Meet Deryn van der Tang
- Deryn van der Tang
- Jun 30
- 4 min read
1.What inspired you to write The Singer and the Story?
I am passionate about preserving our family history for the coming generations. Letters and stories told, those written down, will be lost if they are not digitised and preserved. It is only as you get older, you realise the value of those things. It is also a reminder that it was through their struggles and perseverance that we are here today. We always stand on the shoulders of the previous generations.
2. Can you tell us a bit about your grandmother and her role in shaping this book?
My grandmother was the most creative person I know; she shaped the way I think about wastage! There was nothing wasted in her household. Tomato seeds would be scraped onto bits of newspaper and dried, to be planted later. Old tin cans would be for planting seedlings or to propagate cuttings. Old towels and clothes cut up and recycled into potholders. I had a faded Xerox copy of her memoir, which she wrote after her golden wedding anniversary. She was not a writer, so my grandfather wrote down her thoughts, with his quirky manner of writing, which I also wanted to preserve. I transcribed it and then added my notes, with a map to help people understand the context, time, and place in history that she lived.
3. How do the sewing projects featured in the book connect with the family stories she shared?
As a young girl she had been ill and sent to stay with her mother in East London, where she took a course in millinery. She was very adept at using any material. During the Great Depression she would use maize husks to plait and sew together to make hats. She was able to sell these and keep the family in food and clothing. She made these for her children and grandchildren too. She also helped raise funds for the Children’s Home, making dolls’ clothes and other useful articles from scraps of material. She could look at a piece of material and imagine it into something.
4. Did you discover any surprising or emotional stories while gathering material for this book?
I realised how much my grandmother had meant to me as a child, her sweet gracious ways, and invitation to watch her as she created. She gave me advice that I have never forgotten. She taught me original art journaling — we made a book with ironed-out sugar packets, with flour and water glue. She told me that whenever I saw a good idea or a picture I wanted to draw, to cut it out and stick it in my book! The surprising thing I learned was she was handier at fixing her sewing machine and other things than my grandfather was!
5. What was the most challenging part of writing The Singer and the Story?
I found it challenging trying to read and decipher the faded old Xerox copy of the original story and keeping it true to what was written.
6. How did working on this book deepen your appreciation for your grandmother’s craft and legacy?
My Grandmother’s creative legacy has passed down through the family. Her way of looking at everything’s usefulness has made for being less wasteful with resources, using what is available, and in general, her survival skills have been ingrained into me.
7. Do you have a favourite story or sewing project from the book that stands out to you?
One sewing project she undertook was for the 9th World Scout Jamboree, held in England in August 1957. My Grandmother sewed the most beautiful quilt with all the Rhodesian Scouting and local symbols for my aunt to take with her as a gift to the Jamboree. My aunt was the Arkela for the local Scout Group she was accompanying overseas to attend the Jamboree.
8. What do you hope readers take away from your book?
The main thing I would like readers to take away from this book, is that money or lack of money does not define you. It is the gifts God has given you and the character to use them for the good of your family and community.
9. How did you approach blending personal family history with a broader, relatable narrative?
We all live in a specific period of history. I find it fascinating to ground the family stories in the history of that period, as a lot of what happened was related to the events that took place at that time. They must also be interpreted through the lens of that period and not through current thinking or events.
10. Do you have any advice for others who want to document their family’s stories?
Be a note taker, listen to family stories and write them down. Take an interest in what people experience, and most of all relate it to the social history of the period in which they lived. Visit museums, libraries, and other places where you can find out more about that period. I think it is going to be more difficult for modern people, unless they keep their texting and email messages. People in previous generations wrote letters that their families have kept, which gives further credence to their stories.
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