What Should I Be Afraid Of? AN EVENING OF POETRY AND ROMANI MUSIC
Image Credits: Ceija Stojka, Niemals werde ich eine andere (I will never be anyone else), 1995. Acrylic on canvas, 27 1/2 x 39 1/3 in. Photograph by Rebecca Fanuele. Courtesy of Galerie Christophe Gaillard, Paris.
May 24 | 7 pm
Please RSVP here.
Join us for an evening of poetry and music, celebrating the life and work of Roma artist Ceija Stojka (1933-2013).
About the Event
While Stojka’s granddaughter Simona Anozie, who lives in Vienna, will read poignant poems by Ceija Stojka in their original German language, Dr. Lorely French, Professor of German at Pacific University in Oregon, will present her English translations of them, while also reading passages from her recently published annotated English translation of Ceija’s three memoirs (The Memoirs of Ceija Stojka: Child Survivor of the Romani Holocaust, Camden House, 2022).
In addition, music therapist and singer Dr. Petra Gelbart, herself a granddaughter of Romani Holocaust survivors, will sing songs passed down to her that advocate for Holocaust remembrance of Romani victims. The performances will be followed by a book signing with Dr. French.
About the Participants
Dr. Lorely French is Professor of German at Pacific University, Oregon. She has published extensively on Ceija Stojka and Romani Literatures, most notably as author of Roma Voices in the German-speaking World (Bloomsbury 2015, 2015), as a contributor to RomArchive, the digital archive of Romani cultures (launched 2019), as co-editor of a special issue on Romani Literatures for Romani Studies (2020), and co-editor of a volume on Romani Literatures forthcoming with Akademischer Verlag München (2023). In 2022, she published the first annotated English-language translation of the memoirs of Ceija Stojka (Camden House). Her research on Ceija Stojka began in 2003 when she was the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Gender Studies at the University of Klagenfurt. In that year she formed a friendship with Ceija Stojka and cherishes her memories of visits and correspondence with the artist/writer/activist and the extended Stojka family. In 2009-2010, she was a co-curator, with Dr. Michaela Grobbel at Sonoma State University in California, USA, of a traveling exhibit of Ceija Stojka’s works, entitled “LIVE-DANCE-PAINT: Works by Romani Artist Ceija Stojka,” which occurred in the Cawein Gallery at Pacific University, in the Sonoma State University Library Art Gallery, and in the West Branch Gallery in Stowe, Vermont. Image Credits: Lorely French
Simona Anozie is Ceija Stojka’s granddaughter. A few sentences about Simona written by herself: When I was in school I felt the racism because I am a gypsy. The children thought I was dirty, poisonous, because a teacher told a made-up story that Gypsies steal children. I wanted to set the record straight that we had enough children and we didn’t need foreign children. That was a key moment for me, that I was different from the others, which was never a problem before. I was trained in School as a hairdresser and later became self-employed. I like to travel a lot to get to know other cultures, and to find out if there are really differences, in people. The only difference is the ignorance and fear of what is foreign. For me it was always important to fight the racism that exists in the world, to stand up for the weaker and not to get down just because you are different or have a different skin color or a different culture. The world is colorful and beautiful, just like the people on earth. Image credits: Simona Anozie
Dr. Petra Gelbart is a Romani educator, scholar, and music therapist. She was first introduced to Romani music and language by her family while growing up in the Czech Republic. She earned her Ph.D. in musicology/ethnomusicology at Harvard University and went on to co-found the group Families of Roma and Sinti Holocaust Victims. At the university level, she has taught about the connections between India and other cultures, as well as on music’s effects on the brain. Dr. Gelbart is also a board-certified music therapist spezialising in developmental interventions and psychotherapy. In addition to practicing in New York City, she works with Czech foster and adoptive families raising Romani children. Gelbart is a member of Voice of Roma and the vice chair of the Czechoslovak Romani Union.