Nostalgia: The fair itself carried that familiar warmth, such as readers walking slowly between stalls. Photos: Supplied
The 14th annual Kingsmead Book Fair, in association with Standard Bank, took place this past weekend but I have not stopped thinking about one particular conversation that happened there.
Not inside one of the packed discussion rooms where writers and thinkers dissected politics, memory and literature. Not during one of the polished panel talks either.
It happened quietly on a bench, away from the crowds, between me, a friend and one of the school cleaners who had been watching the fair evolve for years.
The fair carried that familiar warmth. Tables stacked with books. Readers walking slowly between stalls. The smell of paper and coffee. Writers signing books while strangers debated ideas in corners.
