Books as compasses to orient ourselves in the “new times”, words as maps to explore the present. From June 20 to 22, the Marina Cafè Noir rekindles literature under the summer sky of Cagliari with its twenty-third edition. At the Bastione, writers from all over the world will meet, along with authorial music, performances and reflections that go straight to the heart of conflicts, social transformations and collective dreams.
Organized as always by the Chourmo association, the longest-running literary festival in Sardinia brings to the stage some of the strongest names in the contemporary cultural scene .
Among the most anticipated events, the presence of Pulitzer Prize winner Nathan Thrall, a reporter from Jerusalem, author of "A Day in the Life of Abed Salama", defined by JM Coetzee as "the best pages on Palestine ever written", stands out. Talking with him on Saturday 21st will be journalist Francesca Mannocchi, who will also be the protagonist with her Lirica Ucraina, a war reportage awarded at the David di Donatello.
The international voices compose a narrative map of extraordinary breadth : from Scotland comes Ali Millar with a dark and sensual novel, Ava Anna Ada; while Lin Hsin-Hui, among the most interesting authors of Taiwan, brings to Cagliari "Intimacy without contact", a literary journey at the borders between humans, technology and ecology.
There is no shortage of big Italian names: Giancarlo De Cataldo, with one of the first releases of his new novel “Un cadavere in cucina”, will be the protagonist of the reading “Killer food” together with the Ubu prize winner Valentino Mannias. With him also Viola Ardone, who completes her “Trilogia del Novecento” with Grande meraviglie and Andrea Staid, who proposes a new ecocentric vision of society with Dare forme al mondo.
To reveal new promises of narrative, the festival welcomes Rosita Manuguerra, author of the surprising Malanima (Feltrinelli) and rediscovers the value of dissemination with the Accademia Popolare, informal lessons curated by professors from the University of Cagliari.
Music also makes the Marina Cafè Noir a mixed-race festival in constant dialogue between the arts : Bobo Rondelli, the last “cursed” of the singer-songwriter, brings his “absurd stories” to Cagliari, accompanied by the band Musica da Ripostiglio. Each day will open with a female voice: from Irene Loche to Azzurra Parisi, up to the harmonies of the Balentes.
The Festival is also a living memory, with special tributes to three giants of Italian culture: Sergio Atzeni, thirty years after his death, Emilio Lussu, on the fiftieth anniversary, and Andrea Camilleri, on the centenary of his birth.
“Maps of the New Times” is the theme of this edition. The curators Giacomo Casti, Donatella Mendolia and Francesco Scanu explain : «Using books as tools to orient oneself in the sea magnum of new narratives and new pains is now more necessary than ever. Stories help us understand ourselves and these times».
(Unioneonline/Fr.Me.)