Born in the Po Valley

The poet who sees everything is accused of freedom of thought. Alda Merini

(Translation by Susan Stewart)

Every Day

EVERY DAY Every day there is the time to wake up Every day there is the time to get up Every day there is the time to go Every day there is the time to look Every day there is the time to say Every day there is the time to do Every day there is the time to listen Every day there is the time to help Every day there is the time to smile Every day there is the time to love Every day there is the time to pray Every day there is the time to thank. Times passes quickly You cannot buy it You cannot gift it You cannot create it Every day If there is no time You can only die. Maria Bigazzi, 2013 – Life day by day.

I knew Maria Bigazzi casually in one of the Internet kiosks where I’m used to play hide-and-seek with my “cosmopolitan fans”. One day she gave me a boero as a gift and we started to talk. She too has her own personal story and her own problems, and, unlike me, she likes to tell about herself. After telling me of her suffering through many misfortunes, however, Maria finally revealed me the secret of her light heart and kind attitude: art! Art saved her life and every day, thru her watercolours, poems and pictures, she succeeds in forgetting the burden of her sorrows. She put together most of her artworks in a self-printed book (“Poesie dipinte” idem to say “Painted poetry”) which one day she gifted me. I promised her to publish here one of her poems a couple of months ago, but in apologizing to her for my lateness, I hope she may understand that I waited so long for a good reason. From among many Maria’s poems, I choose the above one, because she is very religious and I’m not, but, even though I do not pray, I know I will see her again every day at the same time.

Strawberry Fields Forever

London – near London Bridge tube station
Photo © David Gaberle

玫瑰之名 (The Name of the Rose)

Chinese publishers have reportedly received orders that the number of foreign titles being printed must be cut to prevent an “ideology inflow”. [Read more].

• Benjamin Haas and Tom Phillips, Peppa Pig pulled: China cracks down on foreign children’s books, The Guardian, March 13, 2017

China has struggled to stem the flow of foreign cultural influences. Photo: Channel 5/PA.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Ukrainian publishers have reacted angrily to their government’s ban on importing books from Russia, claiming it will create a black market and damage the domestic industry. The ban, passed by Ukraine’s parliament, is the latest front in the battle between Kiev and Moscow that has been running since Russia annexed Crimea and pro-Russian forces seized power in parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014. Books from Russia account for up to 60% of all titles sold in Ukraine and are estimated to make up 100,000 sales a year. [Read more].

• Danuta Kean, Ukraine publishers speak out against ban on Russian books, The Guardian, February 14, 2017

Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita”

Cover to Cover

艾未未 (Ài Wèiwèi) for “Day & Taxi” A new book, “Artist Record Covers” (published by Taschen), showcases how artists have used the album cover as a uniquely populist canvas. Here, 艾未未 (Ài Wèiwèi), who would go on to become infamous for his bold work across various media and disputes with the Chinese government, creates a cover for Swiss jazz trio “Day & Taxi” – who also have covers by the likes of Alex Katz, Gilbert & George, and 奈良美智 (Yoshitomo Nara). Picture and caption by The Guardian.

Paypress

Josip Asik (‏@JosipAsik)

Arcovazzia Currency

诚实是项非常昂贵的礼物，别期待从低价的人身上得到。 Chéngshí shì xiàng fēicháng ángguì de lǐwù, bié qídài cóng dī jià de rén shēnshang dédào. Honesty is a very expensive gift. Don’t expect it from cheap people.

Snow White’s (unofficial) eighth dwarf

Snow White’s (unofficial) eighth dwarf Freely inspired by Patti Smith’s “Dog Dream” Have you ever seen Arcovazzi’s hammer drill It got wings It can fly If you speak Of it to him It’s the only Time Arcovazzi Can’t look you in the eye Have you ever held Arcovazzi’s grass snake It rattles like a stir-fry pan It sleeps under the pillow It coils in his hand It rants and it strikes out When Arcovazzi cries out When Arcovazzi cries out Have you ever pressed To your face Arcovazzi’s bird Arcovazzi’s bird It lies on Arcovazzi’s hip Trembles inside him It drops upon the ground It rolls with Arcovazzi round It’s the only one Who comes When Arcovazzi comes Have you ever seen Arcovazzi’s hammer drill It got wings It can fly When it hits The nail on the bed He’s the only Thing allowed To sleep on Arcovazzi’s back

御史台 (Censorate)

chess24.com (@chess24com)

But from a human point of view there always can happen an even more disastrous kind of disaster, that’s when Salieri wants to author Mozart’s music.

Quem recitas meus est, o Fidentine, libellus: sed male cum recitas, incipit esse tuus. The book that you recite from, Fidentinus, is my own. But when you read it badly, it belongs to you alone. I versi che tu reciti, o Fidentino, son miei; ma siccome li reciti male, ecco diventano tuoi.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 1, XXXVIII
English translation by Susan McLean
Italian translation by Holden Caulfield

Most likely, we got to know the same editor

Jonathan Rowson (@Jonathan_Rowson)