Posted by Swellengram

Eduan Swanepoel – the keeper of mysteries.

Posted 10 months ago
Humans of Swellendam

Written by: Chief Kagisho Molema

When I asked Eduan to do this interview with me, he paused and looked at me with that searching look of his. If you know him, you know this look. I kept my fingers crossed, hoping he would say yes. Who would not want to pry open the mind of a man who spends most of his time around books? Eduan is hesitant when answering questions, and he also crafts his words carefully. I hear that people who are profoundly knowledgeable do not divulge what they know easily because most people are not ready to hear the truth or will not be able to comprehend the complexities of life, as told by those who are well-read. My wife did try to push for a live video recording of our interview, of which Eduan totally refused. What he did agree to though, was a sound recording, just not with his face showing but rather with the books in his bookshop showing. Fair. We can call him a reasonable man.

After buying a house in Swellendam around 2005, Eduan lamented the fact that a town rich with history and heritage such as Swellendam, did not have a bookshop. At the time he was still working for corporate, and he used his Swellendam house as a holiday home. He worked for an IT company that had offices in Nairobi, Johannesburg and Cape Town. He found Swellendam to be a safe space whenever life got tough in the big cities. Around 2010, the man decided he would open a bookshop in Swellendam – this was before his early retirement. He started buying book collections until he eventually retired in 2017. In the middle of 2018, he opened the bookshop at the Carlton Mall in Swellendam CBD. He shared the shop with a lady who sold art and décor stuff. Then the big COVID hit, and the lady closed down and left the bookman with the shop all to himself.

By a fortunate turn of events, he could not get hold of his landlord who was stuck overseas. Eduan kept operating, until one day the landlord returned from New Zealand. He was able to negotiate with the landlord after proving that he depends on feet from outside of Swellendam. That is how the only bookstore in Swellendam survived the lock-down.

Post-COVID, he started doing art exhibitions and book launches. He would give first preference to local authors. Now, the events at Bokmakiri Books attract bigger names as well. It is both exciting and liberating for authors to have such a space. I, too, launched my book We Are World Creators at Bokmakiri and the community came out in numbers to attend and purchase the book. My book is still sold there, do grab a copy when you visit Eduan. Bokmakiri has since moved to 5 Swellengrebel Street and has gained more visibility being on the golden mile of Swellendam.

You could not open a bookstore if you are not a reader. His mom is the one who cultivated his love for books. He fondly remembers all the trips they would take to the library before he was even at school. His dad was a great storyteller and that made him love stories too. Even though he loves to read, he finds that trying to read at the bookstore is the worst idea ever because customers are always coming in and out and there is always administrative stuff that need your attention. He does not particularly enjoy that aspect of his work, but it must be done. “When you own a bookshop, you can’t just fill it up with the books you love” cautions Eduan. “You must put your own reading taste in the background” he says. Looking at me again with that searching look.

This journey has helped him fill-in his own knowledge gaps about non-fiction. He had superficial knowledge about many subjects. Overtime, he has found out who the key authors in different fields are. Whenever a customer walks in the bookshop and orders a book that Bokmakiri does not have, the search and discovery of such a book opens him up to an entirely new world of knowledge. That is one of the things that he enjoys about book dealing.

Sometimes people ask him, why do you keep books on such a thing as apartheid and the political struggle of Africa? So that we don’t repeat the past, he answers. He also keeps work about Nazism. Many people read about Apartheid and Nazism so that they can educate themselves on the psychology behind such brutal systems. He finds that to be quite positive, when people do that. For him it means that this country is moving in the right direction when people want to understand the past. Certain books connect people with their loved ones from the past. Someone might want to read about the Anglo Boer war because their grandfather was in that war. He has an excellent collection on the history of Swellendam and the Cape, also on the flora and fauna of the region. Bokmakiri is well curated because the owner spends enough time on auction sites looking for rare books.

I ask him if, as a bookshop owner, does he ever get worried about the future of books? Although many people are reading on kindle and other e-book platforms, he finds that hard copies will always be a preference. Devices are not always reliable. If you are bird watching in the forest, its safer to have a book with you than to be looking at the birds in your phone where you might lose reception. Eduan answers confidently, asserting that there is still a future for books. I am surprised that the romance section of the shop is not the best performing, especially with all the lovely tannies in Swellendam. History, art, architecture and nature are the sections that perform most well. How sophisticated….

The hardest part of running a business in Swellendam is long and slow winters. Business starts picking up beginning of October. He advises young people to grow their businesses organically overtime. He warns against business loans often being the death of young businesses. He reiterates that you must know the customer and put your own tastes in the back.

The one book that has impacted Eduan’s life is a book by Alan Paton called Hofmeyer. The book focuses on the life of Jan Hofmeyer who had a masters degree at age sixteen and became vice chancellor of Wits University at age 23. At age 28, he was an administrator with the Transvaal government. He was also on Jan Smuts’ war cabinet and was basically running the country when Jan smuts was away in London. He says we still have brilliant people like Jan Hofmeyer, and we must just look for them. Hofmeyer died young, which was such a juxtapose to his intelligence and excellence. As Eduan says this, I feel the sad emotions in his words. The book helped him to understand the history of South Africa. He realised that the mystery in history is not about chronology and dates, but about the causal link between things. Because X happened, therefore Y is happening. This has been his great discovery from books.
People read to escape reality, to relax, glean information and analyse. Through books and art, you are able to see the humanity of others. Eduan is a multiple book reader. He is currently enjoying, amongst many, an Afrikaans novel called Die Onsigbare by Pjo Jonker.

We could carry this conversation about books to infinity and in closing I ask him what are the plans for Bokmakiri? He does not give me a clear answer. Eduan is a masterclass in patience and conscientious effort, but he does not believe in overdoing things. Thank you, Eduan, for bringing the magic contained in books to Swellendam. The impact thereof is imperceptible, but trust and believe that it is felt. For your legacy and special contribution to the beauty of Swellendam and revealing certain mysteries, we can only say thank you.