The girls are members of two clubs at their school, Dancing Pencils and toastmasters. They are finding the skills they acquired as public speakers and as writers very much to their advantage.

Their successes culminated with a graduation from Toastmasters and contributions to the 2014 Dancing Pencils Durban secondary Girls School Anthology which will be launched in the Durban City Hall on the 3^rd of September, 2014.

Note by Felicity Keats, publisher, umSinsi Press.

In 1998 Engen sponsored a project for 13 primary schools on Durban’s Bluff where every child in every school learnt the right brain method. 95 small books were published as a result. One book, George the Cat, written by Peter van Zyl, obtained sponsorship from Old Mutual for a 2000 print run. Books in sets of 50 per school were given to 40 rural schools, 20 down the South Coast, and 20 up the North Coast.

Peter van Zyl’s book that was given to disadvantaged schools was filmed by SATV as the school chosen up the North Coast was one which was on British TV when a member of the Department of education had to swim across the river with the matric papers as the river was in flood and there was no other way to access the school. This is the cover of the book that Peter wrote and illustrated.

Now, 16 years later, Peter van Zyl writes to Felicity of umSinsi Press and Dancing Pencils as under:

July 2014

Hi Felicity,

I hope this mail finds you well.

My name is Peter Van Zyl and I was part of the Creative Writing Project that took place over 10 years ago. At the time I was a student at Austerville Primary School and wrote the book titled George The Cat.

I am now based in Johannesburg and am a father to 5 beautiful children aged between 5 and 11. I am in the process of getting married to the love of my life, Lerato, who is from Johannesburg.

I would really love to get back into writing as I believe that my life has quite a story to tell since being part of that initiative which saw me meet the likes of then Minister Of Education, Mr Kadar Asmal and being on TV for the first time in my life. I would go as far as saying that I was always intended to be a great achiever and certainly, my life has shown those signs.

I am currently in the export and import industry, dealing with Chinese manufactured goods, which is not my only point of interest and am involved in a few upcoming projects, one being media distribution i.e television and broadcasting and online marketing being my current career path.

Anyway, I do not want to bore you further with my life happenings and am sure your time is very limited to be even reading this mail.

I have a few friends who are also interested in getting their pieces and stories published and have told them about the wonderful work that you and your organisation do for schools and instilling the values of writing and education for underprivileged and needy schools as well. I myself am interested in republishing my work and perhaps even getting an adventure series out for Young George The Cat.

Up until now, I had not been able to put a name to the technique which was taught to us way back then when we first started writing. The creative flow that is opened up by the Right Brain technique still amazes me today because I use it whenever I need to be creative. I do write ups including product descriptions for products that we have on our site, www.magicinthebox.co.za and it certainly has helped me get out of very sticky situations in my customer service role on the same site and previous site www.wicount.co.za.

To be able to be republished and further published what is it that I would need to do? What would be required of me?

If i wanted to acquire a copy of my book, how could I go about doing that?

Felicity Keats Replies:

Hi Peter!

Of course I remember you and it gives me cold shivers to read your brief history of achievements! Do you mind if I put up what you have just written me in our “Success Stories” on ://www.dancingpencils.co.za?

If you look at this website you will see a few young people from the Engen project with amazing careers!

An adventure series of Young George the Cat sounds amazing! And republishing it sounds wonderful!

I can publish you but not someone who hasn’t done the right brain method … you had a lovely story!

Congratulations on all your achievements and maybe your young family will one day become young published writers! But we have to train them in right brain methods; using left brains doesn’t work!

I’m sending you a copy of your cover!

(And Peter wrote in reply: My insides are tingling with anticipation! I haven’t seen the cover in over 10 years!)

A team of five from Dancing Pencils and Umsinsi were present in Cape Town and participated in the South African Book Fair.

This team consisted of four board members (General Kikine, Bonga Zondo, Felicity Keats Morrison, and Detlev Diegel.) Also with them was Nhlanhla Nxele of the SABC radio in Durban.

This team had two new books to launch and were keen to share with visitors the magic of the Dancing Pencils right brain concept. This leads to the writing of publishable work.

UmSinsi Press, working with Dancing Pencils, is probably the only developmental publisher in the country as they help to show people their talents, and later, publish them when they are ready. They have almost 2000 titles published in 19 years, with two thirds being written by teens and pre teens.

Redirile Lenah Mashiya launches poetry

Lenah Mashiya, from the Tswana University Leroy Dancing Pencils Writing Club, flew from Joburg to Cape Town on the 14th June. She had a launch and poetry reading of her book, My Journey in Black and White,  in Literary Forum 2 at the ICC in Cape Town.

She kept the audience rivetted for half an hour as she read really deep and uplifting poetry.

Dancing Pencils Team at Cape Town

Four Dancing Pencils Literacy Development Board Members were present at the South African Book Fair in Cape Town between the 13th and 15th of June.

Detlev Diegel, wwas a great help at the stand. He introduced many people to the creative concept of Dancing Pencils Writing Clubs.

Bonga Zondo meanwhile visited many stands and also made contact with the Department of Trade as our board would like our books to be at the Frankfurt Book Fair later this year.

Two other board members of the Dancing Pencils Literacy Development Project who were present at the Cape Town Book Fair from the 13th to the 15th of June were General Sam Kikine and Felicity Keats Morrison.

General Kikine launched his first book on the 13th June and Felicity helped to man the Dancing Pencils stand!

Launch of General Sam Kikine’s book

General Sam Kikine is a survivor of the Struggle against apartheid. Our previous president Mandela urged the survivors to write down their life stories whilst still alive.

General Kikine who was in exile, faced the gallows in a high treason trial, and was tortured, has written and launched the first of a series of seven books which will record his life.

The launch took place at the ICC at the South African Book Fair.

Ms Sibongile Nzimande, Director of Arts and Culture in KwaZulu-Natal, was present to open his launch. Here General Kikine autographs a book.

Director, KZN Arts and Culture, visits book stand

Ms Sibongile Nzimande, (left) who attended the South African Book Fair in order to open the launch of General Kikine’s first book, The Past that was and the Future that will be, visited the Dancing Pencils Book stand.

Here she is with Detlev Diegel, a board member of Dancing Pencils Literacy Development Project,  Nhlanhla Nxele, radio journalist from the SABC in Durban who was at the book fair to record interesting events, and General Kikine (far right), author and also a board member of the Dancing Pencils Literacy Development Project.

On Friday 16th, Nhlanhla Nxele of the SABC interviewed three Dancing Pencils members and Felicity Keats Morrison. Mthoko Lembethe, film maker, put together a creative writing workshop last week at Reunion Secondary School at which Thembinkosi Ngcobo (left  in the photograph), a previous inmate of Westville Prison, spoke to the learners about his experience with right brain writing in the prison.

He is a published author now, with a story in the anthologies launched last year at Exclusive Books, Pavilion, and has a novel ready for launching next month hopefully at the South African Book Fair in Cape Town. He is finishing his next novel and expects to start another in English!

The learners had two hours of writing to Viivaldi. One leaner, Okhule Dlamini, wrote such a rivetting poem that she was invited for the interview on Friday, to speak about her right brain experience and to read out her poem for radio to record.

The outcome of last week’s training is that a Dancing Pencils Writing Club has started at Reunion Secondary School under the mentorship of Mrs Ramballi, the English teacher, The club expects to have an anthology ready by 30 June to meet our deadline for this years book launches in the City Hall on August 3,4 and 5th.

Author Musa Gumede with is Detlev Diegel who runs the Bat Centre’s Dancing Pencil writing workshops on Saturdays.

On Saturday the 1st of June, Musa Gumede launched his book, Tested to Testify, at St Martin de Porres School, 21 Aiken Street Port Shepstone.

Present were two South Coast newspaper representatives as well as Ugu radio and South Coast Tourism.Musa’s old headmaster Mr Ray Cele of Mdlangaswa High School was also present. He was delighted to see the fruits of his educational institution in the good work of Musa, in writing a motivational book which would be of value to many people.

Musa is intending to have this translated into isiZulu and recorded on a CD. Those present also suggested a road show for Musa and his book.

Musa said : ” Being at home with the book, reminded me all of what life used to be while I was growing up there. It brought back to me inspiration of why I even wrote a book in the first place.”

Musa Gumede launched Tested to Testify in Durban at the SABC on Sunday 7 April 2013.

Chatelaine Cullinan was at the Sustainable Living and Indigenous Plants Fair held at the Botanic Gardens in Pietermaritzburg. Her forte is Permaculture and she had her first book on Permaculture with her.

Chatelaine was delighted to participate in the Sustainable Living and Indigenous Plants Fair held in the Botanic Gardens in Pietermaritzburg. She is passionate about permaculture and, at her stand,  as her back drop, had an incredible quilt she has made that clearly shows how permaculture works with the different zones. She had with her, her umSinsi published books “Permaculture – My First Steps”.

This fair had many stands placed in the most beautiful venue of trees, glorious plants and flowers. It runs from the 25th of April to the 28th and encourages all like-minded people to examine their lives and to save the earth. It is a wonderful networking venue with organic seed savers and lots of ways to get “off the grid.”

On Thursday 600 children visited the fair with its many stalls with varying produce, books, plants, jams, organic fertilisers and much to do with kindness to the earth. There were films too and many speeches.

Chatelaine explains in her book the work of special worms which she calls “purple girls”. Indeed, Permaculture with its organic nature produces food that grows to have the best flavour and to maximum size. With food a priority, permaculture needs to be taken seriously! Congratulations to Chatelaine!