British writer and academic Dr Jean Moorcroft Wilson will visit Rondebosch within the next week to give literature lectures.
Dr Wilson, from London, England, has written extensively on World War I poets and poetry, and she presented lectures at UCT’s Summer School over the course of 13 years.
“I shared a course on Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group. My late husband, Cecil Woolf, was the nephew of Leonard and Virginia Woolf,” she said.
One of her previous lectures dealt with World War I poet Isaac Rosenberg who came to live with his sister in Cape Town prior to his being killed in France in April of 1918.
Dr Wilson’s lectures, “Literature for Troubled Times”, were organised by her long-time friend, Lucille Lückhoff, of Rondebosch.
“These will be talks done on well-known authors. I will be talking about when we are in trouble, like in times with Covid-19, people find great consolation in literature,” Dr Wilson said.
She will also take part in a double lecture with Fine Music Radio programme manager Rodney Trudgeon and a conversation with South African author Patricia Schonstein about Schonstein’s book, Skyline, published in 2000.
“Dr Wilson and I will be in conversation, discussing Skyline’s relevancy and ‘long life’ as it tackles the perennial crises of war, refugees and migrancy,” said Schonstein.
Dr Wilson has published eight of her own books and co-edited 13. Her latest book, Robert Graves: From Great War Poet to Good-Bye to All That 1895-1929, was published in 2018.
The lecture series runs from Saturday January 28 to Saturday February 5. It will be held at the Erin Hall, apart from Wednesday February 2, when it moves to St Thomas Church in Campground Road.
Tickets, at R100 a lecture, are available through Quicket or email afpress@iafrica.com to reserve a seat and pay cash at the door.
The event will be Covid-19 compliant and refreshments and secure parking will be available.