Nadine Gordimer

Nadine Gordimer has written about the agonies of apartheid in her novels and short stories. She died Sunday at the age of 90. In 1989, she spoke with Terry Gross during a visit to the U.S.

The white South African writer's latest book is called My Son's Story, about a mixed-race family. She joins Fresh Air to talk about why she stays in in her home country, despite political unrest. A long-time anti-apartheid activist, she's recently become a member of the African National Congress.

Gordimer returns to Fresh Air to discuss her new collection of essays called The Essential Gesture, about her role as a white woman in South Africa fighting against Apartheid.