700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri’s Death
On the occasion of Dante Day, the Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney is pleased to present the first of a rich series of
events organized to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri.
This is the presentation of two volumes dedicated to the Supreme Poet, both published by Marco Sonzogni, collaborator of the Institute for projects focused on Italian literature and in particular on Poetry, and by Timothy Smith.
The first very original volume More favorable waters. Aotearoa poets respond to Dante’s Purgatorio is an anthology that collects the rhymes of thirty-three contemporary New Zealand poets to whom Sonzogni asked to dialogue, with one of their original works, with the Purgatory of Alighieri. A well-assorted group that includes established artists such as David Eggleton and Vincent O’Sullivan, award-winning authors such as Helen Rickerby and Michael Harlow and rising stars in the Aotearoa poetry scene. The anthology also includes a musical score composed specifically for this publication.
The second, and equally original project, is entitled Quantum of Dante and according to the critics, is due to soon
become a sought-after work of art. In Quantum of Dante Sonzogni has imagined that Dante arrives on a canoe (waka) in NZ and tells his journey. The next step was to ask Hemi Kelly to translate the first triplets of the first canto into Te Reo (vv. 1-12), using several English translations, both prose and verse, as a reference point. An absolute novelty is that the book contains the first translation of passages from the Comedy in Te Reo Maori.
Marco Sonzogni, after his university studies in Italy (Univ. degli Studi di Pavia – Almo Collegio Borromeo), completed his specialization at the National University of Ireland (Dublin), the University of Dublin (Trinity College), the Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Auckland. The study of Romance, Germanic and Slavic philology and comparative literature (Italian, English and Russian) has broadened Marco’s passion for foreign languages and cultures and for literary translation. Award-winning poet, literary translator and editor, Sonzogni’s research interests include Italian literature, comparative literature, world literature, book history, and publishing.
Timothy Smith graduated from Victoria University of Wellington in Classics and Translations Studies with a specialization in the writings of Dante Alighieri.
Hēmi Kelly (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tahu – Ngāti Whāoa) is a full-time teacher of Te Reo Māori at Auckland University of Technology. His academic research and writing focus on the teaching and acquisition of the Maori language, the revitalization of the Maori language, and the translation studies he carries out through involvement in Maori language planning and revitalization initiatives in numerous organizations, including its tribal communities.
The two volumes, published respectively by Cuba Press (Wellington) and Beatnik (Auckland), will be presented on 25 March at 5.30 pm (Wellington time) at Unity Books in Wellington.
