Raisa Nabaranchuk (pseudonym Rani Romani) was born in Nazi-occupied Kyiv in 1943. Her father was a Servy Rom and her mother of Raseytsy origin.

Most of her life, Nabaranchuk worked as a hairdresser, a trade that her family continued to ply for several generations. She started writing in the 1960s, but it only remained her hobby until the 1990s, when, encouraged by her relative Mikha Kazimirenko, she published several poems.

In recent years, Nabaranchuk has become active in public life: she participates in the Romani studies programme at universities in Kyiv and Chernihiv and represents the Romani community at various festivals and in concerts in Ukraine and elsewhere.

Nabaranchuk is best known for her poetry collection Мирэ дрога мануша, кэ тумэ мирэ лава [Mire droga manusha, ke tume mire lava] (literally ‘My dear people, my words are to you’).

(Ilona Makhotina)

Bibliography

Рани Романи. 2015. Мирэ дрога мануша, кэ тумэ мирэ лава. Київ [Rani Romani. 2015. Mire droga manuša, ke tume mire lava. Kiev].