A Bewitched Crossroad: An African Saga – Head, Bessie

89.08

In A Bewitched Crossroad, Bessie Head combines the concerns of the historian with those of the novelist
and fits a comprehensive account of social and political events in Southern Africa, in the nineteenth
century into an artistically devised narrative. Despite her concern with social issues and with the
communal destiny, Head displays the novelist’s interest both as a historical document and as a literary experiment
Bessie Emery Head (6 July 1937 – 17 April 1986), though born in South Africa, is usually considered Botswana’s most influential writer.
Bessie Emery Head was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, the child of a wealthy white South African woman and a black servant when interracial relationships were illegal in South Africa. It was claimed that her mother was mentally ill so that she could be sent to a quiet location to give birth to Bessie without the neighbours knowing. However, the exact circumstances are disputed, and some of Bessie Head’s comments, though often quoted as straight autobiography, are in fact from fictionalized settings.
In the 1950s and ’60s she was a teacher, then a journalist for the South African magazine Drum. In 1964 she moved to Botswana (then still the Bechuanaland Protectorate) as a refugee, having been peripherally involved with Pan-African politics. It would take 15 years for Head to obtain Botswana citizenship. Head settled in Serowe, the largest of Botswana’s “villages” (i.e. traditional settlements as opposed to settler towns). Serowe was famous both for its historical importance, as capital of the Bamangwato people, and for the experimental Swaneng school of Patrick van Rensburg. The deposed chief of the Bamangwato, Seretse Khama, was soon to become the first President of independent Botswana.
Her early death in 1986 (aged 48) from hepatitis came just at the point where she was starting to achieve recognition as a writer and was no longer so desperately poor.
(from Wikipedia)
Hardcover. Condition: Mint. Dust Jacket Condition: Mint First Edition. 198 Pages. The jacket is Internally, there are no markings or inscriptions, the pages are clean and complete, and free from any inscriptions. Tightly bound looks like it just came off the press a beautiful copy and a rare find, in close to mint condition

INCLUDES SHIPPING TO THE UNITED STATES

Out of stock

SKU: 0868520713 Category: Title: A Bewitched Crossroad: An African Saga
Author: Head, Bessie
Publisher: Ad. Donker
Year: 1984
ISBN13: 0868520713
Condition: Fine
Format: Hardcover
Inventory No: 1545

Description

In A Bewitched Crossroad, Bessie Head combines the concerns of the historian with those of the novelist
and fits a comprehensive account of social and political events in Southern Africa, in the nineteenth
century into an artistically devised narrative. Despite her concern with social issues and with the
communal destiny, Head displays the novelist’s interest both as a historical document and as a literary experiment
Bessie Emery Head (6 July 1937 – 17 April 1986), though born in South Africa, is usually considered Botswana’s most influential writer.
Bessie Emery Head was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, the child of a wealthy white South African woman and a black servant when interracial relationships were illegal in South Africa. It was claimed that her mother was mentally ill so that she could be sent to a quiet location to give birth to Bessie without the neighbours knowing. However, the exact circumstances are disputed, and some of Bessie Head’s comments, though often quoted as straight autobiography, are in fact from fictionalized settings.
In the 1950s and ’60s she was a teacher, then a journalist for the South African magazine Drum. In 1964 she moved to Botswana (then still the Bechuanaland Protectorate) as a refugee, having been peripherally involved with Pan-African politics. It would take 15 years for Head to obtain Botswana citizenship. Head settled in Serowe, the largest of Botswana’s “villages” (i.e. traditional settlements as opposed to settler towns). Serowe was famous both for its historical importance, as capital of the Bamangwato people, and for the experimental Swaneng school of Patrick van Rensburg. The deposed chief of the Bamangwato, Seretse Khama, was soon to become the first President of independent Botswana.
Her early death in 1986 (aged 48) from hepatitis came just at the point where she was starting to achieve recognition as a writer and was no longer so desperately poor.
(from Wikipedia)
Hardcover. Condition: Mint. Dust Jacket Condition: Mint First Edition. 198 Pages. The jacket is Internally, there are no markings or inscriptions, the pages are clean and complete, and free from any inscriptions. Tightly bound looks like it just came off the press a beautiful copy and a rare find, in close to mint condition

INCLUDES SHIPPING TO THE UNITED STATES

Additional information

Weight 0.55 kg
Dimensions 15 × 22.5 × 2.5 cm

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