opre roma

#RomaAreEqual

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In solidarity with Mitko, a 17 year old boy who was severely beaten in Bulgaria for saying that Roma are equal to non-Roma, Romani people and non-Roma alike are sharing pictures with the #RomaAreEqual. Let’s show Mitko that he’s not alone, and show the haters that Roma Rise Up. Opre Roma!

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Photo by Oscar Fuertes. P.S.– I don’t really smoke

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Esme Redzepova

For those of you in NYC this weekend, be sure to come to the Romani Arts Conference at NYU! It’s free to the public! And at the end, there will be a concert by one of the world’s best Romani singers, Esme Redzepova! If you’re not in the city, never fear. It will be live streamed.

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Romani Flag

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GAMBAZine Reading & International Romani Day, 4/8!

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I am so jazzed to be reading with GAMBAZine at Hell Phone speakeasy! There will be music, art, writing, food, and refreshments, and who doesn’t love all that? GAMBAZine is all about art and writing that’s edgy and raw, and I’m honored to be part of this event. If you’re in or around Brooklyn, join us. It will also be International Romani Day, so I’ll be getting my Gypsy Pride on, y’all.

Here’s the Facebook event— please share if you’re so inclined. Thanks!

Presenting at NYU’s Romani/Gypsy Arts & Letters Conference

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I’m so excited to announce that I will be presenting my essay, “Esmeralda Declines an Interview,” published in The Missouri Review blog at The Romani/Gypsy Arts & Letters Conference at New York University, April 23rd-24th. I’m even more excited to hear and meet my fellow presenters.

A little more about the conference– hope to see you there!

Opre Khetanes IV Concert and Conference on Romani (Gypsy) Musics and Cultures represents a major gathering on the East Coast of scholars of Romani culture and Roma who work as academics, activists, and/or performers. Presentations will be made by established scholars and by graduate students with expertise in Romani studies.
 
In the conference portion of Opre Khetanes IV, Romani/Gypsy Arts and Letters, artists, activists, and scholars in the fields of musicology, anthropology, Romani studies and related disciplines will deliver presentations on subjects related to the representation of Romani people by themselves and/or others.Opre Khetanes IV will also feature a film screening and a panel discussion.
 
The conference is free and open to the public.  No pre-registration is required.

What is Literary Activism? A chorus of voices answers in The Poetry Foundation

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Activism-quote-by-Alice-WalkerAmy King, WNBA Award Winner, member of VIDA Executive Committee, and Women’s National Book Award winner, has now asked us all “What is Literary Activism?” and then answered it for the Poetry Foundation, but the coolest thing in the world about Amy is that she takes all of her actions seriously. Her angle is that literary activism is about inclusivity and visibility. So what does she do? She asks a diverse array of writers to answer the question along with her. I am so honored to be among them talking about the necessity of Romani literary activism, because as far as I’m concerned, the very act of writing is activism  for Roma. So read Amy, and read Samiya Bashir, Rosebud Ben-Oni, Ana Božičević, Emily Brandt, Ken Chen, Melissa Febos, Suzi F. Garcia, Eunsong Kim, Jason Koo, Lynn Melnick, Shane McCrae, Laura Mullen, Héctor Ramírez, Metta Sáma, Melissa Studdard, and Arisa White!

Write your activism, baby! Opre Roma!

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My love letter to “Political Punch” and Gypsy poems

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I don’t know if you read Juan Vidal’s NPR essay “Where Have All The Poets Gone?”— it’s a smart, well-intentioned lament of the lack of American political poetry since the Beat Poets. Many readers, myself included, respectfully and optimistically disagree. Perhaps, since all of the poets he mentioned were white men, Vidal’s scope was too small, because it seems to me that political poetry is thriving on the voices of the systemically oppressed rising-up. But I think Vidal and I both agree where it really counts– we need more political poetry in America and we need more people to read it and care.
In response to Vidal’s essay, Fox Frazier-Foley curated “Political Punch.” It’s a week-long series of diverse American political poets, featured at The The Poetry Blog in The Infoxicated Corner. The poets included thus far are CA Conrad with a poem about LGBT representation, Anne Barngrover with a poem about the rape of Daisy Buchanon, and Christopher Soto (aka Loma) with a poem about the need to revolutionize the prison system. These poets, whom I am honored to be listed among, are a reflection of the many types of poets who write their art and politics, who speak up, shake it up, and rise up. Vidal, by the way, has been very supportive of the endeavor and extremely kind.
Here’s the link to my Opre Roma-style political poems “Murder and Tradition” and “Transfiguration of the Black Madonna” http://www.thethepoetry.com/2014/09/infoxicated-corner-political-punch-poems-by-jessica-reidy/ “Murder and Tradition” is inspired by real events that transpired in Italy— Roma girls Violetta and Cristina really did drown, and that camp really was torched– it’s all too terrible. And I wrote “Transfiguration” at the Cambridge Writers’ Workshop Yoga and Writing Retreat, so all those craft talks, workshops, and inspiration exercises paid-off! It’s about the Romani Goddess/Saint Sarah (Kali Sara), and the non-Roma’s mythology of the Romani people. Click here for more about the Romani Goddess.
Picture taken by Sarah Sullivan during a Quail Bell Gypsy fashion shoot http://www.quailbellmagazine.com/the-unreal/photo-tale-free-spirits

Picture taken by Sarah Sullivan during a Quail Bell photo tale shoot for “Free Spirits”  http://www.quailbellmagazine.com/the-unreal/photo-tale-free-spirits

“Gypsy’s First Caravan” in Quail Bell Magazine

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This is the story of the first time I stepped inside a caravan and spent the night, the antigypsyism that met me at the estate, how my grandmother’s family settled in Nazi Germany, and why fortune-telling is an enduring family trade. It’s all related.

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Holding the crystal ball inside “The Gypsy Retreat.” Image Source: http://www.quailbellmagazine.com/the-real/culture-roma-traveller-history-month

http://www.quailbellmagazine.com/the-real/culture-roma-traveller-history-month

Thank you so much, Quail Bell Magazine, for giving me the space, support, and energy to explore this for Roma & Traveller History Month. I love writing for you.

“How to eat like a real Gypsy” in the Daily Meal for Roma & Traveller History Month. Learn to cook like my Gypsy grandmother taught me, plus, tea leaf reading!

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Ok, so I’m really excited about this because I love The Daily Meal and I’m psyched that my recipes/article “How to eat like a real Gypsy” appeared in it just in time for Roma & Traveller History Month! The best part about writing this was talking food with grandma. I’ve been living far away for a while and it’s been too long since we had her breakfast blini and read each other’s tea leaves. Fortune telling, by the way, is something that most Roma almost never do for each other but my family is weird. Find out the history and the family tale (plus a crash-course in my grandma’s method) in the article. http://www.thedailymeal.com/how-eat-real-gypsy

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“Gypsy” Jazz singer Tatiana Eva-Marie talks to Quail Bell Magazine

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“I want my audience to feel that they are constantly traveling with their ears.” —Tatiana Eva-Marie

Read the interview “Tatiana Eva-Marie on the harmonious fusion of Romani ‘Gypsy’ music” in Quail Bell Magazine and find out what she has to say about Romani music and representation, how her multicultural heritage shapes her art, growing up in theatres and concert halls all over Europe, the Music Explorer competition/documentary (click the heart to vote for her!), and her life in the Avalon Jazz Band in New York City. You can also listen to some beautiful songs from the competition. Opre Roma!

http://www.quailbellmagazine.com/the-real/interview-jazz-singer-tatiana-eva-marie

 

 

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Tatiana Eva-Marie singing with the Avalon Jazz Band

So, a contributing editor nominated “We Rise Up” in Narrative Magazine for a Pushcart Prize. What?

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I’ve been sitting on my good news for a while, mainly because I kept thinking, “Yeah, but, I’m sure it’s a mistake,” or “He was just being nice and I don’t really deserve it so I shouldn’t really tell anyone,” and “What?”. But after talking it over with genius friends, it became apparent that to say nothing would be really quite silly. So that’s it. The story, “We Rise Up” (Opre Roma) was Narrative’s “Story of the Week” back in August, and  I’m honored to the point of extreme awkwardness. And this Pushcart season is especially exciting because a bunch of super talented FSU writers were also nominated and everyone should read their stuff!

Much, much love to everyone, especially all my workshops! I’ve had a lot of smart people say smart things to help me out, and that particular piece came from my first MFA workshop with Robert Olen Butler.

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Opre Roma! Gypsies should… be recognized as equal.

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Opre Roma! Gypsies should... be recognized as equal.

Inspired by the UN’s powerful campaign to spread awareness of sexism using Google’s auto complete search function, I did an experiment using the word “Gypsies” instead of “women” to take a look the mark of antigypsyism on the Internet. This is what I found: “Gypsies should be shot… Gypsies should be killed… Gypsies should die.” I decided to create an image in the spirit of the UN Women campaign to promote the Roma Rights movement and to shed light on what it is that we, that is, every humanitarian, is fighting against.

Which brings me to this: in the midst of this painful show of hatred, I need to acknowledge my many, many wonderful, loving friends who care about human rights for everyone. Y’all make me so happy about the world. I’m so glad you’re with me.