PRAISE FOR IN THE SHADOW OF THE SPRINGS I SAW

“The writing tries to capture the ‘grain’ of a place, object or conversation, as if a swatch were cut from a larger fabric. One could trace the use of similar techniques back to the canonical modernist works of James Joyce, William Faulkner, John Dos Passos, William Carlos Williams or to a later experimenter like Burroughs … Adair uses these techniques with flair and purpose … the book’s method is to declare and contradict, to present one side and then another, keeping both present.” Ivan Vladislavic: Writer

The dying mining town of Springs, one might be compelled to say if you do not take heed and scrutinise more closely the upheaval that is taking shape there. The traditional conservative Springs community has lapsed and a new and integrated communal existence is evolving comprising of people from all over the African continent. Now, the architecture remains the only nostalgic connection to the past. Such bold Art Deco buildings that were ahead of their time still retain their regalness, although they are in a vulnerable condition.

This book is a magnificent showcase of what was, and what is becoming, of the historical journey that Springs is taking. The images captured in the book do not attempt to trace historical events per se but give one an overall sense of the stark arty architecture that continues to thrive amidst what seems to be chaos or the un-led communal revolution of the town itself. Colbert Mashile: Artist

“[this is] an ambitious text that comes together as a collage of different modalities of storytelling, from first and second person narration, to correspondence in the form of e mails, to poetry and songs excerpts and architectural definitions… the novel’s collage structure and its focus on themes of disintegration, transient beauty and changing landscape…. It ranges from nostalgic to matter of fact to playful and imaginative.” Carolyn Ownbey: PhD Assistant Professor and Chair English, Communications, & Literature Golden Gate University

“Adair reflects on issues with originality and aplomb, in an unusual literary style that emphasises fragmentation, intertextuality, historical palimpsest, multiple perspectives, stark shifts of subjectivity, elaborate repetitions, form and silence… as well as elaborate patterns and structures of the shifting and eroded Art Deco buildings. Within these buildings, ghostlike characters’ narrations, never connecting, haunt the work and briefly inhabit and shift the architecture of the text itself.” Professor Bridget Grogan University of Pretoria

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SPRINGS I SAW is an exploration the of stories of people who live in the Art Deco buildings of Springs. It is the imagined lives of those who live in a space which is not theirs historically but one which they have reclaimed. This work, in times of doom and complaint, creates a new narrative; one of revival, vigour and celebration.

Art is anything that you can get away with …

Take some chocolate and take 2 pieces of bread, and then put the chocolate in the middle of the bread and you make a sandwich.

That’s a cake. (continue reading…)

Creative Writing PhD from the University of Pretoria.              A celebration!

https://www.up.ac.za/news/post_2972025-ups-revived-unit-of-creative-writing-celebrates-graduation-of-three-phd-students-

An interesting review by Yuan-Chih (Sreddy) Yen

Northwestern University, Chicago

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