International House of Poetry Award - Regina Coppola 2017

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF POETRY AWARD REGINA COPPOLA International House of Poetry Award to the Syrian poet Maram al-Masri The Second Edition of the International House of Poetry Award, strongly supported by the Cavallo-Coppola family in full harmony with the House of Poetry of Baronissi-Salerno, to keep alive the memory of Regina Coppola (16 June 1956 - 6 June 2015), whose sensitivity towards aesthetic values and of social solidarity are well known to those who have known it, it is about to reach its final event. In line with Regina's personality and the history of the House of Poetry, the Prize is characterized by sobriety and absolute independence, not requiring patronage or contributions from public or private bodies or institutions. The Award aimed to valorise the work carried out by a woman over the years in the literary field and which was accompanied by a significant civil and social commitment. And this as a tribute to Regina Coppola and in full awareness of the major difficulties still faced today by women to emerge in every field. Therefore it is attributed to the career of a poet who has particularly distinguished herself according to the two guidelines just mentioned. The jury of the Casa della Poesia International Prize, composed of Raffaella Marzano (President), Stefania Zuliani, Giancarlo Cavallo, Sergio Iagulli and Francesco Napoli, has chosen the winner from a shortlist of names reported by the members themselves. The lifetime achievement award will be awarded, for this second edition, to the Syrian poet MARAM AL-MASRI. The publications, which first in France and subsequently in translations into Italian and many other languages ​​(Spanish, English, Serbian, in addition to those originally appearing in Arabic) have followed one another especially in the last decade, testify to the evolution of Maram al Masri's poetry. This writer - Syrian by birth, but in exile in Paris for years - has in fact gone from a decidedly individual figure, although strongly felt and original, - Adonis defines her writing as "made of passion, of everyday life, of simple but warm and irrepressible things" - to taking on a role of denunciation of a collective condition, that of women victims of violence (Anime scalze 2009, Italian ed. 2011), and of the tragedy of a people, hers, that Syrian, tormented by an uncivil war in which, with the complicity of the great powers, a bloodthirsty dictator and self-styled Islamic fanatics are facing each other who, with their armies, are massacring the civilian population and its demands for freedom (Freedom Arrives Naked 2013, Italian ed. 2014). It is possible to read and listen to some of the winner's poems, as well as bio-bibliographical information and critical insights on the website www.casadellapoesia.org and on the multimedia magazine Potlatch http://www.potlatch.it/. The Prize (worth €1,000.00), made available by the Cavallo-Coppola family, and an engraving by Gaetano Bevilacqua, will be awarded during a public evening which will be held on Friday 9 June, at the "A. Genovesi" theatre, via Principessa Sichelgaita, 12, Salerno, from 7.30 pm. A reading will follow in which Maram al-Masri will be accompanied by the musician Valerio Celentano. info: 347 6275911

Program

Friday 9 June 2017 at 7.30 pm "A. Genovesi" Theater Via Sichelgaita 12 Salerno

Information

INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF POETRY AWARD REGINA COPPOLA II edition Proclamation of the winner - Motivation The International House of Poetry Award was strongly desired by the Cavallo-Coppola family in full harmony with the House of Poetry of Baronissi-Salerno, to keep alive the memory of Regina Coppola (16 June 1956 - 6 June 2015), whose sensitivity towards aesthetic values and social solidarity are well known to those who have known. The Award, characterized by sobriety and absolute independence, has not requested and does not receive patronage or contributions from public or private bodies or institutions. It intends to valorise the work carried out by a woman over the years in the literary field and which has been accompanied by a significant civil and social commitment. And this as a tribute to Regina Coppola and in full awareness of the major difficulties still faced today by women to emerge in every field. The jury, chaired by Raffaella Marzano and composed of Stefania Zuliani, Giancarlo Cavallo, Sergio Iagulli and Francesco Napoli, decided to award the "Regina Coppola" International House of Poetry Prize to MARAM AL-MASRI, with the following motivation: Maram al Masri is considered one of the most significant voices on the current international literary scene, capable like few others of reaching the hearts and minds of the women and men who are fortunate enough to read her works and listen to her his readings. Giuseppe Conte says: "I saw Maram al-Masri only once, and I listened to her read her poems only once. That was enough to understand the quality of her work and grasp in her an inseparable blend of beauty and suffering, as only poets in the world are capable of enduring." The publications, which first in France and subsequently in translations into Italian and many other languages ​​have followed in recent years, testify to the evolution of Maram al Masri's poetry. This writer - Syrian by birth, but in exile in Paris for years - has in fact gone from a decidedly individual figure, although strongly felt and original, - Adonis defines her writing as "made of passion, of everyday life, of simple but warm and irrepressible things" - to taking on a role of denunciation of a collective condition, that of women victims of violence (Anime scalze 2009, Italian ed. 2011), and of the tragedy of a people, hers, that Syrian, tormented by an uncivil war in which, with the complicity of the great powers, a bloodthirsty dictator and self-styled Islamic fanatics are facing each other who, with their armies, are massacring the civilian population and its demands for freedom (Freedom Arrives Naked 2013, Italian ed. 2014). In his verses Maram achieves a happy synthesis between the stylistic features of Middle Eastern poetry and modern Western poetry, giving life to a literary corpus in which a polyphony of voices effectively alternates the whisper with the cry, the defeat of violated bodies with the desire for individual and social redemption, the horror of violence with the elegance of metaphor, eroticism and everyday life, reality and dreams. For her work as a whole and for her great human and social sensitivity, the jury believes, in line with the programmatic intentions already mentioned, to award Maram al-Masri this award dedicated to the memory of Regina Coppola.