Veijo Baltzar, author – playwright - theatre director – poet – visual artist

Veijo Baltzar is a world-known Finnish Romani writer who has done a life’s work for the Roma people through his artistic, cultural and societal activity. Baltzar began his career as an author with the novel Polttava tie (Burning road) in 1968 and has since been Finland’s leading Romani author. Burning Road was the first novel in Finland in which a member of the community approached the hidden world of gypsy culture.

Since then Veijo Baltzar has discussed the Roma culture and its relationship with the majority culture in several novels, plays, prose collections, librettos and movie manuscripts. Baltzar has directed several plays and acted as a teacher at the Theatre Academy Helsinki. The author also actively makes visual arts.

Veijo Baltzar is proud of his cultural roots. Strong Roma identity and deep knowledge on the culture of the majority have opened him strong and critical views on both worlds.