Andries Samuel
(South Africa, 1974) is the son of the writer and poet Antjie Krog. He studied architecture at the University of Cape Town and has worked in Tel Aviv and New York. He writes poems in which architecture plays an important role. Both the design and the construction of buildings fascinate him in his debut Wanpraktyk (Bad Practice). Samuel looks at human beings with the eye of the architect. In short: we have to work at ourselves constantly in order to survive in a world full of cruelty. Samuel's debut was praised in South Africa and shortlisted for the Ingrid Jonker Booker Prize for best poetry debut. In addition to working as an architect he also writes and translates. Andries Samuel is divorced with his ex-wife and daughter living in Tel Aviv. The first part of his book of poetry is dedicated to missing his daughter, who is growing up elsewhere.
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Archive available for: Andries Samuel
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My farther-farthest child
The much-loved South African poet Antjie Krog introduces her son Andries Samuel, who with his much-praised poetry debut follows in her footsteps. Mother and son recite poems straight from the heart about family ties between parents and (grand)children; Wende set a poem specially written for this occasion by Antjie Krog and her son to music. She sings this new song for the first time tonight and also sings other songs. In English.
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The Turning Point
Tonight three authors talk about their drives, motivations and inspiration for taking up a career as a writer in an often violent and complex world. Architect Andries Samuel, documentary maker and BBC reporter Aminatta Forna and constructional engineer Nihad Sirees decided to turn to fiction at a certain point in their lives. Andries Samuel, the son of Antjie Krog, made his debut in 2013 with the book of poetry Wanpraktyk. In her latest novel The Hired Man Forna sketches the fermenting tension in postwar Croatia. Nihad Sirees' great power is that he succeeds in turning fear into humor in his novel The Silence and the Roar. What compelled these three people to start writing? In English.