In this episode, Noah from Arts4Refugees talked with Isabell( Izzy) - a student journalist with us. This placement was organised by Oxford University Career Services. Izzy is studying English literature. She researched Bessie Head.
Bessie Head is a famous author and she grew up in apartheid South Africa. She was working in South Africa as a journalist and got involved in political protests. She had to leave and move to Botswana where she started her writing career in the 1960s. She did not have a good sense of belonging before being displaced and after but finds herself through her writing. “The collection of treasures” was a story collection by Head that was the first story collection published by a black South African woman.
You can listen to the full conversation here.
Key Points:
Izzy is a second year studying English literature
Bessie Head grew up in foster care in a foster family
Head had schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
She was still ostracized in Botswana due to her mental health issues
She was posthumously awarded the South African Order of Ikhamanga in Gold for her "exceptional contribution to literature and the struggle for social change, freedom and peace in 2003.
If you would like to learn more about Bessie- there is a short story by Izzy here.
