CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF ITALO CALVINO: FINDING LIGHTNESS IN THE INFERNO

 

This year marks the centennial celebration of the remarkable Italian writer Italo Calvino. As an Italian and a devoted reader of his works, I find myself compelled to share the profound impact that his words and ideas have had on me. While my blog, FLY HIGH, primarily caters to an English-speaking audience, including many Americans and native English speakers, the universal themes in Calvino's literature make this tribute a perfect opportunity to engage with an international audience.

LONDON - THE CRUCIBLE EXPERIENCE

After all these years, at last 

I know you've been reading  all those excellent reviews the show has been getting after press night and I don't dare compete with them. This is just my totally biased account of an incredible adventure, the one my friends and I shared going to London to see The Crucible and, of course, Richard Armitage. Can you imagine how thrilling it might have been meeting him and, above all, seeing him in action on stage? I bet you can, if you know me at least a little. And can a dream come true meet expectations? Yes, unbelievably so, in my case. Even surpass them. Before you go on reading, here are a couple of due warnings: 1. you'll find some spoilers here and there 2. you may suffer from sudden fits of envy or jealousy. Sorry. 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - KEROUAC, THE BEATS, TRANSGRESSION AND REBELLION

Daniel Radcliffe as young Allen Ginsberg - Kill your Darlings (2013)

For once I didn't want to open the new school year talking about Early Romantic Poetry or reading passages from Gothic novels, Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott. Students in their last year at High School are supposed to read authors from the 19th and 20th century in English Literature and even authors from Anglo-American literature can be read. What usually happens is that following a chronological order, we manage to study many texts from the 19th century and only a few the the 20th, and the last ones in a hurry, when the final exams are approaching. First of all, my syllabus this year - since I can pick up which authors, themes and texts to include -   doesn't follow a chronological order, then I've also divided authors and texts according to short theme modules. 

The first theme I wanted to discuss with my oldest students (18-19 years old) is Rebellious Youth,  starting with J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, then reading pages from Jack Kerouac's On The Road as well as a poem by Sylvia Plath, Daddy,  and the conclusion of this set of lessons will be a movie my students haven't seen so far: Dead Poets Society.