by Matteo Veronesi As Andrea Pagani wrote so eloquently a dozen years ago in Cartapesta, a lovely little magazine from Imola that now alas has folded (Cartapesta, No. 9, October-December 2003): “It would be hard to find a city more suited than Ferrara – one of D’Annunzio’s “cities of silence”, with its wide empty streets, its … Continua a leggere
by Alexander Rosenthal Pubul* The clash between Socrates and the city of Athens which leads to his trial and death raises in the most dramatic possible form the fundamental question of the relationship between philosophy and politics. What is the nature of this conflict? How was it that Socrates who sought virtue and wisdom above … Continua a leggere
di Chiara De Luca* Michael Schmidt doesn’t have only a life to speak of, he doesn’t have only a story to draw from to enrich his poetry, which is so loaded with experience and so wisely chiseled. Born in Mexico City and now living and working in Manchester, founder and editorial director of the well-known … Continua a leggere
Chiara De Luca* da La corolla del ricordo, Kolibris, 2009 È strano vedi come possa il vento liberare il cielo e alleggerire in volo le braccia degli alberi di nuovo genuflessi. Prigioniera in casa manca ancora tanta luce bevuta dal palazzo a pochi metri desertato, mentre sul terrazzo i panni giocano coi fili appesantiti … Continua a leggere
di Teresa Caligiure I came from the outside, the rules of photography didn’t interest me… there were things you could do with a camera that you couldn’t do with any other medium… grain, contrast, blur, cock– eyed framing, eliminating or exaggerating grey tones and so on. I thought it would be good to show what’s … Continua a leggere
di Andrea Sartori* The military and political events which upset Florence between the end of Quattrocento and the first decades of the sixteenth century, are part of Machiavelli’s motivation to write The Prince. Nonetheless, even his most celebrated theatrical work – the Mandragola – is deeply affected by the instability and the moral crisis of … Continua a leggere
di Davide Zizza* Il sottile rumore del ticchettio della tastiera Il sottile rumore del ticchettio della tastiera. Olivetti Lettera 22. ‘Musica’… avrebbe detto qualcuno. Ipnosi… Il tuo pensiero mi sta di fianco e, dentro la mente, s’affolla l’alternativa per il migliore passo da scrivere. Ipnosi, e tutto il mondo cede sotto un viaggio degli occhi, per … Continua a leggere
by Enrico Minardi Luisetti’s study on Gilles Deleuze’s thought (“Una vita. Pensiero selvaggio e filosofia dell’intensità”, Milano: Mimesis Edizioni, 2011, pp. 158), while challenging, might give the reader some cause of perplexity and even criticism. With a polemical verve, exhibited since the book’s beginning, the author reacts against the supposedly Deleuzian misinterpretation of two key … Continua a leggere
di Giuseppe Gazzola* There is no doubt that current debates on Italian national identity, and on the meaning of Italian history, are very lively; of late, these discussions have been effective in questioning the many clichés and many established paradigms concerning nationalism and nation-building. But it is equally true that reflections on Italian national identity … Continua a leggere
Gabriella Sica* da Le lacrime delle cose, Moretti & Vitali, 2009 Seamus Seamus si chiama quell’uomo dai capelli candidi seduto quieto nella confusione di un aeroporto nel luogo degli attraversamenti fuori campo viene dalla campagna del Derry in Irlanda dal mondo verde dove la terra è terra e la poesia poesia per un invito: “piantatelo, … Continua a leggere
Translated by Marco Sonzogni and Theodore Ell Paolo Febbraro has a very distinct and very strong voice. Reading his poetry is like looking at painting whose contours and characters become more defined and captivating the more one steps away from it. Febbraro draws one in deeper each time, his thoughts and his words seizing the … Continua a leggere
Translated by Theodore Ell* and Marco Sonzogni* Natura La terra e a lei concorde il mare e sopra ovunque un mare più giocondo per la veloce fiamma dei passeri e la via della riposante luna e del sonno dei dolci corpi socchiusi alla vita e alla morte su un campo; e per quelle voci che … Continua a leggere
Translations by Marco Sonzogni* Fabiano Alborghetti’s Directory of the Vulnerable (Il registro dei fragili. Bellinzona: Edizioni Casagrande, 2009, 75pp) is unusual in terms of style and content. With allusions to Dante and Pound, Alborghetti tells a story in 43 cantos. The almost hypnotic rhythm of these understated yet pressing texts lulls the reader into following an … Continua a leggere
Translations by Marco Sonzogni* It is never an easy task to introduce a poet. When I need to do that, I like to think of T.S. Eliot, of his efforts to describe poets, understand their poetics, read their poems, and acknowledge their influence. So I think of, and face up to, those two heavy adjectives – … Continua a leggere
di Stefano Gulizia* Sometime in 1552 Giovanni Battista Ramusio left his home to reach the Ducal Palace. He had a delicate task to perform. The Venetian Senate had just assigned him the production of a detailed mappa mundi to be sent to Costantinopolis, as a gift requested in a letter by one of the sons … Continua a leggere
