Colum McCann in 2007: “I’m interested in these pockets of humanity that no one talks about: the homeless, the Gypsies…”
Irish-born American writer Colum McCann takes part in the third edition of the America Festival, dedicated to Canadian literature, in Vincennes, on October 1, 2006. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP
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Interview In 2007, the Irish writer Colum McCann presented his novel "Zoli" to "Le Nouvel Observateur", in which he tells the story of a gypsy poet born in the 1930s, a victim of persecution.
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The Irish novelist explores the little-known world of Roma. He talks about his life among them, the homeless in New York, and asserts his role as a social writer.
IgnoranceThe best way to understand something is to write a book about it! I knew nothing about the Roma. I didn't even know the meaning of the word, which refers to both a people and a language. In the Ireland of my youth, we had no contact with the Gypsy camps there. When I opened my eyes to their existence, I began to see the world differently. I had the same experience while writing…
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