Italy’s love of literature from the German-speaking world
Published: Sunday, May 12th 2024, 12:50
Updated At: Tuesday, May 14th 2024, 01:59
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The German language was honored as guest of honor at the most important Italian book fair Salone Internazionale del Libro Torino this year. Authors from Switzerland also traveled to Turin. A review.
Late on Saturday afternoon in Turin, a small procession set off from the exhibition grounds towards Fiume Po, not with drums and trumpets, but with written declarations of love for literature. "Amo la letteratura, perché mi permette di viaggiare in tutti i mondi" - "I love literature because it allows me to travel to all possible worlds" - it reads.
It is the "ReadParade", a joint event organized by Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which aims to bring the art of storytelling back into the public sphere. The three countries have jointly organized the appearance of the German language as Guest of Honour at this year's International Book Fair in Turin. The invited authors from Switzerland include Usama Al Shahmani, Lukas Bärfuss, Simone Lappert and Noëmi Lerch.
Reina Gehrig told the Keystone-SDA news agency that this performance had "triggered something". Gehrig is head of the literature department at the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, which in turn is a partner of the performance. "A German colleague from the Goethe-Institut in Palermo has just discovered Simone Lappert," she said with shining eyes. This exchange should be cultivated "sustainably". Because the three host countries have the same goal: "The international promotion of their authors," says Gehrig.
German among the top three in Italy
German-language literature plays an important role in Italy: German is the third most translated language in Italy after English and French. For Pro Helvetia, the promotion of literary translations into Italian is therefore a core concern, and its presence at the largest Italian book fair is of "cultural and political importance". In 2023, the fair attracted 215,000 visitors.
This year's trade fair is likely to top last year's visitor numbers, as was expected during the course of the fair. The exhibition stands were very busy and in some halls it was almost impossible to get through. Quite a few Italians came with their children and baby carriages, but groups of young people also showed off their favorite books and bought new ones. Outside in the sun, there were panini, gelati and strong Italian caffè.
Barbara Griffini has a good overview of developments in the field of literature translated into Italian. Her agency, Berla & Griffini Rights Agency, represents the majority of the German publishing world in Italy. In the last five to ten years, the proportion of translated commercial entertainment literature - especially "women's literature" - has risen sharply, said Griffini. German philosophers and sociologists as well as newly published classics, including Dürrenmatt, have also remained stable.
More mediation needed
However, marketing contemporary Swiss literature in Italy is not easy, said Griffini. Most Swiss authors sell 2,000 to 3,000 copies of their books in Italy, but it is really good when someone sells 5,000 books. By comparison, books by Joël Dicker from French-speaking Switzerland sold over a million copies in Italy - and that in a country where reading culture is not widespread.
The person responsible for foreign-language fiction at publisher Marsilio Francesca Varotto cited similar figures. She said that the majority of Italian readers hardly differentiate between literature from Austria, Germany and Switzerland. For many, this is simply literature that comes "over the Alps".
"The problem is communication," Barbara Griffini noted. Press work is usually only done for bestselling authors, but more mediation work is needed for all foreign writers, at every step, from translation to organizing appearances in the target country.
Nevertheless, Griffini attests that German-language literature still has an "aura of value" in Italy. Francesca Varotto also believes that the Italian book market is becoming "more open", that there is more variety in bookshops today and that Italians are more interested in literature from non-English-speaking regions. But without the passion of those who work for the books in the publishing houses, it would not work, summarized Griffini.
©Keystone/SDA
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