Ariadne’s Notes:  On January 31,  1:10 PM PST, the World Poetry Café on CFRO, 100.5 FM with hosts  Anna Ciampolini Foschi, Diego Bastinutti and producer Ariadne Sawyer along with super tech Victor Swartzman and special volunteer Sharon, welcomed  the talented writer Vittorino Dal Cengio  to the show for two very special book launchs in Italian and English . The historical works that Vittorino read were accounts of family members and others about the  first and second world wars.  They presented in important account of history brought to life by Mr. Cengio. Since I had worked with survivors of torture and Viet Nam vets the traumatic experiences in the books and the possibility of so many to develop PTSD were of additional interest to me. I would like to congratulate him for his research and powerful writing and than the co-hosts Anna  and Diego for the great interview. 

LISTEN TO THE SHOW HERE!

Local writer Vittorino Dal Cengio was launching his two latest books based on his family’s generational experiences during the tragic times of the First World War (1914-1918) and WW2 (1939-1945). As Dal Cengio writes, the importance of minute details and personal experiences are often lost or overlooked in the global narrative of world-changing events. He says:

It is very important for me to write about the joy and, mostly, tribulations experienced by members of my family during the two world wars. I have heard countless times their recounting of what was life in those times at the front during bloody battles and at home and I have never ceased to marvel at their courage, resilience, patience, faith and hope in a better future for themselves but especially for their progeny. What they have endured is today hastily dismissed as part of turbulent times of war but their unique experiences, from a poor people point of view, the consequences of which invariably changed the course of their lives, cannot so simply be forgotten. What we cannot find on history books is told through their live voices, letters, diaries and memoirs and all this is primary source, a detailed legacy of inestimable value for generations to come.

It would be very sad and unwise for us if their version of events dissolves from our collective memory. Hence the importance for me to be a little bridge connecting their disappeared world to our present life. (Vittorino Dal Cengio) “

Vancouver-based author Vittorino Dal Cengio wrote several books about climbing in the Dolomites that were published during the 1980s. He also wrote articles and short stories for a magazine and for Italian newspapers in Canada. After an interlude in 2008 he resumed writing books, this time about social history, authoring six in recent years. He moved to Canada in 1977 in the spirit of adventure after his military service with the Italian Alpine Corps. He holds various technical diplomas from Italy and a BA (joint major in French, History, Political Sciences) from Simon Fraser University. (Adapted from www.amazon.ca)