The Cape Town Book Fair (CTBF) offers a "soothing" antidote to World Cup soccer madness, said literature laureate Prof Wole Soyinka at the CTBF yesterday.

"After the football frenzy, it must be soothing to browse around these books, which don't talk back to you," he said with the hint of a smile, at a discussion about his new book You Must Set Forth at Dawn with his publisher, Nana Becky Ayebia Clarke. 

Authors should expect opposition from those in authority, as he had come to expect from the Nigerian government, he said in response to a question. "The written word has always scared those in power, because it represents freedom, in contrast to those whose entire philosophy revolved around power and domination.

"Part of the defence of the written word, is contestation."

His publisher said that so many books were self-published in Nigeria, that the quality of the writing, binding and printing of Nigerian books was often poor. "A good writer accepts editing. It is those who are not, who won't accept the opinion of the publisher," she said.

This point was made yesterday at a CTBF panel discussion, where a Nigerian publisher slammed the "arrogance" of Nigerian writers, who get sponsorships from friends and government officials to bring out their books, to the detriment of their quality. 

The issue of electronic media recurred throughout discussions at the CTBF. Soyinka said digital books could "enhance and complement the written word", giving young people an entry point into the world of literature.

"But there is a certain aesthetic that goes into book production - even the smell of the leather, sometimes - and I'd hate that to go away. So we must defend our turf strongly, even as we surrender to the might of the iPad."

In response to a question, Soyinka said the reason he kept on writing was "probably because I am a closet masochist. I don't see any other reason why anyone would indulge in this traumatising experience," he said to laughter.

He had vowed not to write another memoir before his latest one was published, and fled his publishers, hoping they would not track him down even through the internet. "But they persisted, and thanks to my editors, the book came out."

He started reading books in his early childhood, and started "scribbling" stories and showing them to his friends and teachers. "I never knew I had talent. I just wrote the damn thing anyway - it was a compulsion."

Books had always been "beautiful, mysterious" objects to him, probably because his father was a schoolteacher and the family home always had books, "and I think most people have a variation of the same feeling," he said.

For queries, contact:

Claudia Kaiser

Director of the Cape Town Book Fair

Email: claudia@capetownbookfair.co.za

Sadika Ahmed

Sales and Exhibitions Manager

Telephone: +27 21 418 5493

Jo-Anne Smetherham

HWB Communications

Email: jo@hwb.co.za

Telephone: 084 254 1616