On Wednesday 13 August (8.30 pm | free admission) in the atrium of the Castello Volante in Corigliano d’Otranto, the ‘Nel frattempo’ series continues with Mario Calabresi – Conversations on the Future, a series conceived, organised and promoted by the association Diffondiamo idee di valore, with the support of the Apulia Regional Council – Teca del Mediterraneo, in collaboration with other partners. The journalist, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Chora Media, will present *Il tempo del bosco* (Mondadori).
THE BOOK
: ‘A young woman stops me in the university courtyard; she tells me about her anxiety, her fear of not living up to expectations; she cries silently and asks me how one can choose which path to take.’ This question marks the start of Mario Calabresi’s journey across Italy, in search of the stories of those who, through their ordinary and extraordinary lives, have managed to find a way forward amidst uncertainty. Among these encounters are an engineer who collects nature’s most ancient sounds to pass them on to future generations, a poet who learns from silence to listen to both the visible and the invisible, a philosophy professor who teaches us to see limitations as opportunities, and a centenarian who has spent his whole life tending a woodland and has inherited its passage of time. It is a slow journey of listening, in search of a place where the present moment is not an end in itself but blends with the past and speaks to us of the future, and of an age in which ‘being grateful is the first step towards enjoying what is, and taking care of it’. A precious account that makes us reflect on how much we still need to reclaim our focus, the meaning of a moment in which both anticipation and boredom exist, and to return to placing the important things – rather than the urgent ones – at the centre of our days. Calabresi collects fragments of life, silences and unexpected gestures to respond to a young woman whose name we do not know, but whose doubts we share – doubts that are perhaps those of us all.
THE AUTHOR
Mario Calabresi, a journalist and writer, heads the podcast company Chora Media, of which he is one of the founders, and is the author of the weekly newsletter Altre/Storie (mariocalabresi.it). He has served as editor-in-chief of *La Stampa* and *la Repubblica*. His books published by Mondadori include: *Spingendo la notte più in là* (2007), *La fortuna non esiste* (2009), *Cosa tiene accese le stelle* (2011), *Non temete per noi, la nostra vita sarà meravigliosa* (2015), *The Morning After* (2019), *What They Don’t Tell You* (2020), *Just Once* (2022), *With Open Eyes* (2023) and *The Time of the Forest* (2024).
UPCOMING EVENTS
In September, at the Chiostro degli Agostiniani in Lecce, as part of the Agostiniani Libri festival, the Nel Frattempo series will host Elvio Carrieri with *Poveri a noi* (Ventanas), the debut novel by the young writer from Bari shortlisted for the Premio Strega (Wednesday 3); a three-day event with Mauro Covacich, who will present the Trieste Trilogy dedicated to Svevo, Joyce and Saba, published by La Nave di Teseo (from Tuesday 9th to Thursday 11th), and Francesco Carofiglio with his new book *Tutto il mio folle amore*, due to be published by Garzanti (Wednesday 17th).
THE FESTIVAL
‘Nel frattempo’ is a festival conceived and organised by Diffondiamo idee di valore, with the support of the Apulia Regional Council – Teca del Mediterraneo, in collaboration with CoolClub, UASC, SEI Festival, Libreria Liberrima, Officine Culturali Ergot, Polo BiblioMuseale, the Bernardini Library in Lecce, Lecce City Council, the OgniBene Library, Corigliano d’Otranto Town Council, Castello Volante and other partners. A long-running programme leading up to the twelfth edition of the Conversazioni sul Futuro festival, scheduled for 16–19 October.
Info
3394313397 – conversazionisulfuturo.it
