Coronationville elderly becomes at an author advanced age
Cyril Turton encourages others to write their stories by taking the lead and publishing his very first book for children.
Cyril Turton (65) from Coronationville published his first book titled Cyril Learns To Read.This achievement comes after ten years of running his Non-Profit Organisation Readers R Leaders (RRL) in Westbury and surrounding areas.
ALSO READ: Diepkloof author used lockdown to write and publish a book for teens
RRL is focused on eliminating the negative perceptions of the area by improving English reading, operating book clubs, assisting school libraries, hosting motivational talks and promoting a culture of reading in general.
Turton shared that he was encouraged to write his book now because of an RRL programme called We Write What Like that encourages primary school learners to write stories.
“These primary school learners inspired me and I in turn am inspiring them to write by publishing this book at the age of 65,” he said.
The book is targeted at primary school learners and every child who is battling to read.
The story is based on Turton’s childhood and his determination to learn to read. Turton took a month to complete the book.
“The late Chris van Wyk also said to aspiring writers ‘write about what you know’, and so I listened to him,” he added.
When it comes to lessons that were learnt during the writing process, Turton explained that he learnt that sometimes you just have to start and stop thinking about it.
He learnt to ask for help from experienced authors and that the more you write, the better you become regardless of your age.
ALSO READ: Emndeni teen author launched first book titled ‘The Belly Button’
Daryl-Anne Leveton did the illustrations in the book. We asked Turton why he decided to go with her and he said:
“Daryl did a detailed interview with me. She went away and did her research on Corrie.
“On presenting this to me after her research I was impressed.
“She is experienced and patient. I learnt a lot from her.
“The art was developed from a real-life situation of what Corrie looked like when I grew up.
“I wanted people to identify with the book and not get some imported story from overseas.
“I hope that this will encourage parents to write about their life experiences. The art was the best representation of real people and a real township, Corrie.”
Turton had to face his fears and drew on the belief that all people have potential including himself.
Months later, he is an author who motivates others to tell their stories.
You can follow Cyril Turton and Readers R Leaders.
Follow Us Here:
Catch the latest news by visiting our other platforms:
