You mentioned “the artists I had been working with”, and this is an event rich of famous and important authors. Did you work for some famous artists? Did you meet some of them?
The event boasts an impressive list of invitees every year - this year our 'super star' was Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who is hailed as one of the most influential feminist writers in the world! There were also a number of other famous authors who I had the pleasure of meeting and working with - they all seemed to love coming to the festival and it was so interesting to meet and speak to people from such a wide range of countries and cultures over one week.
Do you think there are any small poets/writers to watch out for in the future?
There was one German author called Mercedes Lauenstein who won a Young Writers grant and was invited for the “Scrittore Giovani” project of the festival, which gives a platform to emerging young talent in the written world. I would say she is definitely one to watch!
Ok, thank you very much! Only other two questions and we finish our interview. Would you recommend the event to your friends?
I would definitely recommend the event to my friends and anyone else really - Mantova is such a beautiful Italian town and the festival is a great chance to visit it whilst getting involved in such an interesting cultural event.
Perfect! Last question. In the Festivalletteratura there are also music concerts, aren’t there? And I see you are a musician. Would you like to perform in Mantua during the festival?
Yes there are! That was one of my favourite projects of the festival - Stefania (the girl who I stayed with during my time in Mantova) was in charge of the music events this year and it was such a success! They booked L.A. Salami, a well-known contemporary folk artist from London, to perform on the Friday night along with other bands and artists from around Italy. And in answer to your latter question: definitely! It would be such an honour to go back to the festival as a performer
Thank you very much for your time, Chloe!
Our interview with Chloe it’s finished. I hope that her answers have aroused your curiosity to go to this beautiful and really cultural event in Mantova. It takes place every year in September, a perfect month for visiting Italy.
ARTE, CULTURA & SPETTACOLO
BY: Eleonora Carrai