Bessie Head

Life, Writings and Resources...

If you want to learn more about Bessie Head then you have come to the right page. Here i am going to share with you the following about Bessie...

1. Her Life
2. Her books
3. ...and a really cool website dedicated to her (its the best i have seen)

Her Life

Bessie was born July 6 1937 in Pietermaritzburg , South Africa.

She started her teaching career in 1956 at a primary school in Durban. In 1958 she left Durban for Cape town where she was hired as a reporter at the Golden City Post at the tender age of 21.

In 1961 she got married to Harold Head and in 1962 her son Howard Head was born.

Bessie in Botswana

She left South Africa forever with her son and moved to Serowe in March 1964 after accepting a teaching job.

She taught at the Tshekedi Memorial School from 1964 to 1965.

During her stay Botswana she also lived in Francistown(1967 - 1968), Gaborone ( 1980)...

She was granted Botswana citizenship in 1979...

She died in 1986 in Serowe at the Sekgoma Memorial Hospital.

For a more detailed biography please visit this link(opens in new window) : Detailed Biography of Bessie....

• When Rain Clouds Gather (1968)
• Maru (1971)
• A Question of Power (1974)
• Looking for a Rain God (1977)
• The Collector of Treasures and Other Botswana Village Tales (1977)
• Serowe: Village of the Rain Wind (1981)
• A Bewitched Crossroad (1984)
• A Woman Alone: Autobiographical Writings (1990)
• A Gesture of Belonging: Letters from Bessie Head, 1965-1979 (1991)
• The Cardinals (1993)

Best Bessie Resource

Below is a really cool website about Bessie. All the information you could ever need is found on the website.

Here is the link (opens in new window): www.bessiehead.org

Return From Bessie Head to the Serowe page

Return to the Safaris in Botswana home page