Pietro Paciello, author of Cerignola, is also a valid teacher of literary subjects in lower secondary schools. Furthermore he is a member ofArcheoclub Cerignola.
Since 2018 he has been teaching atVittorio-Padre Pio Comprehensive Institute. One of the parameters he uses to understand if what he writes has that extra “something” is precisely the audience of his students.
The professor. Paciello recently published his second book, an anthology of fairy tales. We contacted him to get to know him better and to present the volume in detail, which seems very interesting to us.
The first question concerns the teaching profession. How much does this influence, condition and inspire his writings?
“In my books”The Cerignola laurel” And “I won’t tell you the usual fairy tales” I mainly made use of my knowledge of the Spanish language, learned in Barcelona as part of the “Erasmus” program carried out during my university studies. Having said this, it is undeniable that my profession played a decisive role, especially in the drafting of the second book, since the fairy tale is a genre studied in the first year of middle school”
What is classical culture for you? Which authors do you particularly like?
“Today, classical culture is increasingly debased, considered devoid of “practical” value in an increasingly globalized society. Priority is given to the study of disciplines closely connected to the world of business, with all due respect to the study of Latin, Greek, history of art, and of everything that contributes to developing critical thinking in human beings. And the harmful effects are there for all to see. The classical authors I love most are the historians: Herodotus, Thucydides, Sallust, Tacitus , Julius Caesar”
Do you want to talk to us about your latest “I won’t tell you the usual fairy tales – Apologues by Felipe Jaconto Sala translated, explained and commented” and the previous one, entitled “The Laurel of Cerignola”?
“Yes, of course. “I won’t tell you the usual fairy tales” is an anthology of seventy fairy tales written by the Spaniard Felipe Jacinto Sala (1819-1895) and translated and explained by me. In the book I use the catechetical form (question-answer) to provide the reader with clarifications regarding some “obscure” passages, as well as explanations on the symbolism of the protagonists of some fables (animals, trees, inanimate beings) and information on real and/or mythological characters present in others (Aesop, Socrates, Proteus , etc.)
“The Laurel of Cerignola” is instead a theatrical drama – translated by me from Spanish – set in the moments immediately following the Battle of Cerignolawhich took place in 1503. This book was presented at the Cerignola Book Fair in 2021″.
What are the objectives of your writings? Is there a message you would like to convey to readers?
“I wrote these two books with a clear popular intent. I translated “The Cerignola laurel“, theatrical drama written by the Spaniard Francisco Bianco Garcia (1864-1903) and set in the moments following the Battle of Cerignola in 1503, because I believed it was important to make my fellow citizens aware of a literary testimony of an event that took place in our city.
As for the last one, “I won’t tell you the usual fairy tales“, the aim I set myself was to provide young readers – and not only – with a tool with which to be aware, in a light and passionate way, of the reality that surrounds us, and then face it through the recovery of those values which nowadays seem to go through a irreversible crisis. This recovery can take place, in my opinion, also by remembering that we were once children”
What do your students think of the books you have written?
“My students had a significant role in the writing of “I won’t tell you the usual fairy tales”. In fact, I proposed to them the reading of some stories (and related explanations) in order to verify whether these were substantially understandable, exhaustive and captivating. That said, I hope they think as well of it as possible.”
Writing as self-healing and a tool for catharsis. Do you agree with this statement?
“I think that this conception of writing depends a lot on the nature and sensitivity of the individual writer. Personally I also write to leave a trace of myself and to “take death out of your pocket, throw it against the wall and catch it again”as Charles Bukowski said”
A nod to the modernity of fairy tales. What do you think about it?
“The beauty of fables lies precisely in the fact that they have a universal value. Their moral contents have the power to transcend temporal, cultural and linguistic barriers. If the fables of Aesop and Phaedrus are still read today, there must be a reason.”
