scritture giovani

"Sigh no more, ladies, sigh nor more;/ Men were deceivers ever;/ One foot in sea and one on shore,/To one thing constant never;/ Then sigh not so,/ But let them go". Fireworks of love, guileless jealousies, mock-heroic rivalries, proud uncertainties, subtle cruelties, deaf vendettas, vile impostures, noble impulses, fainting, flattery, caresses, scuffles and words. These are the ephemeral stuff and the pains and joys of Much Ado About Nothing.

Adopting this sombre yet playful piece of writing, Scritture Giovane asked Ilaria Gaspari, Rebecca F. John, Mercedes Lauenstein and Nina Polak to celebrate Shakespeare’s anniversary in style. The challenge was to tap into the dark chords of drama and the lighter and more hilarious ones of comedy, to weave and reveal plots, and invent with the same ready fantasy roles for protagonists and characters with a single line only, to mix the bitter with the sweet to offer us once again the pleasure of literature.

Shakespeare is the world spirit of this 2016 edition of Scritture Giovani, the project that scouts for and promotes new talent in European literature started by Festivaletteratura, Hay Festival and internationales literaturfestival Berlin back in 2002. Thanks to this project, numerous young authors of different languages have been brought to the attention of an international audience.