Bessie Head(1)
On April 17th, Bessie (Emery) Head died of hepatitis in Botswana. She was 48 years old. Bessie was an untiring writer who captured those realities of life which often passed others by. In looking at her own life one can easily see how she could write as she did. She wrote from deep experience, using her talent and observing those around her in that way which only the rough side of life can teach one to do.
Bessie was born in a mental asylum to which her mother was committed and where her mother died. She was brought up in a mission orphanage and went on to become a teacher. Later she joined Drum and worked as a journalist. Since 1964 she was exiled in Botswana, a country she loved dearly.
In 1969 she wrote her first novel, When Rain Clouds Gather. Since then she has produced Maru (1971), A Question Of Power (1974), The Collectors of Treasures (1977), Serowe Village Of The Rainwind (1981) and A Bewitched Crossroads: An African Saga (1984). At the time of her death she was researching into the Bama Ngwato archives in Gaborone and she was also working on her autobiography...
