| Internship
Experience
By: Ronald Dorris
 I
visited South Africa from May 30-July 15, 2002 as a participant
with the United States/ South Africa Cultural Heritage and Technology
Program. For four weeks I was based in Durban. My principal project
involved conducting a one-week short-short story workshop. The venue
for this project was the Govan Mbeki Centre at the University of
Durban-Westville. Eleven students from various areas in South Africa
were enrolled. The workshop was centered around the theme, voice,
time and place in African Writing. Each morning a South African
writer addressed the students. Johan van Wyk spoke on Voice in African
Culture; Ronnie Govender on Place in Africa Culture; Elana Bregin
on the Human Factor in African Culture; and Nise Malange on the
Supernatural in African Culture. Work by students was critiqued
during afternoon sessions. At the end of the week, each student
did a public reading of his/her work at the Kwa Muhle Museum.
In addition to my creative writing project, I delivered
the opening address for a workshop held at the Kwa Muhle Museum.
The theme of that workshop was Teaching Creative Writing at Tertiary
Level Institutions in the KwaZulu-Natal Region. The title of my
address was "Creative Writing: Voice of the People as Actor
and Agent." I also delivered a lecture on the Harlem Renaissance
writers at the Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg.
During my remaining two weeks in South Africa, I
was based in Johannesburg, my SANCH funding supplemented by a grant
from the Center for Intercultural and International Affairs at Xavier
University of
Louisiana. I was invited by the Johannesburg Art Gallery to deliver
the keynote address to open the exhibit, Amabal’Engwe: Traditional
Garments of the Southern African Region. My address was titled "Cultural
Constructs: Pillars of Tradition and Heritage."
I also visited Pretoria, Estreus, Soweto, Alexandra,
and Cape Town in the Eastern Cape. My aim for travel throughout
the country was to draw from these sites as points of reference
to aid in conducting the writing workshop and presenting lectures.
I found my overall experience in South Africa was rich and productive.
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