The only thing I know how to do is write. I dreamed of it as a child, I wanted it with all my heart. I've read and continue to read a lot, and I write pathologically. Reading and writing are a total addiction, and in everything I write, I've made myself a promise: I will always talk about one of the loves of my life, one I always have trouble naming because, I think, you have to be very respectful when pronouncing his name: Diego Armando. Maradona". This is how Mario Artiaco introduces himself, the Neapolitan writer who has decided to make the written word his "profession", while remaining outside the logic of the market and publishing houses.
Artiaco is, in fact, a craftsman of the word, personally overseeing the titles, covers, fonts, and content of his novels, remaining solely responsible for and responsible for his own publishing activity. Artiaco has published three novels, achieving significant success beyond the number of copies sold. His first work, "Io, Lauro e le Rose," was the first self-published book to be presented at the Turin International Book Fair and has had over one hundred presentations throughout Italy.
"I am a writer of memory - confesses - who chose to self-publish despite numerous publishing offers. I believe and write in the love of truth, often in conflict with commercial dynamics that require compromise. For now, I've managed to remain free to write what I feel, what I've experienced, what I experience. The places I've been, the adventures I've sought, are linked to my social work: in prisons, drug rehabilitation centers, REMS, former OPGs, and hospitals. Places of encounter with the most vulnerable, because I believe the meaning of life is to kneel beside the most vulnerable and resume walking with them.
In addition to writing, Artiaco, as reported by the Dire news agency, is involved as an educator in prisons and drug rehabilitation centers, and is also the national director of an anti-bullying association. His activities include raising awareness about organ and bone marrow donation in schools. "My writings - points out - They all have a common thread. They are essentially novels or collections of fictionalized stories that describe and attempt to restore life and dignity to people who have never had it, have lost it, or have had no voice.
His three novels, "Me, Lauro and the roses", "When She Had to Leave" e "21 Stories That Have No Voice", are linked by a common denominator: love, expressed in all its facets. "To love is to let go. There can be no form of ownership." explains Artiaco. His stories are not easy, they are blows to the heart, punches in the stomach that are difficult to digest.
In his debut novel, the protagonists are three friends and their antics, naiveté, dreams, recklessness, illness, homosexuality, abuse, and the death that ends a life, but not a relationship. In his second novel, the all-consuming love for one's mother is the central theme. In "21 Stories," released last January, the narrative becomes choral, with protagonists who are either figments of the author's imagination or perhaps not, as the book's opening disclaimer suggests.
Born in 75, Artiaco is a Neapolitan who hopes to stay in the city in the shadow of Vesuvius. He draws inspiration from it, nourishes his stories, and enriches them with his Neapolitan spirit. His love for Maradona is no coincidence. "This boundless passion strongly ties my work as a writer to this city, to what he represented on and off the pitch, to his thoughts and to the man he was despite all his shadows, those that we all have."
He is so deeply connected to this city for social redemption through the talent he was given, which in my opinion is just a pretext. That talent God granted him only so he could be global. The message of his soul is shocking, incredibly powerful. Through football, which I repeat is just a pretext for me, his message has reached as many people as possible. This strength of his in always standing up to the powerful, in standing by the least on Earth, for me, who writes about the least, is an unbreakable connection of souls, a bond I have never felt with anyone in my life. With him - concludes Artiaco - there is a bond that goes beyond".
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