25 November 2010 By Kourosh Ziabari
Erri De Luca is an internationally-renowned Italian
poet and writer. "Corriere della Sera" literature
critic Giorgio De Rienzo has called him "the writer of
the decade". He started writing since he was 20;
however, his first book was published in 1989, when he
was 39 years old. Upon graduating from high school in
1968, he joined the newly-established far-left,
extra-parliamentary organization of Lotta Continua.
The political activities of the organization were
terminated early in 1976. Erri De Luca speaks several
languages, including English, French, Hebrew and
Yiddish.
He is the author of several books including "Montedidio"
which has won him The Prix Femina award. Erri De Luca
has translated several books of Bible into Italian,
including Exodus, Jonah, Ecclesiastes and Ruth. His
works have been translated and published in various
countries such as Spain, Iran, Portugal, Germany,
Holland, USA, Brazil, Poland, Norway, Danmark,
Romania, Greece and Lithuania.
De Luca joined me in an exclusive interview and
answered my questions on his works and his views on
literature, culture, politics and society.
Kourosh Ziabari: What made you interested in
literature for the first time? You published your
first novel when you were 39; however, you had
experienced various professions and jobs before that.
You experienced carpentry, masonry and apprenticeship
and then moved to writing. What were the first motives
which moved you towards literature?
Erri De Luca: I owe my approach to my father's
library. I spent my childhood in a small room with
books to the ceiling, I slept surrounded by books.
I've been reading and writing since I was a kid, books
have been the best company. I published my first book
late because I wasn't looking for a publisher. I wrote
and write personal stories, always with me telling the
story and I thought these would never interest anybody
else.
KZ: Our world is filled with materialistic
approaches to life. Morality is losing its place in
the interpersonal relationships. People disregard the
principles of honesty and decency very easily. Is this
world compatible with the ideal world which you have
portrayed for yourself?
EDL: I'm used to sit at table for lunch where one eats
the fruit of one's work. At these tables, which are
the majority on the planet, my principles are not
ideals but daily practice.
KZ: Naples is the prominent setting of your novel.
Its people speak a variety of Italian language which
is even unintelligible to a number of Italians. What's
the significance of Naples for you? How do you seek
your desires and ambitions in this ancient city?
EDL: Naples is my place of origin and Napolitan my
mother tongue. Italian came later, with books and
conversations with my father, who wanted to teach me
perfect Italian. In Naples, I had my sentimental
education - not to love, but to the sentiments of
compassion, anger and shame which are the fundaments
of any human being. Naples is not a birth town, but it
is a "cause town" and I am one of its effects.
KZ: You speak several languages including French,
English, Hebrew and Yiddish. How is the sense of being
a multilingual writer? Jock London believes that every
book is a gateway to a new world. Do you agree that
every language is also a gateway to a new world? With
several languages which you know, do you usually feel
that you live in different worlds?
EDL: I learnt languages to read them rather than to
speak them. My desire was to follow the authors of
pages which touched me in their vocabulary and their
combination of syllables. Thus I find a personal
extract, a glass [of wine] and I go directly to the
source. The world which attracts me is that of an
author rather than of a people. That's why I'm not
interested in geographically visiting countries whose
language I know. I can read in Russian out of love for
its poets and writers but I have no desire to find
myself in Odessa or Moscow. With the languages I have
learnt I have no need to move from where I am.
KZ: Some people believe that the Iranians and
Italians are very similar to each other. They say that
among the European citizens, Italians are the most
similar to Iranians. This similarity can be found in
the appearance, social interactions, character and
dispositions. Have you ever noticed any similarity
between the people of Italy with the oriental nations?
EDL: I find common ground with all people with feet in
the Mediterranean Sea. I recognize all trees, goats,
dry walls and wrinkled faces. For thousands of years
we have mixed, via invasions, immigration, epidemics,
wars. Iran and the East are a key premise of our
civilization, the first layer, the first seed of our
bread.
KZ: Iran and Italy are home to two of the most
important ancient civilizations in the world; Persian
Empire and Roman Empire. Although the political
developments have separated the two countries, how can
the cultural ties serve to bring the two nations
together and benefit them mutually?
EDL: Iran is the most important country in world
politics today. Iranians must know that their
decisions with respect to pacific development will be
decisive for the next decade. Iran is today, even more
than in the past, on the front lines of history.
Everything that happens in your country will affect
the four corners of the horizon [the rest of the
world]
KZ: An Iranian critic of your novel has said that
the bitter comedy of your novel "Montedidio" is
inspired by Italo Calvino. What do you think about it?
Has Calvino ever inspired you in your writings?
EDL: I am not a reader fascinated by Calvino or by
20th century Italian literature in general. I know I
owe much to Napolitan literature, its theater, its
songs, and to other foreign litteratures which
educated me in my youth thanks to my father's choices
and tastes.
KZ: In your short story "The Trench", you've tried
to show the difficulty of earning a living and
portrayed the complexities a low-ranking laborer faces
in dealing with a low-rate job. In one part of your
story, the protagonist states: "why in the world
should a human being have to earn bread for his
children with a noose around his neck? For me it was a
question of pride, but for him it was only bread, and
still he had to soak it in that salty water of ours,
which tasted so much like tears." I think it's the
essence of your story. What's your own idea? Why is
our life intertwined with difficulties and
complexities so inextricably?
EDL: I write stories of my life and the one you bring
up is simply a tale of a slice of experience on a
construction site in France. Nothing to add, maybe
something to take out. My life shares with the
majority of other lifes, anonymous and normal. The
fact that I am able to write stories does not change
that biographic fact. I am someone from the ground
floor and my stories are the same.
KZ: Have you ever had the ambition of winning the
Nobel Prize in Literature? What do you think about
this award? Has it been always awarded to those who
deserved it?
EDL: Often, the Academy has rewarded names unknown to
me and I was able to discover them thanks to these
choices. So I enjoy their literary tastes, most of the
time. For my part, I don't think that I am under
consideration for the Academy.
KZ: Dario Fo was the last Italian writer to win a
Nobel Prize in Literature. What do you think of him
and his works?
EDL: Dario Fo is an international personality, one of
the few Italian personas appreciated worldwide, and he
deserves the honor conferred by the prize.
KZ: How much time do you dedicate to studying the
world's literature? How many books do you read in a
year? Do you have a special criterion for the
geographical distribution of the writers of whom you
read novels and literary works? How much time do you
spend on reading Italian literature?
EDL: During the day, the time to read and write is
squeezed in a small space. I read old works, poetry
from all over the world and I don't follow Italian
literature.
KZ: Are you among those thinkers who believe that
artistic work is solely produced for the sake of
pleasure, or the art itself? What's the ultimate
objective of art? Is it aimed at entertaining the
addressee? Is it aimed at creating cosmetic beauty?
Which sort of literature do you prefer; a literary
work which is created for pleasure or a literary work
which is admired for its moral points?
EDL: Literature is for me the best dialogue. I prefer
it to any other art form. It should keep its reader
company, save him time, be worth the time spent with a
book. Literature's sole responsibility is to create
desire to reopen the book. In difficult circumstances,
under dictatorships, it can also have the
responsibility to save speech. In jail, a book is a
fortune and a huger capital for resistance.
KZ: And my final question. What's your
recommendation for those who want to become
professional readers of literature? What are the best
ways for comprehending the essence of a literary work,
whether it's in the form of poetry or prose? How can a
good reader relate to the core of what the writer
intends to convey?
EDL: A book is always half of the trip from a writer
and a reader, who must complete the work by mixing it
with his/her life, moods and needs. A book is a
meeting, with no utilization guide, and thus always
different, failure or success. Every book is
ultimately led by its reader, linked to his/her
experience, friendly to his/her human adventure to
enrich it. No formula and no advice - "have a nice
ride reader" is what I tell myself when I open a page
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