L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 4 Lawrence Ferlinghetti turned 100 in March: an icon of American literature, but his ties with Italy are also very strong. Source: Wikimedia/Christopher Michel CATHERINE ACCARDI Continued to page 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS The queue outside outside San Francisco's City Lights Booksellers and Publishers on the birthday of Ferlinghetti, this year. City Lights Ferlinghetti's 100 Bday @ Bloom17 T he month of March has brought us Spring, and the 100th birthday of a legend, Lawrence Ferlinghet- ti, celebrated poet and San Fran- cisco's first Poet Laureate. He is also a painter, social activist, and the co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers located in San Francisco's North Beach district. On the occasion of this his- toric month, L'Italo-Americano was fortunate to speak with Mauro Aprile Zanetti, Fer- linghetti's assistant and public relations representative. Recently speaking with Italy's main news- paper, Il Corriere della Sera, Ferlinghetti defined him as «Un folletto con le ali ai piedi, tutto cuore e primavera: per questo si chiama Aprile» / A spirit with wings at his feet. A pure mix of heart and spring: that's why his name is Aprile. We asked Aprile Zanetti to share insight into his collabora- tion with the man behind the leg- end and the Month of Ferlinghet- ti. When did you meet Lawrence Ferlinghetti? Can you tell us a little bit of your special friendship? "The first time we met in North Beach it was February 2013. We became soon very good friends, discussing about books and art, poetry, anthropol- ogy, technology and politics, and having a lot of fun together. We also began to share more and more special "family time" together, such as every Christ- mas Eve at my house, cooking and enjoying Sicilian traditional recipes and poetry reading with my kids, Federico and Penelope, and my wife, Eva. When did you start working as Lawrence Ferlinghetti's aide? "I have been consistently working with him since 2015, when I curated his painting exhi- bition on occasion of the grand re-opening of the new location of the Italian Cultural Center on Van Ness at Opera Plaza: FLUXARE – The European Connexion. "Since 2015 on, my work assistance to Lawrence Fer- linghetti has been more on a daily basis because his health, particularly his eyes sight, has worsened. Now I help him han- dle his computer for reading and writing emails, and also trans- late from English, Italian and French. What about the work on LITTLE BOY, PR and media? "Last year, 2018, we spent a lot of time to finalize his new novel, Little Boy, and last Sum- mer/Fall we finished it, collabo- rating with his publisher's team at Doubleday-Penguin Random House. "I started handling media and PR on behalf of Ferlinghetti in collaboration with the Double Day and City Lights teams for interviews with journalists from all over the world. No more in person meetings since last Spring, but a long series over the phone interviews for radio, pod- casts and other media outlets; and a lot via emails. To mention few: France, Czech Republic (where Lawrence is really a rock star), Italy, Germany, UK, Cana- da, Australia and New Zealand, and of course the US. "Little Boy has already been bought, UK apart (Faber & Faber), to be translated in the following countries: Germany, Hungary, Turkey, Italy, Czech Republic, and Portugal, and many more are lining up. "The most relevant newspa- pers and magazines have been reaching out to us, endlessly, to set up calls and respond ques- tions via emails, briefs and facts checking etc. Up to today, we are talking of something like 50+ international and national top reviews released over March 2019. Can you tell us about some of the Ferlinghetti's 100th birthday celebrations of March? "The first quarter of the year 2019 has been very hectic, reaching the climax in March, and particularly on the week of March 17-24. In fact, that week coincided with the highest amount of Ferlinghetti 100th birthday celebrations organized all over San Francisco by City Lights. "The dances were officially opened on March 2nd at Rena and Trish Bransten Gallery, with a dedicated paintings and draw- ings exhibition — Lawrence Ferlinghetti: 100 Years Without Net (On show until April 27, 2019). "On Sunday March 17 at San Francisco Main Library, Bay Area Poets paid Tribute to Fer- linghetti's poetry with a 4-hour long session of readings and sto- ries organized by poet Neeli Cherkovski. I opened the poets' readings and speeches session, after Cherkovski introduction, with Ferlinghetti's latest poem, Trump's Trojan Horse, written in July 2017. What about the 2019 Signa- ture Tree Planting and the proclamation of March 24 Ferlinghetti Day? "After a double petition start- ed at the end of 2018-beginning Lawrence Ferlinghetti – 100 years of beatitude, and the best is yet to come…

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