Bessie Head was a South African writer; also considered one of Botswana's most influential writers. She was born in Pietermaritzburg in 1937; child of a white woman and a Black man. (1/6)

She was placed with white foster parents but a few weeks later, when these parents realised that she was not white she was returned to the authorities who then placed her with a Coloured family. (2/6)

#AColouredTapestry

In 1958, she moved to Cape Town and found employment as a journalist with the Golden City Post. In Cape Town, she was a member of the larger Coloured population but was uncomfortable speaking Afrikaans... (3/6)

She also experienced the prejudices of some fair-skinned Coloured people who acted as if they were superior to darker-skinned people like her. (4/6)

In 1959, Bessie moved to Johannesburg. She joined the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC). In 1964, she moved with her young son to Botswana. Her death in 1986 came just at the point where she was starting to achieve greater recognition. (5/6)

Her works include When Rain Clouds Gather (1968), Maru (1971), and A Question of Power (1973). She also published a number of short stories. (6/6)