Working in Translation 21

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Every time I am given the honor of coming to the Casa della Poesia in Baronisi, Italy it is a pleasure and an adventure.  Baronisi is a small city near the port city of Salerno that, among other offerings has a university, convent and a park across the street from the house of poetry. The Casa della Poesia is really a house of poetry. Created by Rafaella Marzano  and Sergio Iagulli it is an organization which publishes and hosts poets from around the world.  They produce their own festivals, bring poetry and poets to schools in Italy, and bring poets from Italy, other European nations and other world locals to Italy to participate in poetry festivals and presentations. They also have an incredible website with features on poets they have hosted including poems in their original language with Italian translations. Some video performances of poets with and without music are also featured. The house itself has a lovely patio garden for small readings and gatherings and a ground floor library and presentation space. Upstairs there is an art and book filled two-bedroom apartment that they use to host the visiting poets.  The library has books in many languages reflecting their support for and love of poets of the world.

This year, however, is especially incredible.  After a day to recover from jet lag after a trying plane journey that began on a Tuesday and ended on a Thursday, I had my first performance which followed an award presentation.

In 2016 the Cavallo-Coppola family “in full harmony with the House of Poetry of Baronissi-Salerno,” created the Regina Coppola International Literary Award in order to keep alive the memory of Regina Coppola (16 June 1956 – 6 June 2015),

Regina Coppola

“whose sensitivity towards aesthetic values and Social solidarity are well known to those who knew her.”

This year I received the Regina Coppola International Literary Award. “With it we intend to enhance the work done by a woman over the years in the literary field and that has been accompanied by a significant civil and social commitment. And this as a tribute to Regina Coppola and in full awareness of the greatest difficulties still faced by women to establish themselves in all areas of life in Italy and in the world.”   

Previous recipients have included:

Agneta Falk – Sweden

Maram Al-Masri – Syria

Barbara Korun – Slovinia

The ceremony was held in the Teatro Genovesi in Salerno and included the luminous solo jazz piano playing of maestro Gaspare Di Lieto who again accompanied my reading. (Heere is an older recording I performed with his group) The award ceremony included kind words about me and my work, a luscious bouquet of flowers, a hand-crafted ceramic platter created by Rosella NicolÒ, and a monetary award.

Photo by Pina Masturzo
Photo by Pina Masturzo

I read in English and the poems, translated by Rafaella were projected in Italian onto a screen in back of me. Afterwards I used my poor, but slowly improving, skills in Italian to talk with audience members and sign books. Following that we had an incredible dinner at a new Salerno restaurant and then back to the casa to have a day’s rest before departing for a literary festival in Sardinia.

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