New Poetry Book, ‘1000 Years’ Celebrates Author’s Romany Heritage
Regular Travellers’ Times opinion columnist, Gemma Lees, talks about her new poetry collection
Gemma Lees, a Romany Gypsy artist, community activist and writer, has published her first poetry collection, ‘1000 Years’ with Written Off Publishing. Named after the approximate number of years ago Roma left Northern India, after the invasion of the Ghaznivad Empire.
In this collection, Gemma uses both humour and tragedy as she explores herself and her often hilarious, often treacherous journey of fourty-two years, not only as a Gypsy, but as an intersectional Northerner who’s experienced growing up in the 80s and 90s, increasing disability, mental health problems, homelessness, the ups and downs of council estate life, death and loss, motherhood and turning 40 in a world that tells her she’s past her prime as a woman.
Says Gemma, ‘I wanted to explore what all of these aspects of my identity mean to me as a whole and I express myself best in poetry’.
The cover art, by Edie McCartney, is based on Gemma’s poems and history. She explains, ‘The spoon and pegs represent items that my Dad, Richard O’Neill makes in the traditional Romany way, the colours and the chakras represent the Roma flag, the horseshoe is for good luck and the rainbows, stars and neurodivergent infinity symbol represent all of the aspects of my personality and my autism’.
Topics covered in the book are Gemma’s familial bonds and motherhood, self-employment, Northern joy, overcoming tragedy, racism and the Porajmos. In some of the poems, she uses Romanes words in a celebration of her Romany heritage. Says Gemma, ‘this book means so much to me as I’ve poured all of my history, life and love into it. I really hope that readers get a real sense of me and also recognise aspects of their heritage, culture and life in it too. It’s so important that the wider public sees the positive sides of our culture, not just the negative and racist stuff that gets shared in the wider media.’
Written Off Publishing chose Gemma’s book to publish as part of their ethos to ‘make beautiful books that break down barriers in publishing, one story at a time’. Started by Rebecca Kenny in 2022 after a car accident gave her life-altering injuries and inspired her to publish her own first pamphlet, written whilst in hospital. Rebecca was delighted to bring Gemma onboard as her first Romany Gypsy writer.
Says Rebecca;
‘Back in the early 2000’s, I got to work closely with children from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in my role as a teacher. Through that experience, I got to learn the lives, language and unique customs of Romany Gypsy families in particular, and I got to hear first-hand the stories of oppression, judgement and unfair treatment they’d struggled with at the hands of the people they lived alongside simply because of who they are. What I also learned was how rich, varied and interesting Romany culture is, and how carefully and fiercely preserved and held those customs are. I was privileged to be welcomed into the community; it was beautiful to exist alongside such tight-knit families working to keep their history and lives relevant and accepted even in the face of such adversity. When I founded Written Off, it was imperative to me to continue that work by publishing these voices and to help educate others around their lives and the work that is going on within the community. Our mission is to amplify marginalised voices and Gemma’s work as a Romany Gypsy activist and advocate is a crucial part of that, bringing familiarity, relativity and clarity to an often-misunderstood part of our social fabric. Her work shows the person behind the label; it explores family, tradition, and how the community is changing with the current times, through the lens of a young Gypsy woman bringing up a Gypsy boy on the outskirts of a large city. It is, I feel, essential reading for those both in and outside of Gemma's community’.
TT News
‘1000 Years’, priced at £7.50, is available here:
https://writtenoffpublishing.com/shop/p/1000-years-gemma-lees
Or contact Gemma via her website to order a signed copy:
https://gemmaleesartist.co.uk/
1000 Years
We are children of India
The minister proclaimed
As we set forth from the land of kings
The vast Punjabi plains
We were attacked on that green earth
Mahmud of Ghazni forced the birth
Of Romani explorers under heavens blue
Their wheels hit dirt, adventuring to
Byzantium, that came first
But Rome alone couldn’t quench our thirst
Our stories unravelled
As our caravans travelled
To Anatolia and the Balkans
Made most of Europe our holy lands
Sixteen spokes turned
As we spoke and learned
Our oral histories shared along the way
Some of us stopping, some couldn’t stay
From Rajasthan to God knows where
Tried to extinguish our fire while we were there
Made to feel like we should hide
Traditions kept inside or modified
But in the end we somehow survived
And I am here with a thousand years
I wear like armour, aloft like a shield