“The inspiring principle of my way of conceiving writing is the confrontation with one’s own interiority, with one’s own sensations and deep emotions”. These are the words of Roberto Maggi, author of the book “Suites di fine anno”, published in 2019 by Florestano Edizioni. The work is a collection of short stories, which the writer will present on January 17, at 19 pm, at the “Evaluna” bookshop in Piazza Bellini in Naples. The speakers will be the writer and literary critic François Nédel Atèrre and the Professor of Philosophy Raffaele Lucariello.
Born in the 60s in Rome, Roberto Maggi is a naturalistic biologist, but since adolescence he began to write, nurturing a particular interest in poetry. In 2014 he published with Aletti the poetry collection “Schegge Liquide”. "My verses – says Maggi – tell the story of a life, undertaking journeys aimed at capturing subtle and fleeting states of mind or photographing moments of meditative nature: a window always open on the soul, where the word is in constant search of musicality”. Some of the writer's poems, moreover, are part of various poetic anthologies, such as “Federiciano 2014”, “Vivo da Poeta” and “Premio Erato”.
Maggi ventures into the world of prose in 2015 with the short story "Irish blues”, present in the anthology “1000 parole” (Ed. Montecovello). In the same year, together with the pianist Theo Allegretti, he started the project “Suoni di-Versi”, a performance that combines poetry and music, in which the dialogue between the respective expressive languages goes beyond the traditional formula of the “Reading-concert”. This performance was realized in different contexts, including public events such as “SeminarLibri” in Tivoli, “Pigneto Città Aperta” in Rome, “Giornata mondiale della Terra” – Perugia 2016).
The total immersion in the art of prose is in 2019 with the collection of short stories “Suites di fine anno”, a book that has earned articles in magazines such as “Duels”, “La Gazzetta dello spettacolo” and “Prisma” and also an in-depth analysis during the broadcast “Qui comincia” on Rai Radio3.
The stories are inspired by episodes related to New Year's Eve evenings, partly real events, which were at the center of bizarre and extravagant situations, which the author tells in a witty and ironic way. A sort of great superior eye, which enjoys and is curious to observe and analyze human behavior. Situations on the edge of the surreal, in which behaviors and actions are analyzed in detail, revealing psychological nuances. "What I really cared about - says the writer - was to reveal the introspective and psychological aspect that lies behind those events; to bring out a sort of existential trajectory that is highlighted through the first-person narration, at times made explicit, through the use of an impetuous stream of consciousness. We could say that the way in which it was then realized came as the storytelling (and the storytelling itself) took shape, better defining its definitive structure". The development of the stories, in fact, is similar to the movements of a Suite, with variations in rhythm that try to reflect the specific characteristics of the narration. In the book the relationship between music and writing is, therefore, central. Although different from each other, the various episodes are homogeneous in characteristics and length. Different is the last one that, like the prologue with which it is connected in a ring, departs from the adopted scheme, breaking the spell. But since curiosity is the daughter of every good reader, we will not go into more depth.
The book has already been presented in various locations: Rome, Ostia, Bisceglie, Bari, Trani, Conversano, Bologna. “I decided to present it in Naples too – concludes Maggi – because I believe it is a culturally alive city and open to new proposals. And I am happy to be hosted in a historic literary salon of the Neapolitan city and to have with me highly respected speakers”.
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