Pagine1937–1986 · Pietermaritzburg, South Africa · also known as Head
Bessie Head was born in a South African psychiatric hospital to a white mother and a Black father — a union illegal under the country’s laws — and raised by a foster family. In 1964 she left for Botswana on a one-way exit permit and lived as a refugee in the village of Serowe for fifteen years. When Rain Clouds Gather (1968), Maru (1971) and the extraordinary inner journey A Question of Power (1973) made her one of Africa’s most important writers.
Begin with When Rain Clouds Gather.
Part of our African Literature reading list — print it, email it to yourself or share it.
Olaudah Equiano · Sol Plaatje · Chinua Achebe · Wole Soyinka · Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o · Naguib Mahfouz · Mariama Bâ · Nadine Gordimer · J. M. Coetzee · Tsitsi Dangarembga · Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Bessie Head was born in a South African psychiatric hospital to a white mother and a Black father — a union illegal under the country’s laws — and raised by a foster family. In 1964 she left for Botswana on a one-way exit permit and lived as a refugee in the village of Serowe for fifteen years.
A Question of Power is usually considered Bessie Head’s best-known work, followed by When Rain Clouds Gather, Maru.
Most readers start with When Rain Clouds Gather.
Both refer to the same writer.
Bessie Head’s books are still under copyright, so they are not free to download, but many can be borrowed free from your public library or Open Library — we link to them below.