Edward Dębicki

Edward Dębicki (born 4 March 1935) is a Polish Romani poet, musician and composer. His work is strongly connected with the Romani community and its traditions, especially the itinerant life and the Polish Romani culture of professional music.

Biography

Dębicki was born in Kałusz, in present-day Ukraine, the son of the Romani musicians Władysław Krzyżanowski and Franciszka Raczkowska. Much of his youth was spent travelling with his parents in their caravan around the border regions of Poland and Ukraine. In 1953 he was attended music schools in Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra, founding the music group Terno, later taking part in accordion competitions in Kielce and Wrocław. At present he lives in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland.

Works

Dębicki is the director of the Romani music group Terno (the Young), which he founded in 1955 as Kcham (the Sun). He is the author of the book of poetry 'Under the naked sky' ('Pod gołym niebem', 1993) and the novel 'Bird of the dead' ('Ptak umarłych', 2004) which describes the experiences of a Romani family in Wołyń during the second world war. He has also written around 200 songs.