The poetry contest 'Il Federiciano' is back. The Campanian poet Franco Arminio is also on the jury

For writing enthusiasts, the usual appointment with the poetry competition “Il Federiciano” returns, which has made the town of Rocca Imperiale famous with the nickname of “Town of Poetry”. In fact, on the facades of the houses in the ancient village, poems made of ceramic steles are posted, used as street furniture. And so, walking through the alleys of the suggestive historic center, one encounters the verses of Italian and world-famous authors, such as Dacia Maraini, Alda Merini, Manlio Sgalambro, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Alejandro Jorodowsky, and many others. But the special open-air anthology is a dream coveted by many aspiring poets from all over Italy and abroad who, thanks to the poetry competition “Il Federiciano” (the competition is the most important in Italy for unpublished texts), can dream of obtaining a stele all their own, depicting their own poetry, which will be added to those of the Great Names of Culture. A special prize, therefore, for those who cultivate the art of verse, who can thus approach the Olympus of Great Authors, seeing their poetic vocation legitimized. There are still very few days to participate.  The deadline is June 20th (the call for applications is available at this link: https://www.rivistaorizzonti.net/concorsofedericiano.htm). Afterwards, an authoritative jury will decree the names of the two winners of the prestigious award, who will not be notified in advance, but communicated only during the “Il Federiciano” festival, whose 2019 edition will be held from July 27th to August 4th. Among the jurors, the name of Franco Arminio stands out. The poet from Campania who has written memorable verses on the beauty of simple places and likes to call himself a “paesologo”, because he is driven by the mission of seeking out the beauty of the world and making it the material of his song, is a leading figure in the next edition of the festival (the eleventh), which promises to have a calendar full of events including literary meetings, shows, music, theater, cinema and the participation of very important guests about whom there is currently total secrecy. Arminio is the author of twenty publications of prose and poetry books, documentaries, blogs, boasts numerous literary awards and collaborations with "Il manifesto" and "Il Fatto Quotidiano", is a supporter of civil battles and will also be involved as a teacher. As expected from a high-level cultural festival, which is also supported by the Calabria Region and the Municipality, a very important aspect is represented by training: festival-goers will have the opportunity to attend writing improvement courses and a masterclass never realized before, which involves 10 teachers among prestigious authors, poets and artists, including Arminio himself, who will dedicate themselves to teaching to make known the tricks of the trade. The other judges are: the creator of the Giuseppe Aletti Prize, Mogol, Davide Rondoni, Francesco Gazzè, Alessandro Quasimodo, Pino Suriano, the editorial director Valentina Meola, Lucia Abbate, the journalist Caterina Aletti, the editors of the Aletti publishing house: Donatella Imbastari, Giorgia Marcelli and Veronica Cerqua, and some of the most important international poets, such as Dato Magradze (Georgia), Hafez Haidar (Lebanon), Ahmad Al-Shahawy (Egypt). The many festival-goers will be able to try their hand at writing, in a welcoming place, between nature, sea, history and good food, cultivating their passion for art with the events on the program, and feeling at home, in what has become the home par excellence of poetry. Known throughout Italy, and beyond national borders.