Birth place: Pietermaritzburg, KZN
Born: 6 July 1937
Died: 17 April 1986
“If one is happy and cracked it's much better than being unhappy and sane.” – Bessie Head
Writer and social historian Bessie Head had the tragic misfortune of being born in Mzansi while white oppression and racism ruled the country. Her mum was a wealthy white woman, and her dad a black labourer. As soon as her mum’s parents found out, they chased her away. She gave birth to Bessie Birch (her maiden name) in a mental hospital.
Her mum committed suicide soon after and Head was then given away to foster parents. They apparently also rejected her because she was too black. She was raised in an orphanage.
Head qualified as a teacher in 1957 and taught in Durban for a year. She worked as a journalist at the Golden City Post and Drum magazine from 1958 to 1960. At the same time she became politicised, joining the PAC.
After marrying Harold Head in 1961 (they later divorced), Head moved to Botswana in 1964. She lived there as a refugee until 1979 when she was granted citizenship. She worked as a lecturer and wrote her books and short stories. Her novels include A Question of Power (1973) and Maru (1971). She published a collection of stories, The Collector of Treasures (1977).
Head died of a liver disease in Botswana at the age of 48.
In 2003 she was awarded the South African Order of Ikhamanga in Gold for her "exceptional contribution to literature and the struggle for social change, freedom and peace.
