browsing the blog of Simo85 , admired by all its challenges, groups and chains of reading, I found a project that eventually I'd like to implement.
You know the Nobel Prize for Literature? It is one of the highest awards that a writer can aspire to, and have recently won the personality mica. Let's name a few? Boris Pasternak , José Saramago, Ernest Hemingway, Herman Hesse , Luigi Pirandello . And they are just a few.
Surprisingly, I have read some works by authors with the Nobel prize. I have read
Sienkiewicz, Kipling, Pirandello, Hesse, Hemingway, Beckett, and Bellow, but there are at least another ninety that I have not read anything. Understand? NINETY! Ninety large pieces of literature that are often less popular pushovers as Federico Moccia. Is not it sad?
Well, sooner or later I'd like to devote myself to a systematic reading of works by Nobel laureates. Because of my unwillingness to follow the projects in the literary field, however, the question is: will I ever do?
From Nobel Prize for curiosity I switched to something more our own: the Strega Prize.
I never had any particular interest in the witch, so it is possible that some of my information is incorrect. In any case, it is impossible to forget it, and I have a particular dislike for a winner include: Duke, which means Loneliness of prime numbers, which means, of course, Mondadori.
My special antipathy stems mainly from a couple of factors.
The first is marketing. Do you remember the summer of 2008, when the book came out? Italy was literally covered with posters advertising of this sublime, immense, immortal masterpiece, the debut of a doctorate in physics. Everywhere you turn, face very mediocre portrait on the cover of the book you stared wide-eyed, and the reactions could be two: run out and buy the book or hate it for the rest of life.
I return in the second category.
But there's another reason why such a book I hated. Belonging to the aforementioned second category, I have not read the work, but people I know have done, and they assured me that the title has absolutely nothing to do with the novel. Just think 'that's cool: The Solitude of Prime Numbers . Gosh, a novel, touted to ad nauseam, with a mathematical basis. The problem these days, is that publishers (Mondadori and is an expert) playing on two things: the cover and title. Beautiful glossy covers, feather, special, delicious, attractive! And titles suggestive, evocative ... that have little to do with the book that they represent. This is the case of Solitude of Prime Numbers , they told me. "The Solitude of Prime Numbers" is just a touchstone throughout the book, however, let me say that since they are the field-has little meaning for those who have studied the properties of prime numbers.
And here comes Blacks Pozza. What does it matter Blacks Pozza, you say.
Nothing seen which won the Strega Prize always the same publishers.
And this is precisely the point: Blacks Pozza announced that it will no longer participate with prizes for fiction Italian . The reasons can be summarized in few words: the Italians are not awards or national awards for literary fiction, the jury of these awards are not made by literary critics and, finally, goes round and round, the most important prizes if they win always the same (BB) publishing groups.
For a small publishing house can not win the Strega Prize?
Just do the math. Witch
The jury is composed of four hundred journalists, editors and industry professionals. If a publisher participate in the prize, you must submit free four hundred copies of the book, one for each juror. For a small publishing house is a great expense, as well as a gamble, and if then the Strega prize is won by someone else? And I also wonder who assures me that among the jurors, there is not a part that is somehow linked to Mondadori, Feltrinelli, Bompiani ... these people do you think will vote for who ever?
Such a system is absolutely ridiculous. The small publishing house Pincopalla can have among its titles, the best novel of the writer in the world but not be able to give him no recognition, while less talented writers, but who are fortunate enough to publish with industry giants, perhaps they can sell millions of copies beautiful. We
two accounts? Let's see how many have won the Strega publishers over time.
- Mondadori group: 34 (22 + 12 Mondadori Einaudi)
- Rizzoli: 9
- Bompiani: 8
- Feltrinelli: 4
- Garzanti: 4
- Longanesi: 2
- Leonardo: 1
- Meridiana: 1
- Rusconi: 1
- Vallecchi: 1
EDIT 07/03/11.
I is noted in a comment left by an anonymous Pozza Blacks, in fact, there is a small publishing house, but average. I accept the correct explanation, as I wrote in the comment response, but I would add that I, not being experienced enough, I wrote the post in mind with a division into two: the big publishers, and all the others. The post is a result of this assumption.
0 comments:
Post a Comment