Our project name, Napier-Ekspedisie, is inspired by Wilma Stockenström’s
1981 novella, Die Kremetartekspedisie (Journey to the Baobab tree, English
translation by J.M. It tells the story of a former slave woman who was
the only survivor of a failed expedition into the harsh interior of Southern
Africa. She seeks shelter in the hollow of a baobab tree and for the first time in
her life, her body, h
er time, her memories and dreams are her own and she starts
her own expedition into understanding her own self. This is a page to honour Wilma Johanna Kirsipuu Stockenström who was born on
7 August 1933 in Napier, Western Cape. She went to school in Napier and attended the
University of Stellenbosch where she completed a BA Drama degree (1952). She married the Estonian linguist, Ants Kirsipuu and after years in Pretoria, she moved to
Cape Town in 1993 where she still lives. She is highly esteemed as poet, novelist, actress and playwright and has also
been a translator for many years. Her own work has been translated into Dutch,
English, French, Hebrew, Italian, Turkish and Swedish. She has received
several local and international prizes, and she is one of only a few writers to
have won the Hertzog Prize in two different genres, namely for poetry (1977)
and as novelist (1991). Wilma Stockenström turns 90 this year and Napier will celebrate this event with
the change of a street name in her honour, a special birthday ceremony with
music, poetry, etc., a special market and photography and art exhibitions, a
youth drama production and various workshops and discussions with authors –
most of whom live in Napier.