- FEBRUARY 2018 -
Books
Not even love transforms the Stock Exchange of destinies
by Sergio D’Amaro The novel by the economist Vito Spada, L’amore infelice, presents the contrast between living in New York and returning to Lecce, amidst slow rhythms and paralysis. A story of personal crisis against a backdrop of the epochal economic crisis of the last ten years. And love that breaks out oblivious to any rational design November 2017
And the dream of conquest turned into a mirage of the desert
by Michele Presutto Among the old family photos, turned yellow by the passing time, a man in colonial uniform in the Libyan desert. The war, the combat, the massacres. And above all the desert. In Sergio D’Amaro’s latest novel, Il grande ghibli, the desert is a metaphor for life November 2017
Joseph’s Gargano
In a book from Schena, Antonio Motta’s long interview with the Italian-American poet, writer and Latin scholar Joseph Tusiani June 2017
The tragedy of Mattmark A book so as not to forget
by Sergio D’Amaro In 1965, in Switzerland, 88 workers, mainly Italian emigrants, lost their lives due to an avalanche of ice while they were building a dam. A touching essay by scholar Toni Riccardi, from the University of Geneva, reconstructs the story June 2017
Journey through the gardens of Italy
A new Touring Club publication, L’Italia dei giardini, with pictures and authoritative texts, tells the story of over 300 flower-filled paradises. The section devoted to Puglia is particularly lavish, covering gardens from the Baroque age to those of the 1900s May 2017
When poetry investigates “time”
by Sergio D’Amaro In the collection of poems by Apulian Enrico Fraccacreta the comparison between Time with a capital “t” and that of his personal experience. In the wake of T. S. Eliot May 2017
Amidst the storms of life it’s the strength of a loving heart that wins
by Antonio Fuso A story of economic and relationship difficulties and how they are overcome in this novel by Salvatore Guglielmino …ed il “sole” è risorto trionfante (published by Albatros). The counterpointing of North and South and Jews and Christians against the background of the story of Calisto and Adalgise and their eight children May 2017
That valley in the Gargano so rich in history that must not be forgotten
by Sergio D’Amaro In the interesting book by Grazia Galante,“La vadda de Stignane” e altri canti popolari di San Marco in Lamis, complete with musical transcription and CD, witnesses give their precious evidence of an almost bygone civilization March 2017
Grottaglie and its pottery through the life of the benefactor Vincenzo Calò
by Raffaele Nigro A book by Roberto Burano about the distinguished doctor from Grottaglie, reconstructs his life, closely tied to the history of the town’s magnificent ceramics January 2017
Eighty years of joyful culture
by Sergio D’Amaro In a book for the eightieth birthday of the intellectual Raffaele Cera, La memoria gioiosa (Joyful memory), the testimony of scholars and friends on his many interests and his untiring activity as a promoter of culture. The backdrop is his beloved birthplace, San Marco in Lamis. Introduction by Joseph Tusiani March 2017
Sergeant Romano’s siege like in a movie
by Sergio D’Amaro Brigands and Piemontese at Gioia del Colle after the annexation by the House of Savoy (1861) in Marco Cardetta’s latest novel. The pages written by the young author from Puglia steeped in evocative emotion and dramatic instinct January 2017
The magnificent eighty
by Anna M. Conserva Amidst thinking back, weighing up, and worrying about the future, Sulla corsia degli 80, the latest book by Matteo Bonadies, is a song of praise for life and for the desire and possibility of living it intensely even at eighty November 2016
San Marco in Lamis seen from its bell-tower
by Sergio D’Amaro Thirteen snaps by Michele Lariccia, collected in a splendid album, offer us an unusual perspective of this little town on the Gargano November 2016
A great love for splendid Castro
by Alessandra Peluso It is to the “pearl of Salento” that Rocco Boccadamo has dedicated his recently published book, A Castro, con il cuore, a collection of stories which show, yet again, his unbreakable bond with the history and traditions of his land September 2016
Better not come home... Letters between Italy and America during the first World War
by Michele Presutto An interesting book by Luigi Botta, Figli non tornate! (1915-1918), Aragno Editore, contains a collection of letters exchanged between the two sides of the Atlantic, shedding light on the dramas and hidden truths of the years of the Great War.Many letters also from Puglia September 2016
Story of a poet between Puglia and America
by Sergio D’Amaro Recently published by Bompiani, In una casa un’altra casa trovo, the autobiography of Joseph Tusiani, edited by Raffaele Cera and Cosma Siani, in a new version, easy to read and incisive.A new life amidst the skyscrapers of the mighty America, never losing sight of his beloved Gargano, where his life-story began July 2016
Worked to death under the sun of Puglia
by Enrica Simonetti The death of Paola Clemente, a farm laborer who lost her life last July while working in the fields in conditions reminiscent of slavery, is the focus of a book by Enrica Simonetti, Morire come schiavi, la storia di Paola Clemente nell’inferno del caporalato (Dying like slaves, the story of Paola Clemente and the hell of the gangmasters) just published by Imprimatur Editore.We are pleased to print an extract May 2016
When forgotten objects tell a life story
by Michele Presutto In Sergio D’Amaro’s latest book it is an alarm clock, a book, a torch, an airplane that tell us about history and memories and also about daily life.The poet and intellectual from Rodi Garganico creates a sort of Spoon River Anthology of lost and forgotten objects April 2016
Masserie of Puglia Journey amidst Beauty
by Olimpia Ruffo A precious book of photographs by the photographer Adriano Bacchella, from Turin, with a text by Franco Faggiani.“The masserie are the symbol of Puglia” January 2016
An excursion into the Salentine dialect … Mai pe iabbu
by Alberto Sobrero The analysis of some expressions in the dialect of Salento revealing its stereotypes, beliefs and prejudices, with comments by prominent figures in Piero Manni’s readable collection, Mai pe iabbu. I vocaboli e le espressioni intraducibili del Salento (‘Mai pe iabbu’. Salento’s untranslatable words and expressions) November 2015
The moral revival of the South can start from its “best”
by Raffaele Nigro In the latest essay by Lino Patruno, Il meglio Sud (The best South) (Rubbettino), an in-depth analysis of the ills of the South but also the glimmer of light from positive projects in a South that works, thinks and holds its own October 2015
Life, anyway!
by Sergio D’Amaro In the latest book by Matteo Bonadies, Anyway. Venticinque anni dopo, the prolific author from Barletta takes another risk by revisiting his biography with passion and without reticence November 2015
Rainbow of women
by Anna M. Conserva Rosa Di Maggio’s precious little book has stories of women in a small village in the south of Italy. Feisty, intense, “real” women July 2015
Amidst the mountains of Val d’Aosta …in pursuit of the culprit
by Anna M. Conserva The new adventure of Commander Colleoni in Franco Faggiani’s latest novel.Splendid landscapes, a range of human types, and clues that dissolve like “soap bubbles” May 2015
…Once upon a time there was the past Writing about it to preserve the memory
by Giuliana Coppola L’asilo di donna Emma, the latest book by the Salentinian writer Rocco Boccadamo, is a collection of his travel notes and letters to the papers February 2015
Disorder and experimentation in the museum-houses of Ignazio Apolloni
by Alessandro Gaudio We are pleased to publish a summary of Alessandro Gaudio’s preface to the essay by Carmen De Stasio analyzing the work of the Sicilian artist January 2015
Salento stories …in search of lost time
by Raffaella Verdesca In Rocco Boccadamo’s latest book – a homage to his Marittima and neighbouring Castro – his memories of life experiences, local characters from the past and their old crafts tell of the Salento of former times and re-discover its dignity and values December 2014
Pietro Marti, the great standard-bearer of Salento culture
by Giuseppe Orlando D’Urso Ermanno Inguscio has dedicated a precious monograph to the extraordinary figure of the intellectual from Ruffano – a journalist, conference speaker and editor of La Voce del Salento.Through a reconstruction of Marti’s works and deeds he shines a light on the cultural history of Salento and its characters and their role in Italy September 2014
Even tycoons cry
by Sergio D’Amaro Life at the top doesn’t agree with the heart. Matteo Bonadies’ latest novel explains it for us in a tale of ambition and success set in Italy, the U.S. and Australia, down to the bitterness of old age and the inescapable changes on withdrawal from the scene July 2014
If a “whale” island appears one night out of nowhere…
by Giacomo Annibaldis The adventure of a farmer-fisherman in the Columbia of the 1800s, with echoes of Màrquez, in Il canto della Balena (Tea Editore), the imaginative final novel by Corrado Sobrero, who died in 2012, at only 44 years of age.His previous novel was praised by critics like Segre and Ferroni May 2014
From his ancestral Calabria to Roma Precious memories of a lifetime
by Sergio D’Amaro In Francesco Leonetti’s memoir, Una come un’altra, published by Gangemi, the reconstruction of the experiences of a lifetime with the backdrop of Italy in the last sixty years and more distant family memories March 2014
The importance of rediscovering “fraternity”
by Laura Tundo Ferente Maria Rosaria Manieri, with her long experience as Senator of the Italian Republic behind her, dedicates her latest book Fraternità. Fraternità. Rilettura civile di un’idea che può cambiare il mondo (Fraternity. Civil re-reading of an idea that could change the world), published by Marsilio, to the philosophical analysis of the category of fraternity, lost in the democracies of our times.Kant and Marx had intuited its importance February 2014
In the wax museum to seek the dream of a better world
by Giuseppe Lupo In the latest book by Raffaele Nigro, Il custode del museo delle cere (The wax museum curator), published by Rizzoli, a sumptuous kaleidoscope of stories within stories.Speaking statues that relate a hundred years of history. The dream of Socialism and the death of utopia. But maybe we can still hope February 2014
Naples “Kissed by God and raped by Man”
by Lino Patruno It is unrivalled for its artistic and cultural treasures and is the city where pizza, coffee, pasta, the tarantella, the nativity scene and tombola were born.Home to philosophers like Giambattista Vico, composers like Scarlatti and actors like Totò.
It’s all to be found in the surprising book by young writer and journalist, Angelo Forgione January 2014
Once upon a time there was the padre-padrone
by Sergio D’Amaro In the latest novel by writer, entrepreneur and film producer, Matteo Bonadies, the clash between the family as it used to be and that of today.Expert investigator into the family set-up, the subject of many of his works, the author analyzes what remains of the old meaning of the expression Pater Familias December 2013
Second World War The drama of the fallen
by Sergio D’Amaro Per non dimenticarli, a book by Maria Schiena which has just come out, reconstructs the story of the 140 Italian soldiers fallen or missing in action who came originally from San Marco in Lamis (Foggia).Large-scale History told by aiming the objective at a small tile in the mosaic November 2013
On the Savannah lagoons …to heal
by Sergio D’Amaro Whispering tides, the surprising narrative debut by journalist Guido Mattioni.From the success of the ebook (published by the American Smashwords house) to the book (in English and Italian) the story of an Italian in America seeking an “elsewhere” to get over a great sorrow September 2013
The meaning of the 20th century in the saga of the Stille family
by Sergio D’Amaro Alexander Stille’ latest book, The Force of Things, reconstructs the history of his father, Ugo, a legendary reporter and editor in chief of the Corriere della Sera.Born into a Jewish-Russian family, he was later an Italian in America, where he met his wife, the American Elizabeth Bogert, at a party given by Truman Capote.
The great vicissitudes of the time against the background of their marriage April 2013
