Introduction: Papusza and the Romani Literature History
‘The first Romani poet’ and ‘mother of the Romani literature’ are common descriptions accompanying Papusza’s presentation in texts introducing her works and popularising Romani literature today (Hancock, Dowd and Djurić 1998: 44; Reidy 2014). After several decades of developments and trends that have contributed to the internationalisation and globalisation of the Romani literature scene, Papusza is unquestionably one of the few Romani literary figures known transnationally, having been presented and acclaimed on many occasions at Roma-related events in various countries and in many languages.
Papusza’s literary works along with her life path and dramatic destiny – marked by the persecution of the Roma during World War II and perceiving her as a ‘traitor’ of the community during the years of the state-controlled sedentarisation of the group (Bartosz 2016; Krzyżanowski and Wasilewski 2016) – have been present in the narratives of the emerging Romani literary historiography and in the field of Romani literature and activism in general. As these narratives usually rely on the same (limited) English language sources, they often replicate and repeat each other; additionally, they all contain certain patterns and motifs of Papusza’s representation, shaping an image – to paraphrase the apt title of Magdalena Machowska’s book (2011) – between a legend and a real figure. The pattern of glorification and ‘legendarisation’ by emphasising curious and extraordinary facts around public figures of importance for a community or society is in no way unique; indeed, it is rather common to universal discourses on the lives of personalities who are a source of pride for the community in question and who are considered important for the collective identity. In mainstream culture, the legendarisation of a famous personality from a certain public field follows the same pattern. In this sense, the fact that Papusza’s life and works have been an object of such narratives confirms her importance as a poet and as a Romani individual for those who create them and who aim at building a collective (Romani) representation.
This chapter discusses how, on the background of tendencies within the internationalisation and globalisation of the Romani literature scene, Bronisława Wajs – Papusza has become a symbol and icon of Romani writing. The emerging Romani literary historiography (Djurić 2002; Eder-Jordan 1993; Lundgren 2003; Tahirović-Sijerčić 2019) considers Papusza an embodiment of certain features representative of Romani literature: the author’s striving for learning and writing regardless of circumstances; the figure of the Romani poet as a woman speaking publicly; the ‘traditional’ way of life as a source of inspiration for the writer; the merging and interplay between orality and writing; and literary works that can function as historical testimonies. Considering the narratives of Papusza’s representation in Romani (literary) historiography, I also look at how her portrayal has become homogeneous, mainly due to reliance on common sources. It is important to consider in the discussion the question of how Papusza’s depictions in mainstream culture have contributed to reintroducing her into Romani activism internationally and in many individual countries.
Examining narratives about Papusza in writings presenting Romani literature as a common phenomenon globally – publications on the history of Romani literature, Romani anthologies and collections aiming to have a summarising and representative character, as well as textbooks for Romani children’s education in which Papusza’s biography and/or selected literary works are presented – allows us to explore the image of Papusza in these narratives. At the same time, I look at elements of Papusza’s biography and creativity throughout her life that are in a dialogue and correspond to trends, aspects and occurrences in the life path and literary production of other Romani authors. My aim is to question how unparalleled Papusza’s development as a Romani writer is in order to contribute to the ‘normalisation’ of her image as a Romani female writer and poet. The focus of the analysis is not a demonstration or assessment of Papusza’s great importance and significance for Romani literature in general, though such aspects will come across. The final part is devoted to ‘Papusza labelling’ in various fields of what we can today call the international literary scene. Looking beyond the literary scene, the discussion turns to the question of how Papusza’s works have inspired Romani activism in other public fields.
Before turning to Papusza’s representation it is necessary to elaborate on what, from the point of view of the history of Romani literature, I mean by the internationalisation and globalisation of the Romani literary scene. In some previous works, I have discussed a four-stage historical periodisation of Romani literature – the literature created by and for Roma (Zahova 2016: 82–83; 2021: 7–8), and Romani-language literature created and published in the Romani language, including the corpus of Romani language translations (Zahova 2020: 540–541). The first period started with the emergence of texts written in Romani primarily comprising religious translations and folklore materials, but also several instances of original fictional works translated by Roma in the context of the 19th-century Romantic nationalism movements in respective regions during the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, followed by the interwar period in which many fictional and publicistic works were created in all countries where Romani activism developed and organisations were established (Roman et al. 2021). The most impressive and well-known phenomenon was the Soviet state-supported initiative for publications in Romani (Shapoval 2020, 2021).
The second period refers to the second half of the 20th century with the emergence of works by Romani authors in all European countries where Roma have lived. Throughout this period, the developments in Romani literature occurred primarily within the borders of states and were to a great extent dependent on the respective governmental policies towards the Roma. It was exactly in this period that Papusza emerged as a literary figure in Poland. Her public appearance, apart from her undisputed talents, happened due to the personal agency of the poet Jerzy Ficowski and the influence of Julian Tuwim, an authoritative figure in literary circles who corresponded with Papusza between February 1951 and December 1952 (Papusza, Tuwim and Tartakowsky 2011); both men appreciated her talent.
On the other hand, unfortunately for Papusza herself, her emergence as a poet was also tied up with the national policies for the sedentarisation of nomadic Gypsies, and, generally, integration of Gypsies as citizens of the new regime in Poland. Note that in the same issue of Problemy, a literary journal in which Papusza’s poetry appeared for the first time and in which dialogue between Ficowski and Tuwim was published, a Romani translation of ‘The Internationale’ was also featured (Machowska and Krasicka 2011a: 107). Like other Romani writers emerging in this period, Papusza as a poet remained known mainly within Poland, and even there within a rather small literary circle and among the local public and journalistic community of Gorzów Wielkopolski, who maintained a regular interest in her personality and creative work. Through the international contacts and collaborations of Ficowski, the name and poetic talent of Papusza became known among specialists in Romani/Gypsy studies and in the manner in which she was presented by Ficowski. Ficowski himself often used the opportunity to mention Papusza as the ‘first conscious Gypsy poet among the Gypsies whose name is known’ (Ficowski 1989: 113) and ‘the woman-poet’ (Ficowski 1976: 71) of Poland, and published her works in his publications for international audiences.
The third period of Romani literature commenced in the 1980s and was characterised by the issue of Roma children’s education and Romani culture being raised by some European countries and pan-European institutions (e.g., Council of Europe) as well as by the general rise of Romani issues in the public discourse of the Eastern European countries in transition, donors’ programmes and EU institutions (Marushiakova and Popov 2005; Matras 2005). There was a significant increase in Romani literary production in the context of affirming Roma rights and support for the expression of Romani cultural identity. The Romani movement, with its major stakeholder of that time, the International Romani Union, has also played an important role in intensifying contacts between Roma activists internationally (Klímová-Alexander 2005). Throughout this period too, some Roma authors were known beyond the borders of their own state but occasionally and only among a very limited circle of activists, researchers and experts on Roma issues and culture.
In the fourth period, since the end of the 1990s until today, we may speak about the internationalisation and globalisation of the Romani literature scene and developments that go far beyond the borders of a nation-state or a region. Common features of Romani literature have emerged, facilitated by intensified collaborations in the field of Romani activism and Romani issues, as well as by overall globalisation and the development of technology. In this period, there has been a strong influence from the Romani movement in Romani literature production and writing has been part of the politics of identity of many Romani activists who communicated their visions through publications (Toninato 2014: 150–160; Zahova 2017a: 376–377). Common or similar narratives centred around the idea of a Romani collective representation through textual and visual descriptions have emerged (Bakker and Daval-Markussen 2013; Zahova 2017a). Many events within the international Romani movement provided opportunities for contacts between Romani activists who – as part of their activism nationally and internationally – have often become writers of literature in all genres. Romani writers-cum-activists have also undertaken activities for networking and presenting Romani literature at international cultural and political forums (for example, poetry readings were organised as part of International Romani Union assemblies) as well as introducing Romani authors already established within the borders of their own country in other countries and internationally.
The end of the 1990s brought truly global developments, including international Romani literature festivals, competitions for Romani literature production, and the establishment of Romani writers’ organisations – such as the Romani PEN Centre in Berlin (in 1996) and the International Romani Writers’ Association (2002–2008), and anthologies presenting Romani authors across the world (Zahova 2014: 63–64). A noteworthy example is the international poetry competition ‘For the Golden Pen of Papusza’ with the main and leading organiser the Ethnographic Museum, a department of the District Museum of Tarnów, in the framework of which since 1990 was set up the permanent exhibition on ‘The History and Culture of Roma People’, curated by Adam Bartosz.
During this period of the internationalisation of Romani literature, the internet provided many possibilities for publishing and dissemination of digital content, as well as opportunities for readership and engagement with this content. Access to the internet and active networking between Romani activists became a fertile ground for creating and circulating narratives of representation of the Roma in many fields, one of them being the literary scene, including famous figures with prominent lives that are a source of pride and representation. Romani literary historiography in publications such as textbooks, collections, and academic works discussing Romani literature have appeared (Eder-Jordan 1993; Hancock, Dowd and Djurić, 1998; Djurić 2002; Zahova 2014).
Exactly in this context, Papusza became known and popular among circles of Roma activists in various countries, with these activists writing about her in relevant publications (Courthiade 1997; Hancock, Dowd and Djurić, 1998; Djurić 2002; Tahirović Sijerčić 2010). Detailed discussion is provided below in the part devoted to Romani literary history. Papusza’s life and time of creativity chronologically appeared within the second period of Romani literature, but since her emergence as a figure globally representative of Romani literature started in the decades after the 1990s, the discussion in this chapter will mainly concern the fourth and the currently ongoing period of Romani literature.
Expressing Patriotic Feelings as a Pattern in Romani Literature
One of the first texts about Papusza that was aimed at an international audience was published in English in 1955 as part of an extensive summary of the book Polish Gypsies by Jerzy Ficowski (published originally in Polish as Cyganie polscy. Szkice historyczno-obyczajowe in 1953) by Stuart E. Mann in the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society:
… the life of Papusza, the first Gypsy authoress, is interesting. Born in Lowland Wanderers in a wood in 1910 she lost her father–who was sent to Siberia–at the age of five, and her stepfather was a drunkard. At 12, determined to learn reading and writing, she would stop school-children and ask them to teach her her letters. She even stole trifles in order to bribe them. Later, a woman keeper of a general store accepted stolen chickens from her and taught her to read in return. She is now a settled Gypsy (since 1950), but is wistful about her isolation from the rest of her kind, and longs for the woods, the trees and the open sky. Indeed these are the themes of her three published collections of poems [a misunderstanding, probably referring to the three publications of Papusza’s poems in literary periodicals], all, alas, in translation, while Ficowski files the originals. Could they not have appeared bilingually? Papusza’s autobiography is contained in a long poem entitled ‘Gili romani’, a spontaneous nature-poem of Wordsworthian sensitivity, touchingly simple and nostalgic. Her favourite epithets are ‘the singing woods’ and the ‘silver moon,’ which is once described as ‘father of our Indian people.’ But this sophistication, maintained in ‘Pre lačho drom’ and in ‘Phuv miri me som čhaj tiri,’ the first an appeal to settle down and work, the second a paean to ‘my country’ Poland (!), is not typical of her work. Russian folksong is suggested in her ballad of the fallen warrior on the steppe, whose horse takes back a handkerchief of his mother to tell her he is dead. The girls in search of earrings – a leaf falling from a yellowing oak-three provided the treasures – seems to be original. Papusza’s best images are perhaps ‘where the silver moon bathes in billow-clouds like a young maiden in a warm underwood stream,’ and ‘winds fighting with the flames.’
(Mann 1955: 66–67)
This short text offering information and opinion was one of the few presentations of Papusza’s work and significance in English for an international audience before the book Gypsies in Poland. History and Customs was published in English (1989) and German (1992). Mann’s discourse is very indicative of the interpretation and perception of Papusza’s works and generally for Gypsies/Roma as a group that is exoticised as completely different from the rest of the society. The poems that present reverence for nature and emotional vibrancy about natural senses (Mann referring to their ‘Wordsworthian sensitivity’) seemed to be considered authentic and typical for Papusza, while those calling for participation in the institutional fields of modern society (‘On the right path’) and patriotism (‘My land, I am your daughter’) were presented as ‘not typical of her work’ and their authenticity is questioned.
Below is the English language version of one of the poems in question – ‘My land, I am your daughter’, as published in a book by Jerzy Ficowski who chooses fragments of it as a closure of the text in his English language book The Gypsies in Poland. History and Customs:
Similar disbelief by ‘a British Gypsy expert’ (which could have been S. Mann) were encountered by Ficowski himself on the occasion of Papusza’s poem ‘My land, I am your daughter’, about which he writes in the English-language edition of the book The Gypsies in Poland: History and Customs:
This is a major work, and moreover deserves particular attention for non-literary reasons: as a deep and highly individual expression of her own kind of Gypsy patriotism and also attachment to Poland. In a review of the translation of a collection of Papusza’s songs published by the present author some years ago, a British Gypsy expert claimed that this poem was false, was unthinkable in the mouth of a Gypsy.
This view is quite mistaken. Papusza is a Gypsy from the Polska Roma group, that is a group of Polish lowland Gypsies, who for many tens of generations have never left Polish territory, and are therefore tied to the country of their birth and antecedents. The Polish language is the only one that they speak apart from Romany – only occasionally do they know a little Ukrainian or German. Papusza herself never travelled outside Poland, and all her experiences and memories concern Polish lands.
(Ficowski 1989: 119–120)
This poem by Papusza was among the ones circulated in the mainstream of Polish society before 1989. It appeared first in 1952 and had been later republished in several editions in Polish, including textbooks (Machowska and Krasicka 2011b: 125). After the democratic changes, in journalistic and academic discourse of anti-communist rhetoric and reassessing the past with critical notes towards the dominant ideology, it was considered that this poem was either very much influenced by the ideology or that the Polish translation did not reflect the original as such kind of poetry was foreign to Papusza’s poetic style; this shift of the original meaning was attributed to Ficowski intermediary role. This interpretation, however, might also fall into the trap exoticising the Roma/Gypsies as people different from the majority and isolated from broader social and historical processes. It disregards major characteristics of the Roma communities, namely that they always live in at least two dimensions, as a community and as part of a larger society, and they do often share dominating public opinions as well as the identity of the nation to which they belong (Marushiakova and Popov 2016: 15). Romani self-identification with their nation-state, i.e., Polish Roma, Hungarian Roma, French Roma, German Sinti/Roma, Finnish Kaale, etc., is neither a misinterpretation nor a theoretical limitation dictated by methodological nationalism (Wimmer and Schiller 2003); rather, it is a requirement for a full understanding of the multifaceted character of both Romani identity and Romani literature. As Ficowski points out (1989: 119), Papusza’s own group had been travelling for centuries through Polish regions and identification with the Polish lands is not surprising. In some of her public interviews for the local press, she had pointed out that she wrote ‘My land, I am your daughter’ and invited the journalists and the public to get acquainted with this work (Machowska and Krasicka 2011b: 125).
From a cross-national perspective, Papusza is one of many authors expressing belonging to their national territories, who praises the beauty of the land and its landmarks and whose emotional attachment, which is also accounted for in other narratives, takes the form of a lyrical expression. Such examples, to mention only a few, are the poem ‘In USSR’ (Romani original
There might be various layers of meanings and possible interpretations of these works and literary statements – negotiating the position of the author as part of the national literary landscape and its major narratives of the time, responding to expectations from people in the creative circles, but still, the leading one should be the sincereness of the messages the poems carry. I believe the reading of these literary works should be focused on understanding the authors’ appreciation (usually expressed also in other writings, in the prose writing, essays, and publicistic pieces) of states and regimes that were making efforts and providing opportunities to improve deprived conditions of Roma in public fields and were promoting – at least on the level of official ideology – equality of all citizens, as well as an appraisal of measures that did advance the life of the Roma communities. Interpreting these works as political propaganda deprives Roma authors of their agency to write on a patriotic topic or to support the regimes that they indeed might have sincerely favoured (cf. discussion about the Czechoslovak case in Ryvolová 2020: 165–170 and Sadilkova n.d.). The act of writing in itself, targeting large reading audiences (Roma and non-Roma alike), is, for many Roma authors, an act of going beyond the Roma–gadje dichotomy and communicating messages resonating and engaging with the mainstream society’s opinions. Topics about their native land are a clear demonstration that these authors wish to express national belonging, which they share with the majority of the population. Publishing of works in periods ruled by communist authorities, related generally to authoritative measures and reproducing highly ideological discourses, however, does not automatically mean that these works were propaganda ordered from above. I agree with Karolina Ryvolová’s conclusion, referring to the poems Jan Rais and Antonín Daniel that the text ‘illustrate the sense of historicity thanks to which the Roma enjoy an unprecedented opportunity to improve their plight’ and link this opportunity to socialism (2020: 169). Note that there are no indications that communist regimes forced or gave orders through the bureaucratic system to Roma authors to write on certain topics.
An indication of the post-1989 discourse to portray the former communist regimes as repressive towards Gypsies is the English-language translation of the book Narodila jsem se pod št̕astnou hvězdou [literally, I Was Born Under a Lucky Star] (Lacková 1997). The translation of the title as A False Down: My life as a Gypsy woman in Slovakia (Lacková 2000) carries a meaning opposite to what the author wanted to convey (in both her text and title), as she considered her life and work as a functionary under the regime as full of accomplishments and opportunities even though Lacková indeed shares her frustration when discovering that there was little overlap between slogans of equality and advancement and real changes in the life of the Gypsies, who were often left to live in the same conditions as prior to and during the World War II and who continued to be treated as second-class citizens (Lacková 2000: 123; 141).
Note that in the periods of Romani literary history before its internationalisation and globalisation the developments took place and had an impact only within a certain nation-state. The literary works by Roma authors were directed toward national audiences (Roma and non-Roma in their country) and their themes were much related to the national context. The transnational aspect is an important one in contemporary Romani literature (Blandfort 2015:26–34; Toninato 2014:129–159; Zahova 2016:114–122), however, such development can be seen only after the 1990s, i.e. in the fourth period of Romani literature.
Papusza and the Emerging Romani Literary Historiography
Papusza was recognised as one of the most important Romani poets and the first Romani writer in Poland as soon as attempts to map and historicise Romani literature in a transnational perspective began in the 1990s. This process took place against the background of the raising of Roma minority issues in many countries of Europe, as well as within European institutions, and the intensified international cooperation between Roma activists, who were also authors of publications presenting Romani literature. Ficowski’s publications containing Papusza’s biography and English translations of her texts had already been in circulation for international audiences (1976, 1989, 1992). Another discussion of Papusza’s works, including her poem Tears of Blood was offered in the article ‘Papusza and her poems’ by Mateusz Cybulski (1985) published in another academic journal on Roma issues, Lacio Drom. The Fourth World Roma Congress was organised in 1990 in Serock near Warsaw and public figures involved in Roma issues in Poland with international platforms, such as Andrzej Mirga, Stanisław Stankiewicz, were also presenting Bronisława Wajs- Papusza, the first Romani poetess of Poland, whose works in Romani were published as early as the 1950s (Bartosz 2004). The statement of Adam Bartosz, the director of the Tarnów Ethnographic Museum in Poland, that has been cited in some Romani literary texts is very indicative of the presentation of the Romani poet: ‘Papusza is as important to the Roma as [Jan] Kochanowski was to the Poles and Shakespeare to Europe’ (Tahirović Sijerčić 2010: IV). It should also be noted that interest among the majority (Polish) society was not lacking and soon after the democratic changes productions inspired by Papusza’s life and work appeared. The earlier produced documentary materials with Papusza’s participation were circulated and new materials appeared – journal articles and a documentary from 1991. The symphonic opera ‘Papusza’s Harps’ by Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz was composed in 1993 and premiered in 1994 at Kraków’s Błonia Park, as a part of the commemoration events of the Roma Holocaust, organised by the Association of Roma in Poland. Reportedly an audience of 10,000 saw the performance (Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka 2017).
In academic scholarship, the most important contribution was made by the research of Magdalena Machowska presented in her book Bronisława Wajs-Papusza. Między biografią a legendą (Bronisława Wajs-Papusza: Between biography and legend) (2011). Critically assessing previous discourses of Papusza’s presentation and available archival material, Machowska is the first researcher to juxtapose the dominant (seemingly factual) presentation of Papusza’s life path and writing and the one that appears on the basis of a reconstruction of writings and other primary and secondary sources. In the last decade, publications and research related to Papusza have been steadily increasing (for an overview of the recent publications on Papusza in the Polish academic and public context, cf. Kledzik 2020), and access to her personal archives was provided at the Provincial and Municipal Library in Gorzów Wielkopolski, where a collection of books and archival materials, including the original manuscript of the poem Tears of Blood, was opened. The poet’s former home on Kosynierów Gdyńskich street has been marked with a plaque in 2013, as is the main city library on Sikorskiego street.
The first cross-border and/or transnational initiatives presenting Papusza as a Romani poet came from the circles of Romani activists-cum-writers. Marcel Courthiade, who had a large network of contacts and who was working on reinforcing a common Romani literary and language corpus, had been publicising Papusza’s literary heritage and was one of the first outside of Poland to publish academic articles about her and to engage with a discussion on her Romani language texts (Courthiade 1997), to publicise and popularise her among his extensive network of collaborators in Europe, and to translate her works into French (Papùśa 2011).
The first historically oriented publications presenting selections of Romani literature from across the globe included Papusza’s work. The Roads of the Roma: A PEN Anthology of Gypsy Authors edited by Ian Hancock, Rajko Djurić and Siobhan Dowd on behalf of the newly established Roma and Sinti writers’ PEN Centre in Berlin, features the poem ‘My land, I am your daughter’ (1998: 43) as a reprint from Ficowski’s book quoted in the previous subsection (1989: 120). The first important study discussing Romani literature from different countries was The Literature of Roma and Sinti, published by Rajko Djurić in German (2002), followed by several editions in other languages. The whole chapter on Poland is devoted to the life and creative work of Papusza with a short note, at the end of the piece, on the handful of other Polish Roma authors who have published literary works subsequent to 1990. It is also the first work aimed toward an international audience that elaborates on the contribution of Julian Tuwim in the recognition of Papusza’s talent and the publishing of her works; in previous publications for international audiences, only Ficowski’s name had appeared in this context. The only Papusza’s poem that is explicitly mentioned and discussed by Djurić in the chapter is Tears of Blood:
Bronisława Wajs-Papuscha presented in her poems the suffering of her people. The poem Ratvale jasva – so pal sasendyr pszegijam apre Wolyn 1943–44 bersza (Tears of Blood – How We Lived in Volynia Under the Germans in ’43 and ’44) was published in 19521 and is one of the many shocking testimonies about the Roma Holocaust.
(Djurić 2002: 108)
In Historical Dictionary of the Roma Gypsies, an equally essential book of an overview nature, authored by Donald Kenrick and aimed at large reading audiences interested in the history of the Gypsies/Roma in Europe, the Polish Romani section states that ‘The only publishing in Romani in that period were the poems of Bronislawa Wajs (Papusza)’. The entry on Papusza in the dictionary is as follows:
WAJS, BRONISLAWA (PAPUSZA) (1910–1987). Poland. Poet. During World War II, she survived by hiding in the forests, an experience described in her lyrics, written in Romani, such as ‘Ratvale jasva’ [Tears of Blood]. Her verse was brought to the public by Jerzy Ficowski. Her family and many Gypsies were against this publication, as they felt Wajs was collaborating with a society intent on destroying their traditional way of life.
(Kenrick 1998: 289)
The short presentation of Papusza in both works, which are themselves fundamental contributions to building common Romani historiography and mapping the important agents in Romani history and literature, focuses on this poem and underlines its meaning for the memory and history of the Romani community. However, the authors of these studies do not ignore the overall talent or other topics of the poet. Both Historical Dictionary of the Roma Gypsies and History of Roma and Sinti Literature, authored by Roma activists, have aims that go beyond an appraisal of the literary opus of a given author. They are creating core narratives of central importance for the history, identity and recognition of the Romani community and the destiny and suffering of the Roma during World War II, and these are exactly the topics around which Romani activism has mobilised (Kapralski 1997: 273; Marushiakova and Popov 2005).
Presentation of Papusza and her works was also included in textbooks on Romani language and literature prepared and published by Roma activists in several countries, where Romani language and culture have been part of the curricula, such as: The Romani Road: Chrestomathy of Romani literature by Hristo Kyuchukov and Misoslav Yanakiev (
Of all these publications, the one that presents Papusza’s life path and creative work most exhaustively is the 130-page textbook on Romani language and literature for ten-graders in Romania (Sarău and Cordovan 2011). Its eleven-page section devoted to Papusza has been compiled by Sarău in close collaboration with Marcel Courthiade, on the basis of the previously published French–Romani edition of Papusza’s poetry edited by the latter (Papùśa 2011), following an orthographic adaptation by Courthiade on Papusza’s text (which corresponds to the standard Romani version in Romania). This is the longest presentation of Papusza in a Romani textbook and contains a comparatively comprehensive biography comprising all of the details known to the authors, including her expulsion from the Romani community. The biographical material is followed by poetry works presenting all of the themes of Papusza’s opus in the versions drawn from earlier publications (Sarău and Cordovan 2011: 18–28).
Milena Hübschmannová’s contribution ‘Papusza (Bronislawa Wajs)’ to Rombase (n.d.), a webpage providing encyclopaedic information on Romani history and culture, provides a very consistent summary of the most important facts in the life-path of Papusza as a Roma poet and personality – her origin and group belonging, her ‘discovery’ by the famous Polish poet Julian Tuwim, but primarily by Jerzy Ficowski’ (ibid.), the process of work by Ficowski in the book with facsimiles of the author’s original manuscripts, her life in the Wajs family who were harp players, the destiny of the Roma and her family during World War II, how she was ridiculed for being able to read and write and how the community opinion against her discouraged her and there ‘were times when the poet didn’t take her pen in hand’ (Hübschmannová n.d.: 1). Hübschmannová chose to present the biographical notes in Papusza’s own words and quoted large parts of the poet’s biography as published by Ficowski in his foreword to the first poetry collection edited by him (Pieśni Papuszy 1956). The text by Hübschmannová describes Papusza’s works as ‘unique and enormously strong works of art in their authenticity, absolute honesty, sincerity and originality’; the only work of Papusza that is being mentioned explicitly is Tears of Blood, interpreted in the context of Romani history and Papusza’s family destiny:
Of course, it wasn’t that idyllic. According to Kenrick’s and Puxon’s information, 35,000 Roma out of 50,000 were murdered during the war in Poland. [‘The Final Solution’] The Wajs clan hid in the forest in Volyň, hungry, cold and terrified. A horrible experience inspired Papusza to write her longest poem ‘Ratfale jasfa – so pal sasendyr pšegijam upre Volyň 43 a 44 berša’ (‘Bloody tears – what we endured from German soldiers in Volyň in ’43 and ’44’)
(Hübschmannová n.d.: 2)
Publishing anthologies of Romani authors across the globe or from Europe is one of the signs of the Romani literary scene’s internationalisation. Papusza’s significance for Romani literature, underlined in many publications by activists (as well as her fame in mainstream culture) has also fostered her inclusion in almost all anthologies and collections designed to present the cultural unity of Roma. The very first anthologies such as Rom Som. Romane Poetongi Antologia/Anthology of Gypsy poets/ Ciganyok Költök Versei (1995), Baxtalo drom edited by Santino Spinelli (1994–1997), and the already mentioned The Roads of the Roma: A PEN Anthology of Gypsy Writers (1998), published in English, presented her works. Papusza’s poetry has been included not only in Romani literature editions aimed at international audiences (English being one of the languages of publication) but also in various collections presenting famous Romani authors and published in a given national language. Examples of such editions are: two anthologies from Sweden, both edited by Gunilla Lundgren (2002, 2003); the German anthology Die Morgendämmerung der Worte: Moderner Poesie-Atlas der Roma und Sinti, edited by Wilfried Ihrig and Ulrich Janetzk (2018: 193–194); the Romani literature collection in French, La littérature des Rroms, Sintés et Kalés, edited by Marcel Corthiade and published in a special issue of the journal Massives (2002), etc.
Papusza, as a symbol of both Romani literature and Romani female agency, has a special place in the academic and popular presentation of Romani women’s writing. Hedina Tahirović-Sijerčić, a researcher, journalist, translator, and writer herself, has consistently been paying tribute to Papusza as an inspirational role model. The introductory part to the first Romani women’s poetry collection Sar o Paj. Like a Water is includes a two-page Editor’s Note in which Tahirović-Sijerčić writes a dedication to Papusza:
There is no easy way to get acknowledgement or respect in our community, but our way, my sisters, is easier than for our women in the past. For singing and writing her poems our first Romani poet, Romani sister Bronislawa Wajs known as Papusza (Doll) was punished by our Romani brothers as ‘unclean’ and excluded from the Romani community because of her writing. We know what difficult lives Romani women have.
We know how much strength our women need in order to write, along with our work in our families and communities. And here we are. The strength of our women prevails and lives no matter what efforts are made to silence us. We write in the spirit of Papusza. With our honour to Papusza.
(Tahirović-Sijerčić 2010: II)
In the introductory paragraph of the first chapter of the same book ‘Bronislawa Wajs Papusza (1910–1987)’, Tahirović-Sijerčić presents Papusza as a victim of her own Roma community, largely repeating information published by Isabel Fonseca in her book, which describes the author’s personal reflections and reports based on her own travels in Eastern Europe, Bury Me Standing (1996: 3–16):
Bronislawa Wajs Papusza is one of the most famous Romani poets ever known. She grew up with her nomadic family in Poland. She was literate, unusual for Polska Roma of that time – she learnt by trading a chicken for a lesson with local villagers. This was frowned upon, and whenever she was found reading, she was beaten and the book destroyed. Papusza was married in a traditional ceremony at 15 to a much older and revered harpist named Dionizy Wajs. She was very unhappy with the marriage and took to singing as an outlet for her frustrations, with her husband often accompanying her on harp. Soon after learning to sing she began to compose her own ballads and songs based on traditional Romani story-telling and songwriting.
…
The Roma community soon began to regard Papusza as a traitor, threatening her and calling her names. Papusza maintained that Ficowski had exploited her work and had taken it out of context. Her appeals fell on deaf ears and the Baro Shero (Head Man, an elder in the Roma community) declared her ‘unclean’. She was banished from the Roma world, and even Ficowski broke contact with her. Afterwards, she spent 8 months in a mental hospital and then the next 34 years of her life alone and isolated before her death in 1987. There is a myth that Papusza was punished for being a poet, because, as the myth says, a Romani woman is not permitted to be a poet.
(Tahirović-Sijerčić 2010: III–IV)
In a chapter of the book A Romani Women’s Anthology. Spectrum of the Blue Water, Tahirović-Sijerčić elaborates on Papusza’s difference within the already considered different Roma community echoing Papusza’s own narrative:
Papusza’s biography and significance are also referred to in the popular writing of other Romani authors or activists promoting Romani literature (Reidy 2014; Kokoladze 2015). She has also been an inspiring example of female Romani activism by established Romani feminists. Ethel Brooks opening contribution to the special issue of the Signs journal devoted to Romani feminism starts with an epigraph with the beginning of the poem ‘My land, I am your daughter’ as published in The Roads of the Roma: A PEN Anthology of Gypsy Writers (Brooks 2012: 1). Nicoleta Bitu, a Romani civil right activists, feminist and academic, ‘a fan of Papusza, the Polish Romani poet’, has quoted excerpts from Tears of Blood in the context of the history of the Holocaust:
This book brought me emotions of all kinds, including anger and sadness. As a fan of Papusza, the Polish Romani poet, I am including here some of her verses from the poem Tears of Blood, the story of the Holocaust, so meaningful for the work Jan has done in this book:
Narratives about Papusza as a significant female historical figure and a role model for girls appear beyond Romani feminism – such instance is the book Women’s story for children: Papusza published in Russian by the Women’s Museum in Moscow (
In some of these texts, Papusza is called ‘the mother of Romani poetry’ or ‘the first Romani poet’ (Hancock, Dowd and Djurić 1998: 44; Reidy 2014), following Ficowski’s definition of her as ‘the first conscious [Gypsy] poet’ or the ‘first Gypsy poet’ (Ficowski 1989: 113). As a matter of fact, much earlier original poetry works were published, most notably in the interwar period (for the poetry works published in the USSR, Romania and Yugoslavia, cf. Roman et al. 2021). All of these publications are, nevertheless, a sign of her prominence. Even though she is not historically the first poet, Papusza actually is the first globally famous poet of Romani origin. We should not forget Papusza’s national and gender label and note that her works have appeared not only in publications theme-based on Romani literature but also in anthologies of female authors of the 20th century and in presentations of Polish literature generally (
Mainstream Narratives and Papusza Becoming a Representative Figure for Both Roma and Non-Roma
Papusza becoming a symbol of Romani literature, accompanied by the designation ‘the first Gypsy poet’, is not only related to her being known and appraised among the Romani activists and specialists on Roma issues, and to the internationalisation of Romani literature. Her life was dramatic, her writing pioneering in many aspects (testimonies about World War II, female writing, the first Romani language poetry in Poland, etc.) and her works are of high poetic and aesthetic qualities. On the one hand, the popularity of Papusza and what she represents in recent decades has been largely influenced by the climate of heightened interest in Roma issues. On the other hand, journalistic and academic research has also contributed to the increased interest towards Papusza among the majority population. This is reflected in several books about her in Poland (Machowska 2011; Kuźniak 2013; Rymar 2017) as well evidenced by her portrayal in fictional works of mainstream culture in Poland, most notably the feature movie Papusza directed by Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze (2013), and beyond. This makes Papusza’s life and work one of the most researched and discussed in comparison with other Romani authors.
In the Polish context, Papusza was indeed a source of pride for raising the Romani profile in the public field and numerous activities discussing and commemorating her life path poetic opus appeared, like circulating of the earlier made documentaries (1974, 1984, 1991). Near the municipal library complex of Gorzów Wielkopolski, in the Wiosny Ludów park – the place where the poet often lived nearby and was telling fortune to passers-by – a monument to her was erected in November 2007. The monument authored by the sculptor Zofia Bilińska, present Papusza on a tree stump with folded hands and a book of poems on her lap, from which fortune-telling cards fall out. A plaque by the sculptor Andrzej Moskaluk accompanies the sculpture: ‘Gypsy poet Bronisława Wajs-Papusza. 1908–1987. Made by art artist Zofia Bilińska, handed over to the Provincial and Municipal Public Library in Gorzów Wielkopolski by the General Contractor of the new library building. SKANSKA. Gorzów 30.11.2007’.
A common pattern of community representation is that (Romani) personalities who participate and are portrayed in mainstream culture and media production, i.e. at the level of the majority society, become representative of the respective community or culture. This representation is perceived in such a way by both Roma and non-Roma, even if the content of the creative works of these Roma representatives is not largely known at the level of the community culture. In certain historical periods, Papusza was considered a traitor and lived as an outlaw expelled by her community; however, today at the level of Romani activism and common community identity she is considered a heroine that represents the community and one of its most remarkable personalities (Bartosz 2016; Krzyżanowski and Wasilewski 2016). In this regard, the Papusza mythology is comparable with other symbols and public representations of other personalities, such as Katarina Taikon and Django Reinhardt. This pattern is not unique to Romani culture, but for mythmaking in contemporary culture and narratives in general – a personality becomes widely known via collective mythology based on second-hand bits of information rather than first-hand knowledge of their works. Today, not all Roma who refer to Papusza’s life path and importance might be able to quote the title of a poem or recite her works like those of poets taught in the educational system. They do, however, know who Papusza is and that she is an important Romani female poet from Poland who learned to read and write herself and had a dramatic life. Through awareness of her and appreciation of her talent and remarkable destiny at the wider societal level, Papusza’s importance for the identity of the Romani community has been strengthened.
As Machowska has demonstrated, Papusza’s life story has been surrounded by many legends and has become a kind of mythology. Among recent publications based on comprehensive academic studies and archival work by Polish researchers, the most prominent, and the greatest contribution, is the work of Machowska herself (2011). Her work has begun a process of demystification of Papusza and has properly documented many facts of her life – certain myths and misconceptions have been deconstructed, some assumptions have been confirmed and others rejected (her alleged illiteracy, the role of Ficowski in her writings, her alleged unhappy marriage, etc.). But in the international context, which has been reliant on limited and rather basic facts of her biography and on narratives about her shaped by fictional creations from figures who have no expertise in Romani Studies or on Roma issues in general (Fonseca 1996; McCann 2006; Kos-Krauze and Krauze 2013), the situation is rather disappointing. Instead of referring to and trying to popularise works that have been written in Poland with enlightening information about Papusza’s life, references are being made almost exclusively to the fictional works, which strengthen the legendary image of the female poet, with a lot of exotic misconceptions perpetuated. A rare example of a piece of international academic scholarship devoted to illuminating the academic and general audience interested in Papusza’s life path and various aspects of her biography and work is the volume of the French-language journal Etudes Tsiganes devoted to Papusza edited by Jean-Yves Potel and Marie-Claude Vachez (2011–2012, No. 48–49, Vol. 4), which contains valuable articles providing primary sources materials available at the time of publication. However, probably because of the language of publication, and the limited readership for academic journals generally, it has not managed to reach an audience on the scale of the fictional works.
This situation is not limited to the case of Papusza – popular culture mainstream narratives, often created by non-specialists or writers not basing their work on primary sources or on profound multi-sources research, will always prevail over narratives and issues discussed among specialists on Roma issues. The mainstream narrative and misconceptions are typically so strong and well-rooted that they begin to be repeated and reproduced even among specialists. Such an example is a discussion on Papusza’s poetry and destiny in comparison with the works and activities of Luminiţa (Mihai) Cioabă, a Roma poet of the younger generation, in an article by Fevronia Novac (2010). If there is one poetic figure of today who bears comparison to Papusza’s manner of writing, while also sharing a similar destiny as women belonging to a Roma community in which writing is not particularly valued, it is Luminiţa Cioabă. So, while comparison in certain aspects is completely appropriate and justified, the theoretical discussion, as far as Roma culture is concerned, relies only on references to Isabel Fonseca’s bestselling book Bury Me Standing (1996) which gained huge popularity against the background of issues in the popular discourse on ‘the plight of Roma from Eastern Europe’. The opening chapter of the book ‘Out of the Mouth of Papusza; A cautionary Tale’ contains a description of the life of the poet (Fonseca 1996: 3–16), comprising elements that have often been repeated in subsequent publications about Papusza, including the one about yearning for the lungo drom (i.e. the nomadic travels of the group) and how unhappy her marriage was, mingled with statements about the illiteracy of the Roma and the alleged lack of ‘proper’ words for to read (Fonseca 1996: 11). Fonseca’s book has been criticised by Ian Hancock (1998: 19) for perpetuating some of the most negative stereotypes about the Roma. Although the book is not an academic work, being rather a travelogue produced by a journalist, it was included in the list of books in the translation programme (for translations into Eastern European languages) of the Open Society network of foundations. In an article criticising the approaches in Romani Studies which are orientalising and exoticising the Roma in Eastern Europe, Elena Marushiakova and Vesselin Popov discuss the example with the book by Fonseca which was classified ‘anthropological’ by the foundation and was further recommended as a model on how to conduct research among Roma (Marushiakova and Popov 2017: 128–129).
Inspired by what he read about Papusza in Bury Me Standing, the Irish novelist Colum McCann wrote Zoli (2006). The book narrates the story of Marienka Novotna-Zoli, a fictional Slovak Romani woman, with lots of elements in the story informed by narratives about Papusza which McCann explored: Zoli lived with her grandpa after losing all other members of their family who were killed by the Hlinka guards, she self-educates herself and writes down her poems, Zoli meets Stephen Swann (a prototype of the character is Jerzy Ficowski) with whom they have a love affair. Zoli is used by the government in their plan to settle Gypsies and as a consequence her community condemns her, and she lived in exile. McCann’s book Zoli and the movie Papusza are, of course, fictional; yet while not being perceived as works of a documentary nature, their presentation as having been based on the biography of Papusza would presuppose their authenticity and communication of the true events of Papusza’s life. Academic articles would take a departure from the novel and elaborate on more general aspects like orality and modernity or the alleged rewriting and censorship of the author’s text (Zoli/Papusza) (Garden 2016). Zoli has received rather positive international acclaim, but it has also been critically discussed by specialists in regards to appropriating Roma history. According to Charles Sabatos, ‘McCann’s novel undoubtedly brought greater attention to the lives of Roma women; the question is not whether it can substitute for an ‘authentic insider’s’ voice but whether, if such a voice would appear, if it would have any possibility of finding a comparable readership’ (Sabatos 2020: 192).
The movie Papusza (2013) has been presented and promoted by many Romani activists and experts on various occasions devoted to Papusza and has been acclaimed by Roma filmmakers and activists (Müllner 2017). The film director Joanna Kos-Krauze stated in an interview that ‘we absolutely did not want to make a typical biography. We wanted to show a few of the most important, deciding moments of their history in the twentieth century’ (Zelman 2014). The movie, being easily accessible and appealing to viewers, has shaped a great deal of the images of Papusza today internationally and was impetus for interest towards her life among Roma in many countries.
If we compare the common elements in the narratives presenting Papusza’s life in Romani publications (i.e., created for a Romani audience, mainly by Roma) with the main aspects of her portrayal in mainstream cultural productions aimed at general audiences, we find a very telling difference. In the Romani narratives created for educational, academic or just popular purposes, the manner of presenting Papusza’s biography is very similar to how she was presented by Jerzy Ficowski on the occasions when he was mentioning her or publicising her texts: in the introductions to Papusza’s volumes (1956), when publishing fragments of the poet’s work in literary periodicals, especially in the 1950s, when the audience needed to be introduced to her (1952, 1953), or in his books about the Gypsies in Poland. These elements are: Papusza’s origin and her family; the way she learned to read and write (from non-Roma children attending school and from a store owner whom Papusza bribed with a stolen chicken); that she was considered a traitor and was ostracised from her own community, which led to her isolation and affected her creative process; that she is the ‘first conscious Gypsy poet’ and that her poetry is related to Romani folk poetry, but goes far beyond that; and that her Tears of Blood presents an account of the years of extermination. It is noteworthy that Papusza herself apparently found her efforts to read and write, despite the discouragement she got from her family and community, especially important as a story to share (Machowska 2011: 125). One might speculate as to why she considered this one of her big benchmarks – was it because she wanted to explain why she did not have proper schooling and education? Was it because it opened up many possibilities, with her reading making her knowledgeable and helping her develop in the fortune-telling profession? Was it because she thought it might provide insights for the reading audiences or inspiration for Roma to be educated?
From the perspective of Romani literary writing, we can first point out that most of the Roma across the world were not schooled during the interwar years. For instance, Matéo Maximoff, a French writer of Romani origin from the same generation, also learned to read and write by himself. The story of discouragement and ridiculing because of someone’s attempts to pursue education or read books is a common story that appears in the memoirs and biographically-inspired fiction of other Roma authors, including those of younger (compared to Papusza) generations of Roma writers of both genders. Hedina Tahirovic-Sijercic explains how her own auntie was constantly teasing her for her success in high school and warning her that she was to know her place for ‘Cigani can never make it far from the pond’ (Tahirović Sijerčić 2011: 86), while Jovan Nikolić writes on the same topic in his poem ‘Reading’ (1993: 30). Luminița Cioabă, whose life path echoes that of Papusza, also faced discouragement among her family when making the decision to continue with her education and become a poet (personal communication). The significance of Papusza’s role in witnessing the persecution of the Roma during World War II has been present in all Roma-related narratives discussing her biography.
The representations of Papusza in mainstream culture do not omit these elements of Papusza’s biography, as all of them provide fertile ground for dramatisation and creating a great fictional story, but there is one major difference with the texts presenting Papusza for Romani audiences and an element that is constantly present in most of the popular culture productions – her alleged unhappiness in her marriage and the romantic relationship with Ficowski. In-depth research has demonstrated that these rumours were not grounded on facts, and that there are numerous proofs of the opposite positions – Papusza’s relationship with the ‘little brother’, as she called him, did not go beyond friendship and literary cooperation, she had the support and care of a devoted husband, who also respected Ficowski, and despite the fact that, as she explained herself, she ‘wrote badly’ because she did not go to school, there is no doubt that all works attributed to her are self-penned (Machowska and Krasicka 2011b: 23–25). Thus, perpetuating these fabrications in fictional works, presented as being inspired by Papusza’s biography, rather speaks about the attitudes of those who created the works and their conscious or unconscious intention to resonate two of the most hackneyed and widespread stereotypes about the Gypsies – about the seductive and exotic Gypsy woman and about the marginal and illiterate Gypsy – in creating the central plots for their fictional stories. It is interesting to note that most of the international narratives about her biography, in both Roma-related and mainstream publications, ignore or completely omit the fact that Papusza had been practising fortune-telling from a young age, a professional occupation that she herself did not hide, readily stating in her recollections and interviews that, from a young age, she excelled in fortune-telling. The omission of her fortune-telling professional occupation in the discourse of Romani historiography might be interpreted as a wish to stress and present Papusza only as a poet for the ‘traditional occupation’ had no significance for her representation in society.
Papusza’s Significance for Romani Literary Production and Its Patterns
The aim of this section is to place Papusza’s writings, as well as the circumstances surrounding their production, in the larger context of the history of Romani literature, considering literary topics and motifs, the manner of becoming an author, the publishing process and gender aspects of writing. There are several features that can be seen in the biographies of other authors, especially the first generation of Roma writers. In the first place, the very act of writing is a profound yet shared achievement; as she has stated in letters and interviews (Machowska and Krasicka 2011ab), Papusza was reciting for herself and did not feel the need to sit and write down the verses that ‘come out of Papusza’s head’ before she was asked and encouraged to do so by Jerzy Ficowski. This pattern, especially when it comes to writing in the Romani language, is not an unheard story in the biographies of other Romani writers. The aforementioned Matéo Maximoff, who belongs to the same generation as Papusza and is one of the first Romani novelists (probably the best-known and one of the most translated ones to date), realised his writing talent by chance and with encouragement from an outsider who appreciated his talent. In a legal case in the late 1920s and 1930s in which Maximoff was imprisoned together with other youngsters, a defence lawyer asked Maximoff to provide him with notes with which to prepare appropriately; after reading the text Maximoff supplied, the lawyer realised that it was the work of a talented writer (Lignier 2017: 9).
Likewise, some Czechoslovak Romani women writers, like Tera Fabiánová and Ilona Ferková, have stated that Milena Hübschmannová, after realising how brilliant they were as storytellers, encouraged them to sit and put their stories down on paper in Romanes, and how strange this had sounded to them at the beginning: firstly, because they did not see themselves as writers; and secondly, because they had only spoken in Romani, not written in it. Karolína Ryvolová describes the collaboration between Roma authors and experts as Milena Hübschmannová in the first steps of Roma writers in Czechoslovakia in the 1960–1970s in the following way: ‘Theirs [Roma authors’] was the content – the struggle for emancipation – but the form and the technical expertise had to be partly acquired by their non-Romani colleagues’ (Ryvolová 2020: 168). Mihail Petrov Georgiev, a gifted storyteller and poet from Bulgaria started writing down his poetry having been encouraged to do so by his close friends and collaborators the Romani activists and educators Lilyana Kovatcheva and Hristo Kyuchukov; the latter then edited and published Petrov’s works in a poetry collection (
Another aspect in the process of Papusza becoming an author in which she is comparable with other Romani authors is her collaboration with Jerzy Ficowski. Jerzy Ficowski was her discoverer, editor, translator into Polish and her publicist, and because of this role, it has even been postulated that he has had the authority to intervene and even probably authorise/create her works due to rumours about her complete illiteracy or need for propaganda on certain topics. Note that the speculations about her alleged lack of contribution to creating her works as well as her illiteracy have been already dismissed (Machowska and Krasicka 2011b: 23–25). There is, however, nothing inappropriate or unique in this editing pattern, which is common for all literary processes and genres across the globe. The need for editorial work and the engagement of publicists in collaboration with certain authors on behalf of publishers or literary circles is essential in the professional field of the publishing industry, and Romani literature is no exception. The presence of editors, proofreaders and publicists, and generally, professional literary-critical reading of the texts before publishing is a prerequisite for high-quality literary production, and the lack of such is often the weak link in the Romani literature publishing process. Self-publishing without using the established pathways of professional editorial mechanisms is sometimes the only option for Romani authors and this does not contribute to the higher quality of the publication and the access to it (as self-publishing typically limits the distribution of the works to only personal contacts of the author). When it comes to writing in Romani, which in most countries lacks an established standard, the editorial work is thus crucial, and when it comes to translations from Romani, as from any other language, the translators, especially of poetic works, are interpreters and often have the authority and responsibility to decide on the most appropriate choices for translation into whichever context they bring the text to. In all countries where Romani literature has been created, experts on Romani language and culture have been involved in contributing to the work on literary texts by helping with orthographic decisions, editing, translating and commenting, and publishing them, which is what Ficowski did with Papusza’s text. Examples of such experts, to mention only a few of the most acclaimed who have been involved in the production of many books and collaborated with many authors, are Alexander Germano (USSR), Milena Hübschmannová (Czechoslovakia, Czechia), Erik Lindberg (Sweden), Mozes Heinschink (Austria and beyond), Hristo Kyuchukov (Bulgaria), Rajko Djurić (Yugoslavia, Serbia), and Alija Krasnići (who has even been involved in typing up works by Roma who wanted their stories and memoirs to be published).
Assessments, based on postcolonial theories, which criticise Ficowski’s role in Papusza’s works and in changing the meaning of her texts (Kledzik 2013), should be put in perspective, considering all relevant translation studies theories, especially those referred to the realities of translating and editing Romani literature (Tahirović-Sijerčić 2019) and of the editorial process in general. Behind criticising the role of a gadje-authority involved in translating and editing Papusza’s texts, such assessments disregard the agency of the Roma authors who have put trust in their editors and collaborators, regardless of their ethnic background. Papusza’s own words in her works as well as the Wajs’s correspondence with Ficowski (Machowska and Krasicka 2011: 109–110) – whom them addressed as sownakóno (golden one) and pszałoro (little brother) – testify to the deep respect and caring she had for him, and there is no hint of a ‘colonised’ subject narrative (the excerpts from the poem Tears of Blood are quoted as published in this volume):
Similarly, Papusza’s path to becoming a writer can also be compared with other Romani female writers – she did not feel the need to write the poems ‘coming from Papusza’s head’, but was encouraged to do so, and, in the same way, Ceija Stojka was writing down her memoirs for herself rather than a larger public until she met Karen Berger, who became her collaborator and publicist – she transcribed and edited all manuscripts by Stojka, and negotiated their publishing. The nature of Ficowski’s collaboration with Papusza should not even be called collaborative writing (in the manner of Gunilla Lundgren who meets Roma and writes the texts on the basis of her conversations, cf. details in Zahova 2017b: 54) but should rather be viewed as an encouragement to the author to develop her own text and editorial work based on his expertise in the field of poetry and literary criticism. This is a pattern that was applied in the work of Milena Hübschmannová, for instance – she has recorded a big corpus of materials with the life narrative of Ilona Lacková in the Romani language out of which she selected what should be published in the memoir and translated it into Czech (as explained in Hübschmannová’s Introduction to Lacková 1997). It is worth noting that Ficowski did publish a facsimile of some pages of Papusza’s original writings in her first book of poetry (1956).
As this edition demonstrates, Papusza is one of the first Roma to have put into writing her first-person experiences and memories of World War II. The way she did it is marvellous, powerful and genuine, as the experience itself was devastating and called for a response for the sake of the community’s memory and to be a call for society to also remember and recognise Roma suffering during this dreadful period in all its manifestations:
One of the main themes of Papusza’s poetic opus is the narrative about her group’s experience during this period. The poems ‘A Sad Song’, ‘The Ruins Recall Everything’ and Tears of Blood are documentary texts on the genocide of the Roma during World War II in a literary form (Machowska and Krasicka 2011b: 125–126). These works locate Papusza in a pioneering place, together with other acclaimed Romani authors born in the interwar years, whose own communities suffered badly during World War II and who fought for justice through writing (among other means) and describing what they witnessed as Romani community members. As early as 1946, Matéo Maximoff published the article ‘Germany and the Gypsies: From the Gypsy’s Point of View’ and initiated a court case in a German court as a Nazi regime victim, as well as petitioning organisations, institutions and all parties he identified as stakeholders to describe the fate of Roma he witnessed and all injustices they suffered during the Nazi era (1946). His family, in a group of 400 people, was interned in the so-called Gypsy camp in France for 31 months, and at the end of his life, he wrote the memoir Routes sans roulottes (Roads without Wagons), in which the concentration camp is described (Maximoff 1993; Filhol 2009). Ilona Lacková’s first-ever literary work was the playscript The Burning Gypsy Camp, a fictional work later staged in post-war eastern Czechoslovakia, in which she presented her witness account of all the suffering of the Roma from her own community under the Hlinka regime. Years later, in her memoirs, she states that after the war she was restless thinking about how many injustices her own community suffered, and she wanted to create a play that would make the audience realise the sad destiny of the Roma in the hope that such instances would not happen in the new (communist) regime (Lacková 2000: 122–124). The play was staged in 1947–49 and was considered a success in Eastern Slovakia, establishing Lacková as a Romani public figure and contributing to the start of her own career as a functionary in cultural and social institutions (Lacková 2000: 122–137; Mušinka 2020: 33–37).
These examples show that Roma indeed felt the need to publicly relate the memory of their community to the wider societies in the hope that ethnic persecution would never happen again. It is important to point out that Papusza, together with Maximoff and Lacková, is the pioneering voice of Romani literature in describing the Roma genocide during World War II. This pioneering role is often attributed to Sinti and Roma authors from Germany and Austria who survived the horrors of camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they lost their closest relatives, and whose works were published in the 1980s (Franz 1985; Stojka 1988). While these memoirs are indeed the first Roma and Sinti voices about the ‘death camps’, the persecution of Roma in this period went far beyond the borders of such camps. As the contribution of Mikhail Tyaglyy in this volume demonstrates, almost all Roma in Volhynia region were killed during the Nazi occupation of the region (2024: 328–357). It is therefore important to acknowledge the plurality of experience(s) in Roma suffering during this period that occurred in one way or another in most of the territories of Nazi occupation or affiliation, one example of which is Tears of Blood itself.
The exceptionality of the poem also lies in the fact that it is the very first testimony about the suffering of the Roma expressed in poetry and the only literary work written by a survivor of the events in Volhynia. Ficowski points out that in this aspect Tears of Blood is comparable with texts of songs composed by Roma about Auschwitz (1989: 119). However, it should be noted that while texts of songs are related mostly to metaphors and elements of memory that need some background information for their comprehension, the uniqueness of Tears of Blood as a survivor testimony is that it mostly matches the historical events in the region where the Wajs family had travelled and reflects temporal and chronological realities (cf. Bartash in this volume). Combined with the poetic and powerful style of narration, it holds great potential for transmitting historical memory and for building a shared literary heritage, tightly related to the idea of the common trans(national) Romani identity.
Another important aspect of Papusza’s Tears of Blood is the remarkable agreement between, on the one hand, the first-person narration, which transmits deep sentiment and poetic authenticity, and, on the other hand, the description of a collective ‘we’, which creates a sense about the destiny of the community, the Roma. Even though Tears of Blood is a personal account it still seems to be aimed at creating a collective narrative reinforced by various means (the use of the collective ‘we’ in describing and documenting accounts and in the actions of the poem). Papusza’s family from her mother’s side was killed but the account of this extermination refers just to ‘Roma’. This is because the poem is not a lament about a personal or family tragedy, it is about the death of these Roma as people; the lament is for the collective fate of the community and those who share the destiny, the Jews:
Papusza’s Tears of Blood sets up a fundamental course for Romani literature narratives, particularly in the years of internationalisation and globalisation. Many autobiographical and historical publications in the decades to come would be about the Romani genocide or about Roma as victims of the Nazi regime and their accomplices (About and Abakunova 2016). The history of persecution plays a significant role in defining the symbolic boundaries of many communities in their historical narratives, and this is valid for Roma too. This narrative, along with those about the Indian origin of the Roma and the nomadic way of life, is commonly recurring in all genres in the fourth period of Romani literature (of internationalisation and globalisation). According to Sławomir Kapralski, on the background of the comparatively diverse Romani groups:
The message included in this [persecution] discourse is difficult to undermine by any opponents while, simultaneously, easily acceptable to different groups of Roma. It allows for the creation of a historical narrative describing events in a chronological way, contributing to the development of a historical consciousness. By showing the continuing of persecution, the discourse can help explain the recent situation of the Romanies in the context of their long-term discrimination.
(Kapralski 1997: 273)
A considerable part of the efforts of Romani post-war activism nationally and internationally was directed at gaining official recognition and public commemoration of Romani genocide among both Roma and non-Roma. The matter of getting recognition and compensation for Romani victims of the Holocaust had been raised by Roma activists as early as 1946 (Maximoff), was a topic of all congresses of the International Romani Union and was central to the third congress in Göttingen (1981) that was co-organised by the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma (Marushiakova and Popov 2005; Klímová-Alexander 2005). The history of the Romani genocide thus became a cornerstone of a Romani national identity building, as promoted by Romani activists. While narratives about the Gypsies/Roma as ‘eternal victims’ during their whole history have been developed in the works of some Roma activists in the 1980s (Marushiakova and Popov 2005) and was a topic of autobiographical books by Sinti and Roma in the 1980s in the German-speaking countries (Franz 1985; Stojka 1988), it was in the 1990s when we find this idea being spread in Romani literature as well as in Romani children’s (text)books and educational materials (Zahova 2014: 68–70).
The life story and the literary achievements of Papusza have inspired Roma individuals and organisations who have paid tribute through special writing or other literary activities, and many references have been made to Papusza in artworks and activists’ statements. Examples include international literary competitions, literary activities such as festivals and readings initiated by stakeholders in the Romani literature field devoted to Papusza or explorations of Papusza’s images in posters, book covers, blogs, etc.
Among the numerous literary activities we can mention literary competitions – the first one being the already mentioned ‘For the Golden Pen of Papusza’ organised by the Regional Museum in Tarnów. The contest was open to adults, students and pupils of secondary schools in Poland and abroad. Applicants were invited to submit poetry work on a topic inspired by Romani culture, tradition and history, in two categories: poems in Romani and poems in Polish (Złote pióro Papuszy 2009; The International Contest 2010). The first edition of the competition was in 2007 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of her death. The second edition was organised in 2010 to commemorate Papusza’s birth centennial (later discovered archival material affirmed that she was born in 1908, Rymar 2017: 33–34). It had a second (in 2009) and a third (in 2013) edition which was the last one (Bartosz 2022). All editions were followed by publications of selected poems submitted to the Polish language poem category of the competition, as part of the Biblioteka Romska book series published by the Regional Museum in Tarnów (Bartosz 2007, 2010, 2015).
The competition had a genuine international nature and its second edition received over 200 submissions by 79 participants from Poland, India, Macedonia, Germany and Romania (Małopolska 2010). The museum in Tarnow, organiser of the competition and the awarding ceremonies, was also the founder of the programme of events named The Caravan of Memory (Tabór Pamięci) which includes travels around various killing sites across the region to commemorate the Nazi mass murder of Roma during World War II. This reenactment was conceptualised as a commemoration of the tragic destiny of many Roma, but also to educate and strengthen Romani identity among the contemporary generations (Bartosz 2003; Kapralski 2016: 63–68). Readings of Papusza’s works were embedded in the commemorative series of events devoted to the Roma Holocaust of the Ethnographic Museum of Tarnow. The establishment of Papusza’s commemoration by the means of international literary competition and the interrelation with the Roma Holocaust commemoration is a very illustrative example of her recognition as a Romani writer who narrated the atrocities against Roma and as a figure of pride and importance for the public representation of the Roma community in the process of common (Romani) identity building. As Sławomir Kapralski points out, on the background of the comparatively diverse Romani groups, living in different circumstances and having diverse experiences, the persecution narrative holds the necessary potential to create a sense of unity (Kapralski 1997: 273).
The most recent contest is The International Competition for Creative Writing and Translation ‘Bronisława Wajs’ organised in Romania that had its fourth edition as of 2022 (Rromanovak 2022). There is probably hardly any country where an event devoted to Papusza has not been organised, in connection to literary activities or a larger programme (for instance, on the occasion of a screening of the movie Papusza). Many Romani writers wrote literary works devoted to her – practically most of the Roma who wrote in the Polish public space have made references to her life (Izolda Kwiek, Jan Mirga and Karol Parno Gierliński), as well as her relative Edward Dębicki and Don Wasyl Szmidt (Matkowska 2022: 67). Beyond Poland, Papusza is featured in literary stories about Romani women or prominent Roma figures in general (
Daniel Petrilă, a young Romanian Romani artist, was inspired to hear the story of Papusza by the activist Nicoleta Bitu and created a painting of Papusza, based on a portrait pictures of the poet. Depicted as part of her appearance image are all symbols with which her life has been associated – tree branches formed as barbed wire and forest trees in her hair, green forest leaves form her eyebrows, her cheek features a forest encampment with tents and fire, a book at her chin, her bust is shaped of a harp and a bookshelf, a paper with a manuscript in the foreground, the background symbolises the universe with a sky full of stars, running water and earth.
The Flamenco music artists Bogumiła Delimata and Cristo Osorio have created the performance A Través del Humo [Through the Smoke] (2019) described as ‘dance, music, poetry and theatre spectacle [that] fuses traditional Roma song with Polish, Romani and gitano cultures. An artistic voyage without borders inspired by the life of Polish-Romani poet and singer Bronisława Wajs, commonly known as Papusza, who throughout her life danced, sang and recited gila (Romani songs)’ (Opéra national, n.d.). The spectacle has been performed internationally.
Sownakune Jasfa/ Tears of Gold is an exhibition organised by the European Roma Institute of Arts and Culture (ERIAC) commemorating the Roma Holocaust and featuring some of the most prominent Roma visual artists from Central Europe. The title is a reference to Papusza’s poem Ratwałe Jaswa / Tears of Blood and the curators of the exhibition Dr. Krzysztof Gil and Dr. Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka explain:
In the poem ‘Bloody Tears,’ Papusza (Bronislawa Wajs, 1908–1987) – one of the most famous Romani poets – encapsulates the horrors of World War II, vocalizing the individual and collective trauma of the wartime experiences of Roma in Europe. During the Roma Holocaust at least 500.000 Roma men, women, and children were massacred, with some countries annihilating as many as 90% of their entire Roma population. The experiences of the past were made even more painful, because for decades it was ‘the forgotten Holocaust’ – unrecognized, invisibilized, unreconciled. The Roma Holocaust continues to shape the Roma transnational collective identity, and its consequences are still lived today.
(ERIAC 2019)
Conclusion
Bronisława Wajs-Papusza emerged as an author in the second period of Romani literature development (after World War II) and became globally acclaimed as ‘the first Romani poet’ during the later period of Romani literature. Internationally she was known primarily through brief paragraphs written on the basis of secondary sources and publications of Jerzy Ficowski. Her poetry translations, when appearing outside of Poland, were made primarily from the Polish language editions. Thus, since the very beginning, narratives about Papusza internationally were mediated by secondary sources. These narratives about her in academic writing, journalism, or mainstream culture have outnumbered greatly her own opus and become dominating in her representation, especially internationally. English language books published and distributed by some of the largest publishing companies and the international success of the movie Papusza, paired with some prevailing general stereotypes about ‘Gypsies’ as exotic, travelling, free-spirited and isolated society, led to furthered legendarisation, homogenisation and fictionalisation of the narratives presenting Papusza.
In the 21st century, on the background of intensified cross-border cooperation in the framework of the Romani movement, and in the context of the rise of the Roma issue in Europe and the ICT development, the story of the Romani poetess Papusza and her literary works became known widely among the circle of Romani activists and experts who contributed to the curation of the Romani literary history and literary canon. It was namely Papusza’s contribution to the memory of the Holocaust and Romani suffering during World War II as narrated in her poem Tears of Blood that have been of fundamental significance for Romani (literary) historiography. Placing this poem in the centre of Papusza’s presentation, along with facts about her biography of importance for the Romani identity like her group belonging and struggle with circumstances for achieving her aspirations for knowledge and literacy, are present in all writings about Papusza authored by Roma and pro-Roma activists. These elements are typical for the narratives by Roma and for Romani audiences (for instance, in Romani literature textbooks) and differ from the portrayal of Papusza in works by non-Roma and intended for mainstream audiences which often tend to fall into the trap of stereotypical representation of oppressed Romani women without any agency, representing Romani culture as very particular and being against written traditions and education.
The dramatic presentation of Papusza’s biography has created an image of unparalleled destiny but it should be noted that her life path and development as an author are comparable with the Romani writers of the same generation and repeat patterns observed in Romani literature or literary works in general – her self-education without attending school, not identifying herself as a poet, the collaboration with an editor with expertise in (poetry) publishing, support for a regime that at least at the level of ideology declared wish for improving the life of Roma/Gypsies, etc. Papusza, along with other authors of the same generation as Matéo Maximoff and Ilona Lacková, was also a pioneer in women’s writing and in relating memoirs about the Holocaust in literary form. She is the first and so far the only Polish Romani author who started her career as part of the mainstream literary scene.
Since its very publishing (as a selection of fragments amounting to a mere quarter of the original) the poem Tears of Blood was perceived as a memoir in literary form, and, unlike some other poems of Papusza, was a subject of less stereotypical interpretations. This volume – presenting for the first time the whole original version of the poem along with several translations – is an opportunity for reading audiences and specialists from different disciplines to be acquainted with the whole version as created by Papusza, which would give a further impetus for discussions. Going beyond the reiterated and legendarised narratives about Papusza, the texts contribute to the creation of critical and informed-by-documents discussion and analysis of the life and poetry work of Papusza from a comparative perspective. There is a growing number of Romani individuals and activists who have been inspired and filled with pride in the life path of the literary achievements of Papusza. The publications of the original texts and the accompanying chapters will contribute to an enhanced understanding of her writings as Romani literary pieces, as part of the shared European history and as poetic messages carrying deep and universal humanism.
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Note that the poem was published in 1956 but 1952 is the year quoted in the text.