The articles, the opinions, the stories, the poems, the
thoughts, the reviews, the photos, the paintings and the cartoons Ovi
magazine covers for Saturday November 11th, 2023
Against All Odds: The Life And Times Of Bessie Head by Abigail George
When Bessie was 12, after she had completed four years of
primary school, the authorities moved her to St. Monica’s Home for
Coloured Girls, an Anglican boarding-school in Durban. At first, Bessie
tried to run away and go home. Later, she began to appreciate the wealth
of books and knowledge that the school offered. At the end of her
second year, she endured the first great trauma of her life. The
authorities abruptly told her that she was the daughter of a white
woman, not Nelly Heathcote, and that she would not be allowed to return
to her former home for the Christmas holidays. The young teenager was
devastated and withdrew into herself.
Around 1969, Head also began to suffer symptoms of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Many of Bessie Head’s works are set in Serowe, including the novels
When Rain Clouds Gather (1968), Maru (1971), and A Question of Power
(1973). The three are also autobiographical. When Rain Clouds Gather is
based on her experience living on a development farm, Maru incorporates
her experience of being considered racially inferior, and A Question of
Power draws on her understanding of what it was like to experience acute
psychological distress.
Continue reading HERE!
Remorse Code #poem by Jan Sand
“The dots and dashes fall
Like raindrops of molten lead
From the thundercloud of unforgiving memory.
The bright metal spatters of regret
Fix themselves irrevocably.
My wife died of brain cancer
Ten years ago.”
Continue reading HERE!
Tang & Ram #75 #cartoon by Thanos Kalamidas
For more Tang & Ram HERE!
For more Ovi Cartoons, HERE!
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