Koudelka Gypsies

ThisbookisarevisedandenlargedversionoftheoriginalmaquetteforJosefKoudelkasbookCikáni(CzechforGypsies),preparedbyKoudelkaandgraphicdesignerMilanKoprivain1968,andintendedforpublicationinPraguein1970.However,KoudelkaleftCzechoslovakiain1970,andthebookwasneverpublishedinthatoriginalform.KoudelkasstarkimagesdepictthepovertyandclannishnessofGypsylife,buthedoesnotpresenttheirsituationasasocialproblemthatshouldsomehowbefixed.Instead,heshowstheGypsiesasperpetualoutsiders,andtheirlivesasaprimalmixofgleeandwonder,sorrowandmystery.Thisextendedversionoftheseminal'Gitans,lafinduvoyage'consistsof109photographstakenbetween1962and1971inwhatwasCzechoslovakia(Bohemia,MoraviaandSlovakia),Romania,Hungary,FranceandSpain.SociologistWillGuy,authorofthetextthataccompaniedthefirstpublicationofGypsies,hascontributedanupdatedessay,tracingthemigrationoftheRomafromtheiroriginalhomelandinnorthernIndia,totheircurrentstatusonethatcontinuestobecontestedinternationally.