“Unveiling the Past: Joanna Rubin Dranger’s Graphic Memoir Reveals Hidden Stories of Resilience and Remembrance”
Joanna has been awarded the Stora Svenska Illustrator Prize, the Swedish Series Academy’s Adamson statuette, and the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize. She was the first female professor of illustration at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts, and Design. She lives in Stockholm with her husband and three children. I had the opportunity to connect with her by email to learn more about her writing process and research, and how books like hers can help foster empathy and connection.
Hillary Moses Mohaupt: Thank you so much for this book, which really puts to use the strengths of its form as a graphic memoir. Your drawings allow you to insert the voices and photographs of your family members, as well as illustrations and copies of newspaper articles and other archival documentation. The book brings people to life. We see their faces, hear their voices, and read how newspapers first reported on the pogroms, raids, and systematic loss of rights and life. Can you talk a little bit about the power of graphic forms for memoir?
