bridges.

Our tour guide, Willemien Olivier, even arranged an unscheduled stop at the local mill, where she twisted the miller’s arm to sell us some old fashioned coarsely ground mielie meal.

After lunch David Butler became Herman Charles Bosman. Recreating the sights, sounds and smells of Johannesburg in A Touch of Madness, written and directed by Nicky Rebelo. It is a powerful work matched by the intensity of Butler’s performance.

Next Stephen Gray, Leon de Kock, and Craig Mackenzie spoke about the latest two releases in the Bosman anniversary series: Verborge Skatte and Seed Time & Harvest.

(Earlier in the day at a book signing session a man approached Stephen Gray and said: “So are you the man who wrote all these wonderful stories”)

Nicky Rebelo also spoke about his inspiration for and motivation behind A Touch of Madness.

But the special treat was the appearance of Rosalind Oates, daughter of Helena Lake (nee Stegmann) who was Herman Charles Bosman’s last wife. She brought along and shared some personal notes her mother had made about Bosman.

Next was a unique concert in the voorkamer tradition, with local townsfolk reciting poetry and playing unusual instruments; the kalemba, hide drums, the didgeridoo, and…a saw.

After a wholesome potjiekos dinner it was over to the Honorary Life President of the HCBLS. Patrick Mynhardt is well into his 35^th year of playing Oom Schalk Lourens. While I’m not a great fan of the way Mynhardt has chosen to portray the old Bushveld raconteur, there’s no denying his popularity nor his huge role in reviving and sustaining interest in Bosman’s stories.

On Sunday morning with skies still pregnant with rain we switched venues, abandoning the charming open-air theatre of River Still for the more mundane, but dry hall at the Marico Valley Mampoer Plaas.

Again Patrick Mynhardt took the stage, this time reading Bosman’s Boer War tales.

This led very nicely into the second performance of the day: Johanna by Antoinette Pienaar. It is a superb piece: short, powerful and immensely emotional. Pienaar ages before your eyes as she grows from young bride to expectant mother to widow to old auntie withered from years of living in the veld. The play is in Afrikaans, but with a few props on an otherwise bare stage Pienaar speaks a universal language and connects on an almost primordial level to all.

It was a stunned audience that trooped out, into what turned out to be a sunny afternoon after all, for a traditional lunch of pap and plenty. Or perhaps we were all a bit depressed that we had to tackle the drive back to Johannesburg and another week on the treadmill, while the locals could ease back into their rustic lifestyles.

What will Egbert and Santa, and the many wonderful people who helped organise the Bosman Weekend, come up with for the next Bosman Weekend?

Hou ons asb op datum van einige ander Bosman aktiwiteite of enige iets anders wat moontlik daar in julle omgewing plaas vind.

Groete

Ek wil net weereens baie dankie se aan almal vir die aangename naweek by julle. Dit was vir ons 'n voorreg om al die verrigtinge te kon meemaak en te smul aan al die heerlike geregte.

Julle gasvryheid en onbaatsugtige harde werk het nie ongemerk verby gegaan nie en soos ons met die feesgangers gemeng het, was daar net lof vir julle almal.

Die opvoerings en die kunstenaars was puik. Ek het vanoggend navraag gedoen om van Patrick se band opnames te koop te kry. Antoinette Pienaar het ons in vervoering gehad met haar prag opvoering van Johanna.

Hallo Santa

Ek wou net weer baie dankie se vir die naweek - dit was vir my baie
interesant om meer te leer van Bosman en sy wereld asook n eer om in so n
mooi omgewing te wees . Ek sal definitief weer kom kuier by die Mariko en sy
mense. Se asseblief ook dankie aan Jaques en sy familie vir hul gasvryheid
waneer jy hulle weer sien. Ek hoop jy en Egbert kan nou n bietjie rus na so
n besigge naweek!

Groete

Santa,

Baie dankie vir 'n naweek wat ons nie gou sal vergeet nie. Ons kinders wat nie van Herman Bosman geweet het nie, het vir ons dankie gesê dat ons hulle saam gesleep het. Ons het die hele program tot die einde geniet krag onderbreking en al.

As julle 'n adreslys het om ons op hoogte te hou van gebeure om die Herman Charles Bosman vereniging sit ons name op die lys asseblief.

Dear Santa

On behalf of David and myself I'd like to thank you for inviting us to Groot
Marico for the very special "Bosman Weekend". We enjoyed our stay
thoroughly. Our hosts Andre and Martha were very warm and made our stay very
pleasant. I'm sure it will not be too long before we visit Marico again,
perhaps bringing our wives so that they too might experience the beauty of
that part of our country.

It was such a pleasure to play to the huge appreciative audience. Your
church hall is not a venue you need to apologise for. It was more than
adequate for our requirements.

Please let me know what the actual size of our audience was. I'm sure it was
over two hundred. I hope the weekend was a great success for your Bosman
Society and that more and more people, both local and international, get to
know about Bosman and The Groot Marico through your efforts.

With Thanks

Phone Santa at Cell 083 2722 958 or send an Email message to: info@marico.co.za

Feedback:
Tim Sandham	Dave Toerien
Hagen Binding - Botswana	Carl en Jeanette de Beer
Lilian van der Merwe	Nicky Rebelo
Photos