18TH ITALIAN LANGUAGE WEEK IN THE WORLD
Under the High Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic
A night of poetry reading accompanied by classical guitar
Words can describe the outside world better than the eyes can see it, according to Franco Arminio. “The most important poet in Italy …”, as defined by Roberto Saviano, believes that the poet’s words reveal invisible details that shine a light on what the naked eye cannot perceive. His poetry widely spread on the web through the sharing of thousands of Facebook and Instagram users.
His gentle poems remind us what being revolutionary means today. In his own words revolutionary “means taking away more than adding, slowing down more than accelerating. It means giving value to silence, to darkness and light, to fragility and sweetness”.
On the occasion of his debut reading in the United States, Arminio will recite some of his most inspiring poems accompanied by the soothing sound of a classical guitar, and will then discuss his vision with the audience.
Lucia Wolf, Reference Librarian for the Italian collections in the European Division of The Library of Congress, will introduce the program.
in collaboration with
LOCATION
Embassy of Italy
3000 Whitehaven Street NW
Washington, DC 20008
REGISTRATION & PHOTO ID REQUIRED
DOORS OPEN 30 MINUTES PRIOR EVENT START-TIME
Due to new safety regulations, we are not allowed to add extra seats to the auditorium or let anyone stand. A registration is not a guarantee of a seat as these are assigned on a first-come first-served basis. Doors close at event start-time. Ticket availability date subject to change.
RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH EVENTBRITE. NO PHONE OR EMAIL RSVP AVAILABLE
FRANCO ARMINIO
Franco Arminio (1960) is one of the best-known poets in Italy. He lives in Bisaccia (about 4,000 inhabitants), in the East side of the Irpinia region. He has published over twenty poetry and prose works, among which Diario civile (Sellino 1999), Viaggio nel cratere (Sironi 2003), Circo dell’ipocondria (2006) and Nevica e ho le prove. Cronache dal paese della cicuta (Laterza 2009). With Vento forte tra Lacedonia e Candela. Esercizi di paesologia (Laterza 2008) he won the 2009 Naples Award.
Arminio writes about “paesologia”, the landscape of towns and the countryside, the way they are and what they could become. He writes to support their defense and preservation in articles in newspapers and on the web. Resteranno i canti, his latest collection of poems is proving enormous success just like the previous Give way to the trees.
LUCIA WOLF
Lucia Wolf is the Italian Specialist Reference Librarian at the European Division of the Library of Congress, responsible for the collections of Italy, Malta, Switzerland, Vatican, and San Marino. In 1992, Lucia Wolf graduated in Medieval and Renaissance history Cum Laude from the “Sapienza” University of Rome. Until 1995, she continued to collaborate with the Istituto storico per il medioevo in Rome as a researcher and contributed to the translation in Italian of Charles Radding’s book The Origins of Medieval Jurisprudence. Pavia and Bologna 800-1150. In 2000, she published an article “Materiali d’archivio per la storia del Collegio medico romano nel Seicento e nel Settecento” in the Annali di Storia delle Università italiane, 4 (2000). Since 1999, Lucia Wolf lives in the United States, where she earned a Bachelor’s of Art in English Literature from the University of Maryland, a Master’s of Art in English Literature from George Mason University, and a Master’s in Library Science from the University of Maryland. At the Library of Congress, she is also responsible for the acquisition of new books and periodicals published in Italy every year. She also organizes cultural programs dedicated to the promotion of the Italian language and culture in partnership with the Embassy of Italy, the Italian Institute of Culture, as well as other local and international cultural associations.