Profile: Margie Orford at Cove Park

CHARGED with treason and detained as a political prisoner in a maximum security prison in South Africa, it is no surprise that Margie Orford is a keen believer in freedom of expression.

What is perhaps more surprising is that Orford, who is now known as the Queen of South African crime thriller writers, is presenting a free masterclass in creative writing at a peaceful little spot in Argyll this month.

It is just one of the free masterclasses run at Cove Park, an arts residency centre near Helensburgh.

The idea is to make art more accessible and give people living near Cove – and further afield – free access to some of the world’s most creative minds.

The Hands-On programme offers classes, workshops and public events which are open to all and which mirror the content of Cove Park’s acclaimed international residency programme across craft and design, film, literature, performing and visual arts.

Hands-On events are led by top artists, currently or formerly resident at Cove Park and everything from Saturday Art Clubs for children and young people to masterclasses for adults is included. The activities run throughout the year.

WHY IS SHE GOING?

FOR Orford it is a welcome return to Cove as she stayed there for two months in 2015 for a “wonderful” residency.

“They take one international writer a year so I was very lucky to get it,” she told the National. “It is the best place to write as it so peaceful and lovely. The communities around were so welcoming and friendly that this is my way of returning their hospitality.”

At the time of her residency, Orford was working on her sixth novel, The Last Weekend, which is due out next year.

“It is a psychological thriller featuring quite complex issues around sexual violence so to have that time to think was perfect,” she said.

In her masterclass on May 13 and 14, Orford will be looking at how writers can portray pivotal moments in people’s lives.

“It could be something wonderful like the birth of a baby or something violent and horrible. The masterclass will be about how you identify these moments, how you represent them and how you make a narrative around that.”

Orford believes writing can help people find solace and understanding about themselves and others.

“It does not matter how talented you are in terms of commercial success as writing can be quite a healing and transformative experience — and also a lot of fun.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?

WHAT worries her most at the moment – apart from the Tory rape clause – is the way women’s voices are being silenced across the world.

“Something that concerns me particularly is the vicious online trolling of women who speak out and how that plays out in the real world,” she said. “For instance in many parts of the world, women who have spoken out about issues affecting them have been murdered. There is a translation between online hatred and real live acts.”

The recent murder of the MP Jo Cox is a symptom of this, Orford believes.

“It is part of the mix of misogyny and the policing of women who have a public voice,” she said.

Orford’s rejection of censorship has led her to become a leading member of Pen which campaigns for freedom of expression. She is president of Pen South Africa, is on the board of international Pen and has, in the past, worked with Scottish Pen.

“My commitment to that has come out of my experiences in South Africa where freedom of speech was so restricted,” she explained.

WHY WAS SHE IN JAIL?

IT was as a 21-year-old student activist in South Africa that Orford was detained without trial in 1985 at the height of the struggle against apartheid. Charged with treason which carried a death penalty, she had no idea if, or when, she would be released but asked to sit her final university exams in prison.

“It was an extremely stressful situation but I was so pissed off,” she said. “I was determined that they were not going to take my life from me.”

Orford managed to achieve a BA despite the pressure and later gained an MA and won a Fulbright scholarship to the US.

She then became an award-winning journalist before turning to novels which, like her journalism, focus on sexual violence against women.

As patron of Rape Crisis South Africa she is shocked at the UK Tory government’s rape clause.

“I can’t believe that a supposedly civilised government is even contemplating having something like that,” she said.

WHAT DOES IT IMPLY?

ORFORD wonders how women would even be able to prove they had been raped in order to claim child benefit. She believes the rape clause is an indicator of the continued suspicion around women and their bodies and the decisions they make.

“It comes from that deep-seated misogyny and patriarchal view that a woman has to prove her virtue — a view that has to be struck down,” said Orford.

“There has been a lot of talk about how the austerity cuts affect women disproportionately and this seems to me such an obvious effect of that punitive and very class-infected suspicion of women.

“When I first read about it I tried to imagine the conversations these politicians had when they were preparing the legislation.

“You wonder what they were thinking. I am pro-choice but if a woman has an unplanned pregnancy the implication is that this is some kind of enforced abortion. It just seems crazy.”

In a world where child benefit is axed if you have more than two children, Orford is strongly of the opinion that it is important for people to harness their creativity.

“Using your ability to create and find your voice is very important for personal freedom,” she said. “It is very important to add your voice to the story of our time and that is what I will be trying to help people to do at Cove Park.”

For more information go to http://covepark.org/hands-on-programme.