Notes on a lost novel

Abstract

On 17 November 2014, the Bessie Head Heritage Trust, located in Botswana in southern Africa, received an email from Antonie Chibesakunda. Chibesakunda was a German woman who, when she was younger, had spent time in southern Africa. She was now living in Munich, Germany, where she had met and befriended Cordelia Guenther. Guenther had also spent time in Cape Town, South Africa and met Bessie Emery, later Bessie Head, while she was there. Chibesakunda, in the course of cleaning out Guenther’s house after Guenther was moved to a care facility, found some documents that she thought the Trust would be interested in. These documents consisted of a very short correspondence between Head and Guenther; a pencil sketch of Head drawn by Guenther; some unpublished poems by Head; two letters in German from Guenther, one to her mother and one to a friend, describing Head and the first time Guenther met her; a copy of a scholarship application letter that Head had written; and a copy of a call for contributions to the first issue of Head’s newsletter The Citizen. The documents date from 19 May to 1 August 1961. They were scanned and emailed to me between 24 and 26 November 2014, and the originals were couriered to Botswana shortly thereafter. They have been donated by Chibesakunda to the Khama III Memorial Museum in Serowe, Botswana, which houses the Bessie Head Papers.