New York City Reads Italian at NYPL
La settimana della lingua italiano nel mondo or the Week of the Italian Language in the World, a cultural festival sponsored by the Italian government and held this year from October 19-23, provides the perfect opportunity for us to highlight the rich array of Italian language resources in the New York Public Library’s collections. For 125 years, the Library has collected, preserved, and made accessible to the public books, collections, and other materials that not only entertain and educate but offer readers a range of diverse perspectives on the world. From children’s picture books to Italian films and literature in translation, the Library’s collection spans genres, formats, and all age levels. In future blog posts, the Library’s staff will further explore these various parts of the collection. To learn more about the Week of Italian language in the World, I reached out to the Italian Consul General in New York, Mr. Francesco Genuardi. The following is a brief excerpt from that conversation.
I understand the week is an opportunity to celebrate the diffusion of the Italian language and literature throughout the world. What are your goals for promoting Italian in New York?
We believe that in New York City every week can be described as an “Italian Week” because of the strong connection and deep friendship that exists between Italy and New York on so many levels, and especially when it comes to the language of books and literature. The Consulate General of Italy in New York serves nearly 100,000 Italians and represents a point of reference for so many Italian-Americans living in the city and the Tri-state area. Our first duty is to provide consular services to Italian citizens, playing the role of the Italian City Hall in New York. Promoting the Italian language and culture is also one of our top priorities, together with the Italian Cultural Institute under the guidance of the Italian Embassy in Washington. This special week provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the growing passion for Italian literature in New York, which is so well represented in the collections of the New York Public Library.
How are the Italian Consulate and other institutions in New York promoting the Italian language?
First, I am very happy and proud that the New York Public Library is participating in the Week of the Italian Language. We believe that NYPL’s mission perfectly embodies the spirit of inclusiveness and accessibility to Italian books for everyone, from Italian native readers to the many lovers of Italy and the Italian language scattered throughout New York’s five boroughs. We can really say that during this week, New York City reads Italian!
What are the main events planned for the week?
In the framework of global programs of initiatives carried through the network of Italian Embassies and Consulates around the world, here in New York, under the guidance of the Embassy in Washington and with our local partner Rizzoli Bookstore, we have developed a number of interesting events. For example, the Italian Cultural Institute has an intense agenda of online events and webinars, including the “Daily Decameron,” a podcast of readings from that classic work, as well as other online programs celebrating the life of Fellini, and the language of Comics.
Moreover, we have asked a group of Italian and New York cultural figures to celebrate the Week of the Italian Language with us by recommending an Italian book they are especially attached to. We will be posting their brief videos every day on our social media (on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, our website www.consnewyork.esteri.it).
A special highlight of the week will be the presentation on October 21st of the Italian honor of Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia from the President of the Italian Republic to Ann Goldstein, a great New Yorker and the translator of the bestselling author Elena Ferrante. She is being recognized for her commitment and outstanding contribution to making Italian literature more well-known and accessible to American readers.
On a more personal note, do you have a favorite Italian writer? Did you read something meaningful during the lockdown that you would recommend?
As an avid reader of Italian literature it is very difficult for me to pick only one favorite author, and during the lockdown in New York I rediscovered the pleasure of reading classic and contemporary Italian authors. In this context, I feel that Italo Calvino’s Six Memos for the Next Millennium, written in 1985 but now more contemporary than ever, can help us to see the world though new eyes during these uncertain times. As the author says in his chapter on Lightness “whenever humanity seems condemned to heaviness, I think I should fly like Perseus into a different space, change my approach, look at the world from a different perspective, with a different logic and with fresh methods of cognition and verification.”
Getting Started in Italian-Language Resources at the Library
Mango Languages
Whether you are brushing up on your language skills or are learning Italian for the first time, Mango Languages, available with a NYPL library card, offers interactive lessons in 71 languages including Italian.
Use the language filter in the Library catalog to find the Italian-language version of many of your favorite authors.
Clearly, it would be impossible to list the full range of Italian authors and books about Italy in the Library’s collection. By searching the Catalog you'll find works in Italian, and often in English translation, by a broad range of classic and contemporary authors, including Alessandro Manzoni, Elio Vittorini, Italo Svevo, Luigi Pirandello, Dino Buzzati, Italo Calvino, Natalia Ginzburg, Andrea Camilleri, Dacia Maraini, Beppe Fenogliao, Paolo Giordano, Marco Missiroli, Valeria Parrella, Alessia Gazzola and Sara Rattaro. \