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K Sello Duiker BOOKWORLD There'ssomething American aboutittoo, inthe tradition of F Scott Fitzgerald. But `I try to be my own what about Sello? And how does Duiker, an Afrikaans word, fitinto the picture? publicity manager...' Duiker laughs. `I try to be my own publicity manager. The name is chosen deliberately. KSello Duiker... As awriter you have to be clear about KSelloDuiker where you wantto be placed. Kabelo is my first name, the name that I use for my family. My mother'sname is Sello and FRED DE VRIES my fatheris called Duiker. I Journalist speak some Afrikaans, because one of my fore- fathers was coloured. But I he writer as myth. Some reso- grewup in a family with a lutely refuse to step into the lime- grandfather who adhered T light /JDSalinger). Others hide strongly to black nationalism.' behind a pseudonym /Paul Small). William The multidimensionalname Burroughswas a master atmythologising. fitshimlikeanelegant He depersonalised the biographical data in writer in another way. First there is that costume. Duiker lived in Soweto until he his work and looked at himself from an unusual, carefully-construed name. Inthe was seventeen. He then wentto England outsider'sperspective. He described his South African context, where a name gives for two years. He studiedjournalism and experiences with illegal activities without away skin colour and language, this is a sig- history of art at Rhodes Universityinthe any form of introspection and created the nificant move. It makes the writer elusive Eastern Cape, and subsequently stayedin image of a philosophical psychopath. and expands his literary scope. CapeTown for two years, where he The young South-African writer,KSello KSello Duiker. It soundsimportant. The worked as a copywriter. He stayedinthe Duiker /29), nourishes the myth ofthe floating Kgivesit an air of aristocracy. Cape Libr., Mar/Apr 2004 22 BOEKWEê RELD dangerously violent neighbourhoods as In exchange for perverted games. After drug abuse. Once declared cured,Tshepo well as with the elite of CapeTown. Both three weeks,Sammy had enough.' hangs around the Cape homosexual the streets anduniversity taughthimabout We are sittingin an outdoor cafe¨ at the subculture where the new South Africa life. He read a lot, and smoked even more Rosebank Shopping Mallin Johannesburg, baresitself literally and figurativelyin allits dope. And even if Sotho is his mother a place that has been wavering for years dimensions. tongue, he prefers English. nowbetween`chique',trendy and decay. The author transplants himself with Duiker:`You have to adapt and pickup Latelyit'sbeentrendy again. Duiker eats a greatease into Mmabatho, the bestfriend anotherlanguage if you of Tshepo, who movesgraciously between wantto survive. For me the white and black worlds of CapeTown, that language was Duiker is a post-apartheid remix of her African heritage not forgotten, but also English. We are Joe'skids South-Africa. Self-assured, confused. not a fanatical black nationalist. Gradually who came to Jo'burg. We Duikerintroduces his newcharacters, are post-apartheid chil- Energetic, searching. Those are also the through whichthe readeris allowed peeks dren, we are hybrid. We intothe different Cape subcultures, likethe have to survive inthe themes that re-occurin his novels psychopath Zebron, the Afrikaner mas- townships, contend with seur West, and the coloured Chris with otherlanguages, try to whomTshepo shares a flat and by whom he find a job. Sotho is not an option. There are fruit salad. Coloured dreadlockshang from is raped. eleven languages. You by-pass the problem under his crocheted beanie.His glasses, Bearinginmindtheconceptofmytholo- with English. But at the same time, I'm not goatee and bright, clever eyes make him gising,Duiker revealslittle aboutthe paral- ashamed to say that I aim for the biggest look a bitlike Spike Lee. lels between his own life and that of his possible reading public.' He received the 2001Commonwealth protagonists. `Iregard myresearch as very Duikeris a post-apartheid remix of Prize for the bestdebutin Africa for Thir- important',is the only thinghewants to say South-Africa. Self-assured, confused. teen cents. The ceremony took place in aboutthe matter.`It'simportantto know Energetic, searching. Those are also the Ghana. `Ihad hoped to meet Zadie Smith. what you're talking about.' themes that re-occur in his novels. His Sadly, she didn't come. People like Zadie The threat of violence is tangible in all his debut, Thirteen cents, is about street chil- findlions and giraffes more important. stories andin allhis characters. `Iwantto drenin CapeTown who prostitute them- Theydon'tpitchupiftheeventdoesn'ttake showthat violence has a deeper meaning,' selves in order to survive. In his second place in South Africa andifthere'sno five says Duiker.`Without wanting to trivialise novel, The quiet violence of dreams,the star hotelinvolved. That'swhy Iloathe the the seriousness of violence,I think one can protagonist is a young man who becomes literary world. Look, we areyoung writers say that violenceis a culture that communi- increasingly aware of his homosexuality and we would have liked to have met cates a certain message. InThirteen cents I and who starts workingin an escort somebodylike Zadie.' wanted to explore how violence is not only agency/massage parlour for men. In comparison with his debut, his second a way of dominating people, but I also The two bookslabelled Duiker as a`gay novel was a tour de force. The quiet vio- wanted to show that violence is used by writer'. `People like to pigeon-hole others. lence of dreams consists of 457 pages, people to communicate with each other The homosexuality, the violence, the and to convey a street scenes, the dope; they don'ttrust message. The way in this young man at all,'chuckles Duiker.`The `Transgression is political and subjective. whichthis happensis first bookis not about homosexuality,but deplorable. But we are becausetherewerekidsinvolvedwho I, on the other hand, am interested in part of a violent culture, prostitute themselves, everybody wrongly the human element, the social structures. and we never knew a thinks of it as gay literature.' period of rest, nordid In order to be able to write this first That is what is missing in the post - we receive help to enter book, he`went underground'for a few apartheid era: identifying the processes into a process of healing weeks andlived with a couple of streetkids after apartheid. in CapeTown. `Every morning on my way and trying to understand what is going on. Thatis our fate, and to work they were nagging for cigarettes. How people integrate and live together' the cause of the psy- One day one of them, Sammy, a nice boy, chosis that we carry disappeared. The others askedme around with us. whether I was prepared to help them find It will take some time him. I spent three weeks with them, slept revolves around crazy people and homo- still, before violence onthe street, lived onthe street. Canyou sexuality and is told from various neutralisesitself. Ilookbehindit: where imagine? Me, a 24-year-old man, under perspectives. The authoris a voyeur who does it come from, is it hate, anger or the care of a couple of12-year-old kids. I goes everywhere and hears everything. communication? In any case, it's a kind of didn'thave anyexperience at allwiththis He scours the streets ofthe city,mixes language.' sort of life. It prompted me to write. And languages. He crawls under the skin of the Duiker recounts the incidents thattook then one day we found Sammy.What paranoid Tshepo, whose mother was mur- place inthe townships when he was young. happened? A nice gentlemantookcare of dered by his gangster father and who The story'saboutthe`hero'Macuse who Sammy, gave him food and a place to sleep. ended up in an institution for his excessive was hackedto piecesin Soweto. Sello's % Kaapse Bibl., Mar/Apr 2004 23 BOOKWORLD friends asking him to join them to go and have a look atthe severed head. `Violence has made a lastingimpression on me, and not only in a negative way. It is a fascinating aspectof our culture and our heritage. I tried to see the message behindit. Wasit unadulterated barbarism, as the media wouldlike to portrayit, or doesit have to do with another type of reality thatWes- tern culture justcannotgrasp? Duiker is the hybrid kid, the son of Joe who came to the hyper urban capital Johannesburg and who perforce left allhis traditions behind. His literary models are Bessie Head,Dambudzo Marechera,Ben Okri, Zadie Smith. Writers who deal with schizophrenia, insanity,culture clashes, surrealism and metaphysics. Duiker does not write to shock or to push back fron- tiers.`Transgressionis political and subjective. I on the other hand am inter- estedinthe human element, the social structures. Thatis whatis missinginthe post apartheid era: identifying the pro- cesses and trying to understand whatis going on. Howpeople integrate and live together.' Duiker researches. Duiker writes. In order to understand, and to understand more of what he cannotgrasp. In order to discover his own identity. He recently fol- lowed a course to become a sangoma. `I attended the course for two months,'he says. `Thatis notenoughto callyourself a sangoma. Youhave to go through four stages. Butitdid change me. It was an enriching experience and it gave me a better understanding ofthe past and ofthe culture that I as a township boy never inherited, as a result of the arrival of Joe in Jo'burg. Itis another reality altogether, a communal experience. You go to the homelands, fetch water from the well. You wake up, you pray,you meditate. It'svery spiritual.Youare coldandill, youget visions. Like a shaman. It'sgotto do with healing. Youcan write aboutit. Writingis also a healing process.' Thelastpieces of fruitdisappear fromhis plate. `Ican'ttellyou everything, because there'salso a sacred aspectto it,'he addsin a secretive way.
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