A’Eysha unpacks memory in debut novel
| Published date | 26 May 2021 |
| Author | Chantel Erfort chantel.erfort@inl.co.za |
| Publication title | Athlone News |
The 38-year-old Edgemead resident who grew up in Mitchell’s Plain, this month released Suitcase of Memory, a beautifully written story of love, memory, the anti-apartheid Struggle and the division it sowed among South Africans.
Before studying journalism at the then Peninsula Technikon in Bellville – now part of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology – A’Eysha attended Mitchell’s Plain and Parkhurst primary schools in Westridge, Ferndale Primary in Ottery and Livingstone High in Claremont.
She attended Fontys Journalism School in the Netherlands as part of an exchange programme and has worked at several news organisations locally and abroad, including the Cape Times as a journalist and later as its news editor; as a news editor at News24, editor of Fin24, and editor-in-chief of PrintWeek, in Dubai.
I asked her about writing, getting published and the role of the writers – and readers – in the 21st century…
When you were young, did you enjoy reading?
My mother often jokes that my father bought me my first book before I was born and I came out reading it. I come from a family of readers, so both my parents were instrumental in my love of reading and books.
I grew up in a house where books were as much a part of the furniture as anything else, where regular visits to the local library were an exciting outing and where telling stories was just part of the everyday. As a child, I loved books about Spot, the dog (my daughter reads these now), all the Roald Dahls and Enid Blytons (The Faraway Tree series remains in my top 10 of all-time favourite books). Charlotte’s Web by EB White was the first book that made me cry – I was 12 when I read it and I remember it as if it were yesterday.
Do you remember when and why you decided to make a career in writing?
Yes. I was 5 years old when I made and illustrated a makeshift children’s book with my dad. I drew the pictures, he wrote down the words that I narrated and we stapled it all together. It is one of my most treasured childhood memories – and I still have that book. It was like magic – seeing something in my head come to life on the pages. I knew then that I wanted to grow up to be a writer. Now that I’m a writer, I guess the only thing left is to grow up.
Religion, race and love are some of the major themes in Suitcase of Memory. Talk me through this and the rich imagery of delicate fabric and sewing in your writing.
Suitcase of Memory is a book about the...
To continue reading
Request your trial