#ItalianLitMonth n.28: Glowrushes by Roberto Piumini: A Timeless Italian Masterpiece

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Leah Janeczko A wealthy lord summons an artist to his palace to paint murals in the three windowless rooms to which his young son is confined due to a life-threatening illness. The artist’s boundless generosity turns the simple commission into a years-long labor of love, and his paintings allow the boy to vicariously experience … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.28: Glowrushes by Roberto Piumini: A Timeless Italian Masterpiece

#ItalianLitMonth n.27: Maria Grazia Calandrone’s Your Little Matter

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Antonella Lettieri Maria Grazia Calandrone was born in Milan in 1964, following her mother’s affair with an older man. A few years earlier, Lucia – that is, Maria Grazia’s biological mother – had been forced by her own father to marry a notoriously violent and often drunk man from her village in a rural … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.27: Maria Grazia Calandrone’s Your Little Matter

#ItalianLitMonth n.26: “Born a Rebel” Is a Cry for Gender Justice

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

Author interview by Lisa Mullenneaux Yvette Samnick was born in Okala, Cameroon, in 1985 of a polygamous father, who had four wives. She earned a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of Calabria in 2016 and in 2019 published her first book, Perché ti amo (Pelligrini, Cosenza). In 2024 Edizione E/O (Rome) launched her … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.26: “Born a Rebel” Is a Cry for Gender Justice

#ItalianLitMonth n.24: Convivial Poems by Giovanni Pascoli and the Podcast “An Ancient Language for a Modern Soul”

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Elena Borelli Giovanni Pascoli (1855–1912) is celebrated as a pioneer of modern Italian poetry, and has been hailed by Seamus Heaney as “one of the greatest poets of all times”. Reflecting the spirit of late 19th-century Italy, his works are influenced by French Symbolism and Decadentism, while also drawing from Italy’s rich classical tradition. … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.24: Convivial Poems by Giovanni Pascoli and the Podcast “An Ancient Language for a Modern Soul”

#ItalianLitMonth n.22: Translation as Travel Escapism: A Cautionary Tale

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Scott Belluz “The Americans dreaming of Italy and the Italians dreaming of America have finished their aperitifs by now.” Masneri, Michele. Paradiso (S. Belluz, Trans). Adelphi, 2024. I chuckled when I read this line from Michele Masneri’s latest novel, in which he describes the scene at an outdoor café where his protagonist Federico, a … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.22: Translation as Travel Escapism: A Cautionary Tale

#ItalianLitMonth n.21: Exorcising the Fear of What Is Different: The Art Book Segunda Pele by Zoè Gruni

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Karen Whittle Putting on her second skin, in performances consisting of photography, drawing, sculpture, video and installation, Italian artist Zoè Gruni seeks to experience/experiment life through art. Her artistic research has always stemmed from the need to exorcise the fear of what is different. Her body, clothed/shielded/protected/filtered, acts as a catalyst to reach out … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.21: Exorcising the Fear of What Is Different: The Art Book Segunda Pele by Zoè Gruni

#ItalianLitMonth n.20: newitalianbooks.it: Your Portal to the World of Italian Publishing

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Paolo Grossi newitalianbooks.it is the web portal dedicated to the promotion of Italian books worldwide, comparable to similar European websites such as the German litrix.de and new-books-in-german.com, the French booksfromfrance.fr, the Spanish newspanishbooks.com, the Dutch letterfonds.nl, etc.  newitalianbooks.it was born in 2020, on my initiative, in a bilingual, Italian-English edition, thanks to the support … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.20: newitalianbooks.it: Your Portal to the World of Italian Publishing

#ItalianLitMonth n.19: My White Whale: Translating Daniele Del Giudice

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Anne Milano Appel I first came upon Daniele Del Giudice in a bookstore window in Rome, while waiting for a bus on Via Vittorio Emanuele. In the window was a copy of his Staccando l'ombra da terra and I went in and bought it. As I read it, I got a sense that this … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.19: My White Whale: Translating Daniele Del Giudice

#ItalianLitMonth n.18: Encounters Through Translation

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

by Ruth Chester I’d like to tell you about my latest translated book, Translating Concepts: Metamorphosis Through Encounter by Stefano Arduini, which is coming out with Routledge later this year. As seems to be often the way with finding works you really want to translate, I came across this book through other people, and it … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n.18: Encounters Through Translation

#ItalianLitMonth n. 17: Geoffrey Brock on His Translation of Silvia Vecchini’s Young Adult Novel Before Nightfall

Posted on by Leah Janeczko

Chenxin Jiang talks to Geoffrey Brock about his translation of Silvia Vecchini's Before Nightfall, a young adult novel about the siblings Carlo and Emma. Carlo is a teenager who happens to be hearing-impaired and can see only out of one eye. Now that eye is failing, and Carlo must have an operation to try to … Continue reading #ItalianLitMonth n. 17: Geoffrey Brock on His Translation of Silvia Vecchini’s Young Adult Novel Before Nightfall