Andreas Meier & Paul Polansky
"Bajram Mehmeti. Paintings of a Rom in Kosovo"

60 pages with 55 colour illustrations

Wädenswil 2004

CHF 28.00, Euro 18.80
ISBN 978-3-907142-18-9

 

"Bilder eines jungen Malers aus dem Kosovo, der in zweifachem Sinn einer Minderheit angehört: den serbisch-sprechenden Roma. Unbeeindruckt von der Ausgrenzung und Unterdrückung, hält Bajram Mehmeti den Alltag seiner unmittelbaren Umgebung fest; anrührend-naiv im Duktus, überraschend in der Beobachtung und von zartem Humor in der Darstellung."

Can be ordered through: http://www.nimbusbooks.ch/HTML/MeierA&P.html

Also available at Hotel Gracanica

 

Paul Polansky

"Gypsy Taxi" (English/Serbian)

Illustrations by Bajram and Farija Mehmeti

240 pages

Nis 2007

ISBN 1879457687

USD 25.00

 

Written both in English and in Serbian, Gypsy Taxi (Ciganski Taxi) contains poems that mainly tell the story of Paul Polansky's trips during the summer of 2001. Each poem reflects on Romani traditions and customs. As he keeps telling his Gypsy friends, not all their traditions are good ones, but he's always believed you have to see people's warts before you can help them. Of course, many of these traditions are outdated among the Gypsies themselves in other countries. But in the Balkans and especially in Kosovo the spirit behind those traditions is what he believes has enabled them to survive all the wars, and genocide, that is still taking place. Paul hopes a lot can be learned from these poems.