Dorothy Kowen was born in Zimbabwe and went to school there. She studied at the University of Cape Town and at the Sorbonne in Paris. She lectured at the University of Cape Town and teaches French at many schools in Cape Town, where she lives with her husband. She has three children and two grandchildren. Dorothy supports adult literacy initiatives and has worked to equip disadvantaged schools with libraries. She is passionate about literacy and education and continues to be enchanted and inspired by the mythology of Africa.