In continuing the discussion I started earlier this week, I thought it would be helpful to give a little background on Gypsy culture. I've been listening to a CD called The Music of the Gypsies while running errands this week.
Inside is a concise glimpse into Gypsy history:
The Gypsies -- or Roma-- are the modern descendants of a nomadic people who left the Indian subcontinent about a thousand years ago and gradually made their way west to Europe and beyond. No one knows exactly why or when they began their great Diaspora (wandering) but it could have been anywhere between the eighth and eleventh centuries AD. Leaving India they went through ancient Persia (now Iran), Armenia and the Byzantine Empire, first reaching Europe around the fourteenth century, and reaching every northern and western country by about 1500. When they first arrived in Europe, people thought they were from Egypt and called them Egyptians, or 'Gyptians, which is where the word 'gypsy' comes from.
There are now millions of Gypsies living outside India. They remain the least integrated people in Europe: as a proud, clannish people, devoted to their traditions, they have resisted attempts to force them to assimilate. They believe that formal education for their children will make them forget Gypsy ways, which is why many older Gypsies cannot read or write, passing their traditions down through the generations by word of mouth. They have also been one of the most persecuted minorities over the centuries, in particular at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust, and since the fall of the Iron Curtain, racist violence targeting Gypsies has been ob the rise throughout the Balkans.
Wherever they have travelled, the Gypsies have had a huge impact on the musical traditions and folklore, making their own unique contribution to Jewish klezmer music, flamenco music, dance and jazz. Freedom and love for life are strong Gypsy traits -- these qualities are to be found in the spontaneous, and often humorous, playing of Gypsy musicians across the world...
Why take on such a difficult topic for my next book?
Because ultimately I'll be writing about the human condition, something that transcends all cultures, time periods, lifestyles, and prejudices. I already know it will be tempting to explain, defend, simplify, whitewash, or point out areas where I don't agree with my (future) character's world, but this won't be my place or purpose.
My job is to present a character and her world and let everything unfold from there.
Thanks to my local SCBWI's October discussion on censorship/censoring the self while writing, which helped to formulate a lot of the ideas I've been processing these past few weeks.
Have you ever felt drawn a story you were scared to write?
I almost always feel this way when approaching a new novel (with picture books I trick myself into thinking what I'm doing is simply play). MAY B., though, brought its own special challenges. I had no idea what my story would be, and I discovered early on that the only true way the book could work was to write in a style I knew nothing about. Add to this the complexity of a character who spends most of a story alone in a place I'd never been, and you can begin to feel the intimidation I did in starting this piece.
Despite all this, I had to write about a strong pioneer girl. I knew the story had to deal with solitude. This was enough for me to begin the murky process.
Here I am again with a new idea that terrifies me. Those of you who have followed a while know I've been planning to write a verse novel about a Gitano girl (Spanish Gypsy) for some time.
I set aside my research last winter to work on other things. That work needed to be done, but honestly, I've been avoiding the hard work I know is ahead of me. Here's why:
I'll be writing about a culture that's not my own. Some writers think it is impossible to speak in the voice of another people. Some think it's wrong to even attempt it.
I must present the Gitano culture accurately and respectfully. This is a challenge in several ways:
- My research must move past stereotypes; like all characters, mine need to be complex.
- There is no one Gypsy culture. The Roma, as they are often called, live differently in every part of the world. There are cultural and linguistic similarities, but not always. While the Gitanos of Spain share flamenco, for example, those of
I'm in the midst of a new writing project, and I've yet to write anything. I know this manuscript will be another mid-grade novel-in-verse and will be about a Spanish Gypsy girl. That's all I've determined so far.
What I have done is start my research, something that is both satisfying and terrifying at the same time. When I start a project that involves research, I can be very intimidated by how little I know and how much there is to learn. At the same time, I love the thrill of surrounding myself with new information, like I've created my own study program that can take any direction I choose. There is a lot of freedom and a lot of responsibility, too.
Whatever I end up creating, it needs to be accurate in regard to the people, location, and time period I eventually choose to focus on. Because the Gypsy people are scattered around the world, each group has distinct regional structures. There are certain customs seen throughout all Gypsy groups (taboos, a focus on the cleanliness/separateness of the Gypsy people, strong family ties, and usually the Romani language -- though some only now know a few Romani words and speak the language of the country where they now live).
In all research, it is also essential to present the people, location, and time period in a way that is respectful. For my current research, this is important on several levels:
- Gypsies have traditionally been rejected by mainstream society. I'll have to figure out a way to show this tension in a way that is accurate in the ways humans make sense of one another while making sure my approach is respectful. Sympathetic character development will be key.
- I'll have to keep in mind the terminology of the times and somehow make it work respectfully and accurately.
- I have to keep in mind the Gypsy groups of today.
I remember
Betsy James coming to my children's literature class in college. She read from her beautiful picture book about the Anasazi people, ancestors of the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest. At the time, she talked about how difficult it was to write of a culture other than one's own.
There's an extra level of accuracy and respect needed in approaching a different culture, and it is important, in the very least, to run your ideas by members of the group you're writing about. I've been in touch with the director of the Gypsy Lore Society, asking really basic questions about how I might proceed respectfully. He has graciously pointed out texts that could prove helpful and which ones that probably won't be.
And how much research have I done so far? Not much. I've read half a book and six articles. In other words, I'll be at this for months.
There's a lot to think about as I gather information. More on my very loose, open-ended research process another time.
San Francisco, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Stanford, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose. For a student of the history of technology (ie total geek) as the Caltrain rolls through these stations thoughts of dotcom glories past and present are evoked. One can't help look at ones fellow passengers and wonder who is the google millionaire and which younger, hungrier buck dreams of usurping him.
All of which is a roundabout way of saying that I am excited to be in San Jose, California for the O'Reilly Tools of Change conference, which (starting in about five hours) will be looking at the ways that book publishing and technology are intersecting now, and the future of this sometimes happy, sometimes not, relationship.
Perusing the agenda there is lots of stuff to look forward to, but the publisher - rather than the geek - in me, was also looking forward to meeting some fellow publishers for a gossip and an exchange of views on the issues raised by the conference. But apart from the odd exception (Random House are here in numbers!) there are almost no book publishers here! What is going on? Am I at the wrong conference? Is it that the conference is in California, rather than New York, that has kept others away? Or is it, as a book blogger suggested to me in the bar, that publishers 'just don't get technology', and don't think they need to? Hopefully I'll find out the answers to these questions and more over the next couple of days.
Jeremy Ettinghausen, Digital Publisher
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This one seems interesting. I often visit Slovakia and I love this country, so I think I could love this book too! :D
That quote is hilarious!!!!
I would definitely want to visit Slovakia!
Did you notice the face behind the guy on the cover?