Old New Worlds: A Tale of Two Immigrants

Old New Worlds intertwines the immigrant stories of the author and her great-great grandmother. Sarah Barker and her new husband sail from England in 1815 to minister to the indigenous Khoihoi in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. In the midst of conflict, illness, and natural disasters, Sarah bears sixteen children. Two hundred years later, Judith leaves post apartheid South Africa with her new American husband to immigrate to the United States. She is drawn to Sarah’s immigrant story in the context of her own experience, and she sets out to try and trace her. In the process, she finds a soul mate.

Judith Krummeck is a writer and broadcaster living in Baltimore. Prior to emigrating from South Africa to the United States, Judith was a professional actor and the arts editor for SAfm at the South African Broadcasting Corporation. Since 1998 she has been the evening drive time host for Baltimore’s classical music station WBJC, where she also hosts the monthly series Booknotes. Judith graduated summa cum laude with an MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore, and she holds a BA from the University of Cape Town. Judith is the author of Beyond the Baobab, a collection of essays about her immigrant experience.