Tag Archives: Anna Ciampolini Foschi

World Poetry Celebrates Vittorino Dal Cengio!

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)

World Poetry Celebrates a Tribute to Franco De Santis!

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Ariadne’s Notes:

On December 7, 1-2 pm PST, the World Poetry hosted a special tribute to Franco De Santis, a Italian Canadian Poet living in Hamilton Ontario, Canada . He was born in Morolo, Italy near Rome and Â came to Canada in 1967. De Santis is the author of 11 published books in Italian and the winner of over 20 literary awards. His new book, Selected Poems had been translated by Diego Bastianutti and allows English speaking readers to connect with the poet for the first time. In celebration of this book, published by Hamilton Trinacria Association is offering free books (only postage needs to be paid)

Please contact the editor Cologero Milazzo at m_calogero2002@yahoo.ca for more information.

Exquisitely presented by Anna Ciampolini Foschi and Diego Bastianutti, the show featured his poems in English and Italian.

Special E- Peace Poets Preethi Saravana, India and Danny Teller from China. Another Big Bessie Story from Sharon Rowe, read by the wonderful voice of World Poetry Café technician Victor Swartzman. Note: The World Poetry Café is honoured to welcome Professor Diego Bastianutti as a co-host of the show once per month.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW!

Anna Ciampolini Foschi lives in Vancouver, B.C.Â A short story writer, freelance journalist and translator, she co-edited three major anthologies: Emigrante, Writers in Transition and Strange Peregrinations: Italian-Canadian Literary Landscapes. Literary awards include First Prize (2007)Literary awards include First Prize (2007) Citta di Forli and First Prize Italian Week-Ottawa (2010). She is a founding member of the Association of Italian Canadian Writers and co- founded the F.G. Bressani Literary Prize. She has lectured in Italy and Canada. Her works are published in Canada, Italy, U.S.A. and Costa Rica. Anna was inducted in the Hall of Fame at Vancouver’s Italian Cultural Centre

Diego Bastianutti, from Fiume, Italy, has crossed many borders separating States as well as “states of being.” He is at ease with various languages.

After a few years in international banking on Wall Street, he took up his tenure as Professor of Spanish and Italian literature at Queens University from 1970 to 1997, while holding the post of Honorary Vice Consul of Italy (1977-1995).

He retired in Sicily for six years, where he spearheaded a movement for the understanding of the process of integration and assimilation of new immigrants from North Africa.

Since his arrival in Vancouver, and thanks to his own personal background as a Julian Dalmatian exile, he has come to know and understand the sense of alienation of the people in DTES (Vancouver Downtown Eastside), but he has also been struck by their resilience, their undeniable humanity and dignity, and their sense of community. This experience inspired him to write a collection of poems dedicated to them. Similarly, the international photographer Jon Guido Bertelli was moved to produce a set of powerfully moving photographs. The poems and photos were mounted in two successful exhibits in Vancouver in 2016 and 2017. The exhibit was also mounted in Trieste, Italy this past April, invited and financed by the University of Trieste and the Julian-Dalmatians in the World.

Prof. Bastianutti has received wide recognition here and abroad for his work as a writer, poet and translator. His prize-winning poems, articles and short stories have been featured in various national and international literary journals and anthologies. Currently he is a free-lance editor, a Canadian correspondent for an Italian literary magazine in San Jose, Costa Rica, and a member of the Association of Italian Canadian Writers, the Canadian Authors Association, and the Federation of BC Writers.

His socio-historical articles, short stories and four collections of poetry have become material of study in a graduate course offered at the University of Toronto.