Author Gary G. Steele to speak at the Alachua County Library Headquarters

Gary G. Steele will discuss his book, The Gypsy Family Circus of 1933: Stories from a Long-Gone Era on Saturday, June 1, at 2:30 p.m. in the Foundation Room of the Alachua County Library Headquarters in downtown Gainesville.

Weaving together a vast and varied tapestry of people, places, animals, and events selected from stories heard in childhood, the author will rely on his “Gypsy story-telling gene” to bring back to life a different world, a world of his Gypsy family, their circus life, and the struggle they and all Americans faced in the Great Depression.

His presentation will illustrate interactively some themes of the book, explain cultural and ethnic perceptions, and respond to questions and interests of those attending. It will be a sort of “coming-out” event, in that it has never really been beneficial to admit being Gypsy. The usual result has been either prejudice or peculiar questions and comments. But maybe it’s time.

Care to have your fortune told or learn how to spin cotton candy the fast and easy way? How about some insider tips on riding jumping horses under the big top, or maybe handling a spooked elephant in a parade? Even free pony rides for all with a fertile enough imagination. We’ll see what old family secrets are of greatest interest.

Steele uses historical fiction to recreate the life his older relatives lived during the Great Depression. He feels fortunate to have a Gypsy heritage, to have grown up on circuses (when not in boarding school), and to have the chance to interpret that life to a wider world.