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Woman Alone, A
Bessie Head

ISBN-10: 0435906038
ISBN-13: 9780435906030

Publisher: Longman
Copyright: 2007
Format: Paper; 137 pp
Published: 08/03/2008

Suggested retail price: $13.95
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Intense personal experiences of South Africa’s brutal social system, a sense of stifled creativity and a distaste for politics made Bessie Head leave for Botswana on an exit permit at the age of 27. There, in her chosen rural ‘haven’ of Serowe, and despite a severe mental breakdown, she wrote the novels and stories that earned her international recognition as one of Africa’s most remarkabble and individual writers.

 

A Woman Alone  is a collections of autobiographical writings, sketches, and essays which covers the entire span of Bessie Head’s creative life, up to her death in 1986 at age 49. It reveals a woman of great sensitivity and vitality, inspired through her knowledge of suffering in a ‘reverence for ordinary people’ and finding some healing for her own anguish in a quiet corner of Africa.

Born in South Africa, Bessie Head, had a traumatic life and she drew heavily upon her experiences for her novels. Her first novel, When Rain Clouds Gather grew out of her experience as a refugee, and was followed by Maru and A Question of Power (1973). In 1977 she published The Collector of Treasures, a book of short stories exploring the position of women in Africa.


Bessie Head died in Serowe, Botswana in 1986, aged only 49.

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This title is a member of the AWS African Writers Series, which also contains the titles below . You can also visit the AWS African Writers Series page.

    This anthology of  twenty different writers, with an interesting blend of well known and newer, lesser known writers, represent all over Africa. They stories have been grouped geographically into four different sections: West, East, North and Southern Africa. It is a wonderful a pleasure to read.

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    • A sequence of Botswana village tales about subjects such as the breakdown of family life and the position of women in this society told with unique skill. Drawing on the rich oral tradition of Southern Africa, Bessie Head uses the language and imagery of the story-telling tradition. The collection is carefully sequenced, focusing on village people from Botswana, and the status and position of women in Africa.

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    • African women are seldom given the space to express their concerns, their ideas and their reflections about the societies in which they live. In situations where a good woman is expected to remain silent, literature can provide an important medium for the expression of deeply-felt and sometimes shocking views.

     

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    • Intense personal experiences of South Africa’s brutal social system, a sense of stifled creativity and a distaste for politics made Bessie Head leave for Botswana on an exit permit at the age of 27. There, in her chosen rural ‘haven’ of Serowe, and despite a severe mental breakdown, she wrote the novels and stories that earned her international recognition as one of Africa’s most remarkabble and individual writers.

     

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Pearson Higher Education offers special pricing when you choose to package your text with other student resources. If you're interested in creating a cost-saving package for your students, browse our available packages below, or contact your Pearson Higher Education representative to create your own package.



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