press review
Sit down and turn on!
The tissue of Trieste is undoubtedly literature. The beautiful sentence by Claudio Magris: “The city living in literature and by literature as literature is the only space in which we can find ourselves and learn truly who we are” (Europa widziana z Triestu – Europe Seen From Trieste) emerges not only from the awareness that the land gave birth to some writers, but also from the belief that the mixture of nations, their cultures and languages brings special narration, creates a tale of preserving identity in the world subjected to unification, and at the same time a tale of opposing the destructive power of nationalisms. Trieste for Magris is like a confession of faith; it becomes the point of reference for all his literary attempts.
“Zeszyty Literackie” give opportunity to meet all types of literary characters, starting with the biggest celebrities – the sketch „Ulisses“ urodził się w Trieście (”Ulysses “ was born in Trieste) by Italo Svevo showing Joyce’s associations with the city (“It is apparent that we, the Triestians, are allowed to love him as if he were one of us”), through already mentioned Svevo (Magris writes about him in a long text Pisanie i nieokiełznana starość – Writing And Unbridled Old Age, the same does Eugenio Montale in Dla Itala Sveva – w hołdzie – Tribute To Italo Svevo), ending with ones known only to few (Eugenio Montale: Wspomnienie o Robercie Bazlenie – Memory of Robert Bazlen and Giani Stuparich Bobi Bazlen). Reading all the texts gathered in the section Trieste Figures gives an impression that Trieste is an agora of literary meetings; dates of birth and death become irrelevant as the sons of literature meet everyday, living in a community beyond the time. The timelessness, which forces us to watch history as an expanding continuum, is yet another memory of the journey.