Eben Venter, born in Burgersdorp, South Africa, in 1954. M.A. from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth. Writer of three South African awarded novels (translated into Dutch, German and recently into English). My Beautiful Death and his new Afrikaans novel, Horrelpoot, will be published in October 2006.
Writer-in-Residence (1 February 2007 – 30 June 2007)
‘PRINCE ALBERT’
The character Lucky Marais, has remained my novel’s protagonist and narrator as in the initial proposal. Lucky has grown in stature, the story of princealbert (working title) has become his. In his simple, point-by-point way Lucky contemplates his life and the morality of his job, and thus presents a window on contemporary South Africa. The two Jekyll & Hyde-like characters who arrived on the first night become his mentors. They inform him about the redeeming nature of love and literature and instil in him a dream of escaping to New York. That will be Lucky’s final venture. Different to my initial proposal I have now constructed the story as a collage. It now consists of passages of varying length, some drive the plot forward; others are mere descriptions of an interior, a gesture, a stolen observation. In my revision these will be assembled in a fairly random, non-linear and non-thematic manner. It will be up to the reader to piece the actual story together.