Bessie Amelia Emery Head (6 July 1937 – 17 April 1986) was a South African writer who, even though she was born in South Africa, is often seen as Botswana's most important writer. She wrote novels, short stories, and books about her own life that include spiritual questions and thoughts. Some of her well-known books are When Rain Clouds Gather (1968), Maru (1971), and A Question of Power (1973).
Biography
Bessie Amelia Emery was born in Pietermaritzburg, Union of South Africa, to a white mother and a Black father during a time when mixing of races was not allowed by law. Her mother, Fiona Emery, from the wealthy South African Birch family, had been in mental hospitals for several years after the death of her first child, a boy named Gerald Emery, who lived only eight weeks. Fiona gave birth to Bessie while staying in a large mental hospital in Pietermaritzburg. Although she was not allowed to keep the child, she gave the daughter her own name. Bessie’s father is unknown.
As an infant, Bessie was first placed with white foster parents who believed she was white. After a few weeks, the parents discovered she was mixed-race and returned her to the authorities. She was then placed with a mixed-race family, the Heathcotes, in a poor non-white area of Pietermaritzburg. She grew up with her strict foster mother, Nelly Heathcote, and attended the local Catholic Church and primary school. She never realized she was not a Heathcote. She had a nearly normal childhood for her time and place, except that her foster mother disliked her love of books.
When Bessie was 12, after completing four years of primary school, the authorities moved her to St. Monica’s Home for Colored Girls, an Anglican boarding school in Durban. At first, she tried to run away to return home. Later, she began to enjoy the books and knowledge available at the school. At the end of her second year, she faced a major challenge when the authorities told her she was the daughter of a white woman, not Nelly Heathcote, and that she could not return home for Christmas. The teenager was deeply upset and withdrew from others.
In 1953, Bessie passed her Junior Certificate examination. She then completed a two-year Teacher Training Certificate at a nearby college while living at St. Monica’s. In 1956, the court declared her an adult, and she received a provisional teaching certificate. She began working as a teacher in a colored primary school in Durban. During this time, she formed close friendships with white staff at St. Monica’s and members of the Indian community. Her interest in non-Christian religions, especially Hinduism, grew.
She had limited contact with the Black African majority in Natal, who were mostly Zulu. In mid-1958, tired of her routine and wanting more, Bessie resigned her job. She had a 21st birthday party with friends and then traveled by train to Cape Town, where she hoped to become a journalist.
At the time, South Africa’s non-white population was growing restless under apartheid laws. Newspapers like Drum and Golden City Post catered to their interests. Bessie sought work at Golden City Post, writing stories and small tasks for new journalists. She used her real name, Bessie Amelia Emery.
Cape Town was more diverse and sophisticated than Durban, and it was the political capital of South Africa, home to Parliament. In Pietermaritzburg and Durban, Bessie had been part of a small English-speaking Colored group. In Cape Town, she became part of the largest local group, the Colored community, which spoke Afrikaans. Though she struggled with the language, she learned to manage. She found it harder to accept divisions within the community based on skin tone and wealth. She avoided the elite and associated with workers in District Six, a large Colored community near Table Mountain. She quickly adapted to city life and became more aware of South Africa’s conflicts.
In 1959, Bessie moved to Johannesburg to work for Home Post, another Drum publication. She wrote her own column and earned a steady salary. She met writers like Lewis Nkosi, Can Themba, and Dennis Brutus, and explored her own writing. She also read Black nationalist political writings, especially those of Pan-Africanists George Padmore and Robert Sobukwe. One of Padmore’s books deeply influenced her. She met Sobukwe, who made a strong impression on her, and developed an interest in jazz, including a crush on Abdullah Ibrahim, then known as Dollar Brand.
In early 1960, Bessie joined Sobukwe’s Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) weeks before the PAC led a protest in Soweto and Sharpeville. The Sharpeville massacre followed, leading to major political and social changes. Black political groups were banned, and thousands were arrested. Bessie briefly supported PAC prisoners before being arrested in a betrayal among PAC sympathizers. Though charges were dismissed, she fell into deep depression and attempted suicide. After hospitalization, she returned to Cape Town, feeling broken and disillusioned with politics. Around 1969, she began showing symptoms of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
After a year of staying out of public life, Bessie reconnected with Cape Town’s intellectual and political circles, including members of the Liberal Party and PAC activists. She started smoking and drinking. In July 1961, she met Harold Head, a Colored man from Pretoria with similar interests. They married six weeks later, and their son, Howard Rex Head, was born in 1962. Howard had a slight fetal alcohol disorder, which affected him lifelong.
Both Harold and Bessie wrote for The New African, a monthly magazine in Cape Town. Bessie also wrote a dramatic novella, The Cardinals, which remained unpublished for 30 years. Their marriage struggled, and Howard was a difficult child. In 1963, Bessie left Cape Town to live with her mother-in-law near Pretoria, taking Howard with her. When that relationship failed, she applied for a teaching job in Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) and was accepted. A friend helped her obtain a one-way exit permit. In March 1964, she and Howard traveled north by train. Bessie never returned to South Africa.
In 1964, Bessie moved to Botswana (then Bechuanaland Protectorate) seeking asylum, having been involved with Pan-African politics. It took 15 years for her to gain Botswanan citizenship. She settled in Serowe, the largest town in Botswana.
Writing
Bessie Head wrote several books set in Serowe, Botswana. These include the novels When Rain Clouds Gather (1968), Maru (1971), and A Question of Power (1973). These books are also based on her own life experiences. When Rain Clouds Gather describes her time living on a development farm, Maru reflects her experience of being treated unfairly because of her race, and A Question of Power shows her understanding of severe mental health challenges.
She also wrote short stories, including the collection The Collector of Treasures (1977). She wrote a book about the history of Serowe, called Serowe: Village of the Rainwind. Her final novel, A Bewitched Crossroad (1984), is a historical story set in 19th-century Botswana. She also wrote a story about two prophets, one rich and one poor, titled "Jacob: The Faith-Healing Priest." Her work appears in the 1992 book Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.
Her writing often focused on the lives of everyday people and their connection to larger political events in Africa. Religious themes were common in her work, such as in A Question of Power. She was raised as a Christian but later learned about Hinduism through the Indian community in South Africa.
Most of her writing happened while she was living in Botswana in exile, after leaving South Africa in 1964. An exception is the novel The Cardinals, which was published after her death in 1993 and is set in South Africa.
In some ways, Head felt like an outsider in Botswana, and she had mixed feelings about the country. She struggled with mental illness and had a serious mental health crisis in 1969, which led to a period of hospitalization in Lobatse Mental Hospital. A Question of Power, which she called "almost autobiographical," was written after this event.
Her work was greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi. She said she had never been moved as deeply by any writing as by Gandhi’s political ideas. She admired how clearly he explained political issues and believed that Gandhi’s writings were so powerful that he seemed "like God as a man."
Honours and awards
In 1977, Head joined the University of Iowa's International Writing Program, which invites a special group of writers from around the world.
In 2003, she was given an award after her death called the South African Order of Ikhamanga in Gold for her "exceptional contribution to literature and the struggle for social change, freedom and peace." The Werda School in Durban, South Africa, which was called the St. Monica's Diocesan School for Girls when Head attended it, has a memorial wall honoring her.
Legacy
In 2007, the Bessie Head Heritage Trust and the Bessie Head Literature Awards were created. On July 12, 2007, the main Msunduzi Municipal Library in Pietermaritzburg was renamed the Bessie Head Library to honor her. The Bessie Head Papers are kept at the Khama III Memorial Museum in Serowe.