Past event
Other Americas
About this event
In the Metropolitan Park of the Hills of Naples, in Camaldoli, near the Bosco di Castagni, already a public park since 1996, a place with a double enchantment is inaugurated, the first theater-belvedere in the city. A short distance from the Hermitage, in one of the highest and most evocative points of Naples, the belvedere is like a sailing ship that dives from the hill into the sea, heading towards Capri. Moving your gaze from the island an extraordinary panorama presents itself: the Sorrento Peninsula, the Posillipo hill and the Bagnoli plain, the Campi Flegrei, the Pontine islands. Following the course of the hill, a large auditorium was carved into the rock, making the viewpoint an open-air stage over the city. In summer sunsets, the poignant notes of a violin, the lines of a poem, light melodies will make the contemplation of the landscape even more evocative. The belvedere will be inaugurated by Casimiro Monti, Councilor for the Environment of the Municipality of Naples. Participants: Gabriella Cundari, Councilor for Territorial Government, Campania Region; Marco Di Lello, Councilor for Tourism and Cultural Heritage, Campania Region; Agostino Di Lorenzo, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Park of the Hills of Naples. In this dream setting a spectacular jazz poetry reading will take place, with three protagonists of the international poetic scene and leading figures of the American counterculture: Jack Hirschman, Devorah Major, Janine Pommy Vega. The verses of these great overseas poets will meet the jazz notes of a quartet from Campania, the Gaspare Di Lieto Jazz Quartet (Giovanni Amato, trumpet; Gaspare Di Lieto, piano, Gianluigi Goglia, double bass; Stefano Tatafiore, drums). And it is another America that will be presented and told, an America different from the one that exports democracy with bombs, that crushes millions of people in its economy, that keeps multitudes of poor people in its prisons. It is the America of dissent, which fights against war and for human rights and the rights of the poorest, the America of Martin Luther King, of Malcom X, the America of jazz, art, culture, poetry, the America of Bob Dylan, of the beat generation. Generous, compassionate, multiracial and multicultural America. The evening is the first event of the "Midnight in the Parks" series. Jack Hirschman was born in New York City in 1933. Since 1973 he has lived in San Francisco. He is considered one of the major contemporary American poets. Poet, writer, painter, translator, political activist in favor of the poor and the marginalized. He has published (including books, translations, and "militant" editions) more than 100 books. He also has an extensive activity as a translator (Pasolini, Scotellaro, Celan, Heidegger, Paul Laraque, Antonin Artaud, Mallarmé, Roque Dalton, etc. etc.) and is famous in Italy where he has published several volumes and given many readings. Devorah Major became San Francisco's third Poet Laureate (after Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Janice Mirikitani) in April 2002. An esteemed actress and former dancer, she approaches poetry as both a writing and performance art. He has won numerous awards and published several volumes of poetry and fiction. He has been teaching poetry and creative writing as an artist-in-residence in schools, communities, and social institutions for more than 20 years. She is considered one of the most important African-American poets, a splendid voice of jazz poetry. Janine Pommy Vega, born in New Jersey, is the author of about fifteen books. At a very young age she met the writers of the beat generation with whom she lived for a long time and shared experiences and successes. A great friend of Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso, she presented her work around the world, often accompanied by musicians. Very committed to helping the marginalized, she directs the writers' organization Incisions/Arts which works with prisoners in prisons in the United States. Together with them the Gaspare Di Lieto Jazz Quartet (Giovanni Amato, trumpet; Gaspare Di Lieto, piano, Gianluigi Goglia, double bass; Stefano Tatafiore, drums) to produce a jazz poetry reading that will light up the sweet Mediterranean night with words and notes.
calendar_month28 July 2005 - 28 July 2005location_onSalerno
