Day 11 (Part 3) – Dinner with South African novelist and poet Patricia Schonstein

The third part of our VERY busy day commenced after our time at LEAP. We went back to our rooms for a rare two hour break, and then headed out to a residential section of Cape Town. Here, our entire tour group spent the evening at the home of South African novelist and poet Patricia Schonstein and her husband Don Pinnock.

Ms. Schonstein began the evening by relating her transition from a South African resident to a published writer. In the early 1980s, with two small children of her own, Ms. Schonstein opened a preschool that allowed families of all races and backgrounds to attend. With racial violence present in the Eastern Cape at this time, it was a risky undertaking. However, she explained how well all the children – and families – got along and formed a real community around the school. From her experiences with this school and her interactions with the children, she realized the need to get books in the hands of township children. This was even more apparent, she told us, because the local public library was not open to all races. Thus began her writing career, where she crafted stories and poetry with African characters and themes. To date, she has about 15 published works, spanning children’s literature, poetry, novels and even a pictorial grammar book for Xhosa!

Don Pinnock entertained us with a few stories of what life was like living in South Africa during Apartheid. Don related one memorable story in which his actions advocating for a more equal South Africa put him on the police’s “watch” list. At one point, he was apprehended as an agitator and brought to a police station with other demonstrators. He contacted Patricia, who arrived at the police station, located Don and said “Let’s go”. In all the noise and bustle, the two of them made their way out of the station and no charges were ever brought for the incident. Don, in a somewhat deadpan delivery, ended the story by saying “Of course, we had to go into hiding for a while after that, but…”

Ms. Schonstein and Don had dinner prepared for us, and we continued our conversation over a delicious quiche, salad, vegetables and South African wine. Patricia was excited to tell us about her current project, a collection of poetry and verse called Africa! My Africa! An Anthology of verse.  The book is in its final edits and its first printing will be signed and numbered copies. Proceeds from these versions will be used to fund Ms. Schonstein’s Seed Readers program. This is a program that brings children’s books to children who cannot afford them. She explained that she was close to securing 1000 orders for this book, at which time the first printing will begin. Always eager to help, our group purchased 10-12 copies among ourselves!

I must admit I was initially nervous when I learned we would be spending time at the home of an author. I didn’t really know what to expect – perhaps something rather stuffy and formal. What we got was a lovely, relaxed evening that made me feel like we had all known each other for a long time. After our intense seven-hour experiences, it was the perfect way to conclude our day.

Our tour group with Patricia Schonstein (bottom row, left)

To learn more about Ms. Schonstein, please visit her website. There is information about her writings, as well as her Seed Reader initiative and how to order copies of Africa! My Africa!