Who is Brent Meersman?

In his article "Rethinking the National Arts Festival," Brent Meersman describes the various difficulties that South Africa's renowned National Arts Festival has in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. If financial sustainability and contemporaneity have any real value at all, reinvent or fade away into oblivion, is the essence of his argument. Meersman argues that expanding money streams through alternatives like private donations or corporate sponsorships is an option since diminishing state support provides a substantial hurdle limiting achievement.

But it shouldn't end there; Meersman stresses the importance of focusing on inspiring upcoming artists rather than just established ones through rebranding and strategic positioning choices. Marginalized social groups have been systematically excluded from participating fully within these spaces for a variety of reasons due to historical inequalities. According to Meersman’s insightful article, the National Arts Festival has to change its approach. Through the use of effective digital technology deployment and modern funding techniques with inclusive features, we can continue to promote South African creativity through this significant event (Meersman, 2015).

The phrase "confused but content" refers to being perplexed by what is going on around oneself yet remaining content with one's life, no matter what challenges one may be facing. Through his literary work of the same name, Brent Meersman critically examines this phenomenon to understand how we deal with difficult circumstances by finding comfort within despite the mysteries of life giving us cause for concern.

He calls for the necessity for fortitude paired with flexibility and enthusiasm to acquire enlightenment rather than just looking for clear solutions in today's dynamic environment where change derives from unpredictability and ambiguity continuously persists. In general, Meersman's ideology encourages persistence to succeed in uncertain times (Meersman, 2012).

The article "Bitten by the food bug" by Brent Meersman offers a fascinating viewpoint that examines nutrition as a societal phenomenon. This work traces changes that have occurred over time to current dietary habits that are in no small part influenced by globalization. It pays particular attention to various aspects such as the prevailing culinary culture, scientific practices surrounding cookery, and pertinent ethical concerns during production processes.

Meersman skilfully interacts with readers in an intriguing analysis of social issues by going further into concerns like waste and insecurity that are thought to jeopardize access to proper nourishment (Meersman, 2013).

Brent Meersman, credit to Cape Town press club

South African author, journalist, and political critic Brent Meersman. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1967. In the year 1970, and has been involved in the country's media scene since the early 1990s ( Sunday Times Books LIVE, n.d).

Meersman began his media career in Cape Town as a correspondent for The Cape Times. Later, he worked for the newspaper as a political correspondent and news editor.

The Sunday Times, Mail & Guardian, and The Big Issue South Africa are just a few of the magazines for which Meersman has written extensively. Along with writing other books, he is the author of "Primary Coloured" (2011), "Five Lives at Noon" (2013), and "Rattling the Cage: Reflections on Democratic South Africa" (2016). Meersman frequently examines racial, political, and identity-related issues in South Africa in his literature.

Meersman has taken part in several advocacy projects and political campaigns in addition to writing. In the 1990s, he was a member of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League. Since then, he has been active in several South African social justice initiatives.

Meersman currently contributes a piece to The Daily Maverick where he writes on politics and society in South Africa. He frequently contributes to Sunday Independent and Business Day, among other South African periodicals.

What is Review writing?

When evaluating any product or service through review writing an evaluation style that involves critiquing or assessing its overall performance is necessary. Feedback given serves as an essential point for better decision-making concerning these products by prospective customers since they provide honest insights into their features' flaws and exceptional qualities- also giving room for purchasing options across numerous market records.

Summary when preparing reviews require detailing aspects based on whether strong points exist alongside weak spots backed up by diverse examples with proper sentence construction to communicate effectively to users reading your review content articles irrespective of language proficiency (Writing Center, n.d).

A successful review should be well-written, objective, and instructive. A good review should provide the reader with a clear understanding of the nature of the reviewed product or service and if it lived up to their expectations.

A good review should give the reader background information about the product or service being reviewed, such as its intended use, target audience, and any possible expectations one would have before using it. A good review will include all of the crucial details and characteristics of the item or service being discussed.

A good review should be truthful and fair, noting both the advantages and disadvantages of the good or service being reviewed.

A good review will give specific instances to support its arguments, such as how the product or service was used and the results. A good review should be written in language that is easy to understand, straightforward, and brief (AUTHOR SERVICES, n,d).

On the other side, a poor review may be prejudiced, vague, or uninformative.

A negative review can be missing crucial details that readers need to know to make an informed choice regarding the good or service. A negative review might be prejudiced if the author has personal biases or other agendas.

A terrible review could be written incorrectly, with grammatical and spelling problems, or it might use ambiguous or challenging-to-understand terminology. Readers may find it challenging to grasp the reviewer's experience or the attributes of the product when there is a lack of precision and depth in the review.

References

Sunday Times Books LIVE, n.d. About Brent Meersman. [Online] Available at: http://brentmeersman.bookslive.co.za/about/ [Accessed 1 May 2023].

AUTHOR SERVICES, n,d. What is a review article? [Online] Available at: https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/publishing-your-research/writing-your-paper/how-to-write-review-article/ [Accessed 1 May 2023].

Meersman, B., 2012. Confused but content. [Online] Available at: https://mg.co.za/article/2012-11-16-confused-but-content/ [Accessed 1 May 2023].

Meersman, B., 2013. Bitten by the food bug. [Online] Available at: https://mg.co.za/article/2013-09-20-00-bitten-by-the-food-bug/ [Accessed 1 May 2023].

Meersman, B., 2015. Rethinking the National Arts Festival. [Online] Available at: https://thisisafrica.me/arts-and-culture/rethinking-the-national-arts-festival/ [Accessed 1 May 2023].

Writing Center, n.d. Book Reviews. [Online] Available at: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/book-reviews/ [Accessed 1 May 2023].