Head, Bessie (1937-1986), was a South African writer. Her novels reflect the struggle of Black women in South Africa and her sense of alienation in Botswana, where she lived in exile from 1963.
Head’s first novel was When Rain Clouds Gather (1969). It portrays an ideal rural village community in which the ordinary person matters and describes how the village survives economic hardship. In Maru (1971), a young teacher faces problems related to social class and identity among Black Africans in Botswana. A Question of Power (1973) is largely autobiographical and tells the story of a young woman who faces racism and sexism in Botswana and experiences a mental breakdown. Head’s other works include the story collection The Collector of Treasures (1977) and the social histories Serowe: Village of the Rain Wind (1981) and A Bewitched Crossroads: An African Saga (1984). Additional stories and essays were collected in Tales of Tenderness and Power (1989) and A Woman Alone (1990).
Bessie Amelia Emery was born on July 6, 1937, in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, of mixed parentage. She married Harold Head, a South African journalist, in 1961. She worked as a teacher and a journalist before becoming a writer. She died on April 17, 1986.
