Author talk at U3A
THROWN AMONG THE BONES
This is no venture into the occult, witchcraft or exhumations... rather, Thrown among the Bones: My Life in Fiction is the title of U3A’s August speaker’s presentation on Wednesday September 7, at 10am, at the Strand Town Hall.
Celebrated novelist, poet, memoirist, writer of children’s books and curator of anthologies, Patricia Schonstein, will discuss her latest publication, her memoir, Thrown among the Bones.
On writing her memoir she confessed: “It was hard to decide to let the world know my innermost thoughts – in books they appear as fiction, in memoir they appear as truth….only the truth as you remember it.”
In her presentation she will share how her own life has informed her fiction by referring in part to the seven novels written during her career, and her quest for ethical light: “[It] is an examination of certain seeds that fell upon, and were developed by, my imagination.”
She will take the audience behind the scenes to look at plot and character formation, and show how existential questions are intrinsic to her narratives.
Ms Schonstein's novels draw heavily on her personal experiences of growing up in present-day Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia. She also recalls lessons learnt from her conflicted parents: forgiveness from a German-speaking Czech father who escaped the Holocaust, and compassion from her fearful, addicted Italian Catholic mother. Hers was indeed a “rich life”.
Ms Schonstein gained a Master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Cape Town under the supervision of JM Coetzee. Her works have received and been listed for various awards.
She lives in Cape Town with her husband, journalist Don Pinnock. Her work has been translated into Afrikaans, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.
Her books will be on sale after the presentation.
Tea and coffee will be available before the meeting, and visitors pay R20. For more information, contact Denise Fourie, the publicity coordinator for U3A Helderberg, at delvier@mweb.co.za