On 6 July from 18:00, Jaco Barnard-Naudé will be in conversation with Peet Naudé at The Common Press CIC about his debut poetry collection in Afrikaans, om my kastele in Spanje te sloop (to demolish my castles in Spain), which was published by Human & Rousseau in South Africa in May 2024. Circling around themes such as queer identity, the trauma of childhood, ambivalent parental relationships, and a queer eye on (mostly) Spanish painting, the poet takes the reader on journeys with his beloveds to Madrid, London, Manhattan, Venice and Cape Town. Jaco will be reading in Afrikaans as well as from the in-progress English translations of a selection of poems. The conversation between Jaco and Peet will take place in Afrikaans and English.
Featuring
Jaco Barnard-Naudé was born in Pretoria and obtained his doctorate in the philosophy of law from the University of Pretoria in 2006. He joined the University of Cape Town in 2004 and has been Professor of Jurisprudence in the Law Faculty since 2012. He completed an MA in Creative Writing at UCT in 2011. In addition to the publication of his debut poetry collection in 2024, he has made a documentary film and has published widely academically in fields such as queer legal theory, psychoanalysis and the law, law & literature and spatial justice. His scholarly activism on sexual minority freedom contributed significantly to the legalisation of same-sex marriage in South Africa in 2006.
Peet Naude was born in South Africa where he completed his teacher training in Pretoria. After working as a teacher for eighteen months, he left for London in 2004. Over the ensuing 22 years, he qualified as a play therapist, psychotherapeutic counsellor, clinical supervisor and CBT therapist. Currently, he works in London schools as a therapist, while running a private practice based on the integration of different therapeutic techniques suited for treating psychological conditions like anxiety, depression, cultural shame, OCD, UPD and trauma. Peet also studied classical music during his higher education training and has been an amateur musician for many years, enjoying most working as a piano accompanist.