In the article below, journalist Lucille Davie sits down with the epic storyteller, Chris van Wyk. The piece was originally published on the City of Joburg's website on 4 August 2004. Chris van Wyk passed away on 3 October 2014.
Writer and poet Chris van Wyk says he loves to skinder - “I skinder more than most women.” And that skinder or gossip accounts for a large part of his success as a writer.
As a young child he listened in on his mother’s skinder with her friends, even when she chased him away to another part of their four-roomed house. These stories of Riverlea are poignantly and humorously portrayed in Shirley, Goodness and Mercy, a childhood memoir.
In the chapter entitled ‘The Mouse’ he writes: “You will not believe the kind of information you can pick up just by keeping your ears open. There are certain little tricks you have to observe to prevent yourself from being caught eavesdropping.”
Firstly, he writes, don’t behave like a mouse because “if you’re quiet they know you’re listening”. Instead, “make busy noises like drinking a glass of water, singing bits from pop songs, calling to the dog outside”. Secondly, “do something while you’re listening. Read a book or do some homework” so that you’re not just staring into space when they enter the room. Thirdly, watch out that you don’t laugh at a joke you overhear. And, “If Ma calls you, don’t answer immediately. If you do, it’s a dead...
