Gaele Sobott

n author of several children's books, short stories and non-fiction.

Sobott was born in Yallourn, Victoria and lived in Botswana for a large part of her life. She taught in the English Department at the University of Botswana. She also lived in France, and England where she completed a Ph.D. on South African women writers. She now lives in Sydney, Australia.

Her children's fiction includes: "The Magic Pool" - some children decide to go and find out if stories about the python at the waterhole are true, "Tickles" about Moabi and Sonti who are helping on a game reserve when an orphaned baby elephant is brought in by the rangers, "Weird Wambo" lives alone in a baobab tree and children of the village laugh at her until one day they need her help, and "Thara Meets the Cassipoohka Man" which addresses global warming and received the Zimbabwe Award for Children's Literature.

"Colour Me Blue"is a haunting collection of stories, which blends fantasy and reality, melding African history and tradition with the grittiness of everyday life. The stories capture the casual or determined oppression of men and women, the tenderness of human affection and the powerful rhythm of African myth. The politics of personal relationships are explored against a background of social injustice and material hardship. Sobott’s writing is characterised by a 'mixture of traditional story telling and modern day-to-day struggles’. [J.Madingwane, A Mixture of Old and New, "Mayibuye", Vol.7 No. 4 - May 1996]

Her non-fiction writing includes an essay on gender relations in Botswana during the Second World War and how the British government sought to increase the food production of the then Bechuanaland Protectorate for export purposes. With so many Batswana men away in the army and the South African mines, this required the intensified use of women's labour. [G. Sobott, ‘Experiences of Batswana Women During the Second World War',"Pula Journal of African Studies", Vol.13,1&2 1999] In another essay entitled 'Humans Being', she points to the importance of viewing the "being" in human being as a verb. Being means we may close down and/or open up human relating, human communicating, human solidarity...writing and sharing stories is an integral part of this being'. [G. Sobott, 'Humans Being', "Sable", Issue 5, 2004] Gaele Sobott's work appears in various anthologies and collections, and has been translated into many languages.

References