News
Monday October 5th, 2009
KITCAFFE'
The Cell Theater
(338 W 23rd Street)
6:30-8:30pm
Professional readings in English followed by the Italian version of pages from masterpieces by Italian writers from the past to the present. All set in a cafè atmosphere.
First Focus on Sicily: Leonardo Sciascia and Gesualdo Bufalino
Admission: $15.00 SPECIAL PROMOTION PRICE $ 10.00
To RSVP, email info@kitheater.com or call 212-254 4025
KIT is very proud to present the very first KITCAFFE' a literary
series in Italian, with some English, to discover the most
fascinated and beloved Italian writers from the past to the present.
Centuries ago, first in Paris, and then all over Europe, Cafès
and Salotti Letterari became meeting point for artists and intellectuals
to discuss ideas as well as every day facts. While the Cafès were
open to the public and attended mostly by men, the Salotti Letterari
were private events, organized by cultural refined Ladies, often
aristocrats, who loved to bring together people of different backgrounds
to discuss and exchange opinions and knowledge.
KIT is now recreating its own Salotto-Caffè Letterario, hosted by KIT's ladies, Laura Caparrotti and Marta Mondelli, as well as other surprise guests. In a two-hour event, the guests will be introduced each time to two wonderful Italian writers from the past and the present.
Professional actors will engage in dramatic readings of short
stories, excerpts from novels or essays by the most fascinated
and beloved Italian authors from the past to the present. Following
KIT's tradition, the reading will be first in English followed
by its Italian version.
Copies of the reading material will be provided in advance to give the opportunity to follow the professional reading. After the reading, the hosts will moderate the post reading discussion, the exchange of ideas and opinions, while correcting Italian and Italian pronunciation.
Being in a Salotto/Caffè, wine, coffee and pastries will be served to the guests.
The first KITCAFFE' will be dedicated to two Masters of writing,
both from Sicily. Leonardo Sciascia, who passed
away 20 years ago, is one of the giant of Italian Literature
of 1900, author of "The Day of the Owl", "Open Doors", "To
Each His Own", just to name a few. Gesualdo Bufalino,
a writer discovered when he was old. Known for "the Bufalino
Case", he started his first novel, "The plague sower", in the
50s, but not believing in his writing, he decided to complete
it only after retiring. With such novel, he won the Campiello
Prize, and continued to write until his death.
Titles to be read:
To Each His Own by L. Sciascia: one
of the masterworks of the great Sicilian novelist Leonardo
Sciascia--a gripping and unconventional detective story that
is also an anatomy of a society founded on secrets, lies, collusion,
and violence.
Lies of the Night by G. Bufalino: Four men are accused of sedition and arrested by the pre-Risorgimento Bourbon kingdom of Southern Italy. The men will die if they do not reveal the name of their anonymous mastermind, to whom they refer as "God the Father." As they await death, they imitate The Decameron by sharing with one another tales that are allegedly autobiographical. Governor DeRitis, their tormentor now disguised as an apprehended brigand, arranges to occupy the same cell and confronts the "lies of the night" evident in their respective narratives. But he never suspects that the biggest lie may be the very existence of the mastermind whose identity he so obsessively pursues. Bufalino won the 1988 Strega Prize for this spellbinding tale of mystery and psychological observation. Jack Shreve, Allegany Community Coll., Cumberland, Md.
The pastries are kindly provided by Sora Lella NYC Restaurant (300 Spring Street @ Hudson street).
The event is presented in collaboration with The Cell.
For everyone who reads and understands Italian, and wishes to reading and understanding more about our culture!
LEONARDO SCIASCIA
Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989) was born in Racamulto, Sicily. One of the most important modern Italian writers, he was also a controversial commentator on political affairs, especially within Sicily. In addition to notable mystery novels such as The Day of the Owl and The Wine Dark Sea, Sciascia wrote plays, short stories and essays. Among his many other books are Salt on the Wound, a biography of a Sicilian town, The Council of Egypt, an historical novel, and Todo Modo, a book in a genre that Sciascia could be said to have invented: the metaphysical mystery. Sciascia was part of a House of Deputies investigation into the prominent Christian Democrat Aldo Moro's kidnapping, and right after he presented a forensic analysis of the kidnapping and the assassination of Moro, in his book The Moro Affair. In Sciascia's books, there is rarely a happy ending and there is rarely justice for the ordinary man
Gesualdo Bufalino
Italian novelist (1920 - 1996), Bufalino saw his literary career
blossom after his retirement from teaching in 1976. He attended
Catania and Palermo universities, but service during World
War II took him away from Sicily in 1942. Bufalino fought
with the partisans in northern Italy and was captured by
the Germans. Although he managed to escape, he contracted
tuberculosis while in hiding and was sent to a sanatorium
after the war. In 1947 Bufalino returned to his beloved native
island, Sicily. There he taught humanities at a teacher-training
school in Vittoria, where he also wrote prose and translated
French poetry. In 1981, with the aid of novelist Leonardo
Sciascia, Bufalino published his first novel, Diceria dell'untore (The
Plague Sower, 1988), which he had started writing in the
1950s. Based upon his experiences in the sanatorium, it was
awarded the Campiello Prize. Museo d'ombre (1982),
a collection of prose pieces, and the novel Argo il cieco (1984;
Blind Argus, 1989) both reflected on life in Sicily. Bufalino
displayed the depth of his craftsmanship in L'uomo invaso (1986;
The Keeper of Ruins, 1994), a collection of short stories.
His third novel, Le menzogne della notte (1988; Night's
Lies, 1990, reissued as Lies of the Night, 1991), related
tales exchanged by four prisoners on the eve of their execution
and was heralded for its intellectual inventiveness. It won
the Strega Prize in 1988. Other novels include a thriller, Qui
pro quo (1991), and Calende greche (1990). He
also wrote a play, verse, and essays and translated the works
of Charles Baudelaire, Paul-Jean Toulet, and Jean Giraudoux.