Bessie Head (1937-1986) is considered Botswana's most important writer. She was born in South Africa but immigrated to Botswana. She is best known for her short story collection The Collector of Treasures and Other Botswana Village Tales, and her novels A Question of Power, Maru, and When Rain Clouds Gather. Ngugi wa Thiong'o (1938- )is a major Kenyan writer now living in the United States. He has taught at Yale and New York University. He is a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature as well as the Director of the International Center for Writing and Translation at the University of California, Irvine.