Lacková, Elena

(1921-2003)

   Slovakia. Writer. Born in the Romani settlement of Velky Saris to a Polish mother and a Romany father, Lackóvá was one of nine children and the only girl in her community of 600 to complete primary school. In 1944 the settlement where she lived with her husband was set on fire by fascists. As a result, she was forced to flee into the forest, where one of her twin daughters died of hunger in her arms. Her first literary work, a play in the Slovak language, drew on her wartime experiences and was entitled Horiaci cigansky tabor [The Gypsy Camp is Burning; 1947]. Later on, she wrote in Romani. She set up and later became president of the Cultural Association of Romani Citizens and founded a Romani periodical, Romano Lil (Gypsy News). She continued to write, including her autobiography, published in English as A False Dawn.