Lighting the Way: Bariș’s New Adventure Celebrates Roma Culture | A Book for Children to Read, Share, and Cherish
An interview with the author, Alexandru Zamfir, coordinator of Roma Leadership Program
The Modul Cărturești Bookshop in Bucharest, Romania, recently came alive with the warm glow of a new story and a gathering that brought together children, parents, and book-loving friends. Together, we discovered the latest adventure of young Bariș in Bariș Talking to the Sun, created by writer Alexandru Zamfir, his ten-year-old co-author Ștefan Zamfir and illustrator Daniela Olaru.
Bariș. Talking to the Sun is a project of the Cu Alte Cuvinte Association (CUAC), co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund (AFCN), in partnership with Roma Education Fund Romania.
Following the much-loved Bariș Talking to the Rain, this new volume brings Bariș closer to the stories of his grandparents and great-grandparents, opening a heartfelt dialogue with the Sun and introducing a new character, Suraj.
Expanding the universe begun in the first book, Bariș Talking to the Sun invites children to explore the richness of Roma culture through curiosity, imagination, and friendship. On a scorching summer day, Bariș and his cousin Suraj complain about the heat, unaware that the Sun is listening. Soon, they discover that it has many tales to tell: about fire, craft, earth, and flowers that dance in its light.
The book will be available in Cărturești bookstores starting November 20. Thanks to the support of our Romanian team, 550 copies will reach teachers in small communities across the country, helping even more children step into Bariș’s world.
Interview with the author, Alexandru Zamfir, coordinator of REF’s Roma Leadership Program
What makes books like this essential today?
The need arises primarily from the lack of children’s books that address diversity in general and Roma culture in particular. That’s basically how I started creating stories with my son Stefan, creating stories with Roma characters, some inspired by our family, and mixing elements of reality with things, places, and adventures that we imagined ourselves.
Later, we realized that many other children and parents, or teachers and their students, had the same need, and that it would be amazing if we could put all these stories in a series of books that we could publish and that everyone could have access to.
The impact that the first book about Bariș had was extraordinary. We received testimonials from children who identify strongly with the story and want to be like Bariș, parents who finally have a book about their culture to read to their children, and teachers who can develop a whole series of educational activities in class based on the cultural, historical, or Romani language elements present in the book.
Where did the first two sparks of inspiration for Bariș come from?
The first source is definitely my son, Ștefan. That’s how we started building the story, with me started starting a narrative and him stepping in and adding all sorts of things: character names, places, happenings, and lots of magical elements.
The second source of inspiration is probably my extended family, the neighbors from my hometown neighborhood with whom I grew up, and all the people/characters I have met in various contexts, with all their diversity and specificity. So, this intersection of people, places, and events would be my second main source of inspiration.
How do you see Bariș’s world evolving in the future?
We plan to continue with at least two more books. We are currently working on the next one. We already have a series of cultural elements included, new characters, and many funny adventures. We won’t tell you what it will be about, but you can find a clue ( an Easter egg) on the cover, just like in the previous edition.
What is certain is that there is still much to be said about the richness of Roma culture, about the history of this people, with its good and bad sides, but through which they have passed with courage and pride, becoming stronger an stronger from one event to the next.
There are still many Roma characters waiting to come to light and meet as many people as possible. And looking back at the two books with Bariș that have already been published, each character or episode could be the subject of a whole separate book. All we need is to dedicate time and space, because inspiration will inevitably come, to create these stories that we so much need.
