Reviews the context in which Head wrote in relation to her ideas about the creative imagination, the art of fiction, and the situation of the writer in modern Africa. It notes, in particular, her views on reading as a source of inspiration for the writer and her uses of local oral tradition and the blending of heterogeneous materials that she valued in her fiction. The discussion also includes references to Head's encoding of meaning, her texturing of language, and the techniques by which she develops complexity and concision in her writing. Index, bib, notes, 222pp, USA. UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE PRESS.

An acclaimed critical study of the South African writer. BNS, 240pp, USA. UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA PRESS, 0813916852

A biography of the South African born writer Bessie Head which looks at her life in South Africa and her subsequent exile in Botswana. Index, photographs, bib, 320pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS.

An edited collection of essays on the work of Bessie Head looking at When Rain Clouds Gather, Maru, Question of Power, The Cardinals, and the Collector of Treasures. Index, notes, 150pp, USA. GREENWOOD PUBLISHING GROUP, 0313315574

An anthology of essays on the dynamic life and work of Bessie Head, engaging with her political position, her influence on the canon of African literature and her importance in terms of auto/biography and exile writing. Index, notes, xiv, 222pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS, 1592210740

During her exile in Botswana, Bessie Head conducted a correspondence with the South African poet and publisher Patrick Cullinan and his wife, Wendy, that became a record of her struggle to survive her isolation, and that traces Head's discovery of her powers as a writer. The Cullinans were among her few constant sources of moral, and sometimes material, support, and in the warm exchange of letters that passed between them, a picture emerges of the period during which so many South African writers and activists faced the challenge of exile. Index, 268pp, SOUTH AFRICA. WITWATERSRAND UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Bessie Head's writing illustrates a rich fusion of styles, subjects and philosophical and literary influences. This study explores this range by drawing both on postcolonial and feminist theories and on the variety of cultural references that Head acknowledges and that her writing evokes. Focusing on Head's acute sensitivity to wide-ranging social and historical experiences, the book deals with Head's use of myths and trans-cultural fictions that convey critical knowledge about her immediate world and the historical domains beyond it. Index, bib, 317pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

Perspectives from Botswana critics and scholars, including: Barolong Seboni, Leloba Molema, Tom Holzinger and Neil Parsons. 185pp, BOTSWANA. PENTAGON PUBLISHERS.

2007 9789991243412 Paperback