L'articulation de la voix dans la poésie de Bronis?awa Wajs (Papusza) et de Lumini?a Cioab?

Abstract

In this paper I compare discursive practices related to the metaphor of “voice” in the texts of two Romani writers, Bronisława Wajs (Papusza) (1910-1987), Polish poet and Luminiţa Cioabă, contemporary Romanian poet. The feminine voice in an emerging literature in the language of the other is the subject of my investigation. In Papusza’s case, the poetic voice is reduced to silence following its written expression. The poet produces written texts based on her songs which she burns following her exclusion from her tribe. In the fifties, Papusza stops writing and lives in isolation for the rest of her life.I compare the creative practices of Papusza and Cioabă, both poets coming from the Roma community but living under different circumstances. I will discuss the transition from orality to writing and the metamorphosis of the tragic biography of Papusza into legend. I will interrogate the conditions under which, decencies later, a Romanian poet like Cioabă manages to be professionally accomplished and to become an icon of literary success in Romania and a militant for Roma rights. What are the negotiations involved in the case of a woman writer of minority descent nowadays? What is the price to be paid for this negotiation? How is one stretched between languages and between a hegemonic culture and the culture of one’s community (which is not one but multiple and diverse)? Did Papusza’s tragic lesson inspire prudence in women’s voices of Romani culture? In this paper will try to investigate these complex questions.