Let’s try to give a little poetic color to the black and white news circulating on the web, below are some of the most clicked facts of the week seen through a color filter
Scurati and “censorship”
Can a poet like the word “censorship”? No. This word should in fact be used with caution to denounce abuses of power, but once again it has been used improperly, watering down its meaning. If Antonio Scurati was censored for not having been called, in the end, by public television to express his political opinion on the current government, then we are all even more censored, to whom it was not even proposed. Thank you Scurati the controversies that have arisen, there has been talk about him and having exploited the opportunity he will certainly have sold a few more books.
Fascists and anti-fascists
I am not a fascist, never have been nor will I ever be. On April 25th I would like to happily celebrate together with my country the liberation from the totalitarian Nazi-fascist regimes thanks to the intervention of the Allies, supported by partisans of various denominations. Instead, as usual, April 25th unfortunately brought with it the usual drama in which the words “fascist” and “anti-fascist” collide like toy cars of a mischievous child. Someone has appropriated these words and plays with the memory of a nation, bending it to the political needs of the moment. Suffice it to say that not only the tricolors were waved, but also the flags of Palestine. It’s time to say enough and get rid of all this waste as soon as possible.
A rapper sentenced to death in Iran
And speaking of totalitarian regimes, in Iran these days, not in the 1940s, Toomaj Salehi, a thirty-two-year-old rapper, was sentenced to death. What crime did he commit? “Corruption on earth”, “propaganda against the system”, “disturbing the peace”, “incitement to violence” and even “complicity with enemies external to Iran”. In reality he had simply supported the protests after the death of Mahsa Amini, killed because she did not wear a veil and had used words against the regime. Where are those who demonstrate against totalitarian regimes now and today?
The anniversary of Guglielmo Marconi
On April 25th we celebrate an anniversary that is too often overshadowed by the controversies surrounding April 25th: the birth of Guglielmo Marconi. Born in Bologna 150 years ago, he is certainly one of the great geniuses of Italian history, he invented wireless telegraphy, from which radio, TV and all communication systems would later develop. To give fruit to his intuitions he had to move to England, irreparably impacting the history that followed him. Let’s remember it with pride.
World Book Day
Meanwhile, World Book Day was celebrated, an anniversary established in 1995 by UNESCO to promote reading. This, before any other, is perhaps the true emergency of Italy, a country home to beauty and a thousand-year-old literature, which however has been forgotten to read. The data on reading brings tears to tears every year and certainly the overall editorial proposal does not stimulate reading too much. But let’s make this effort, let’s make the commitment to read a good book.
Taylor Swift and the tortured poets
Taylor Swift is the most popular Anglo-Saxon phenomenon in recent times. While perhaps its penetration in Italy is not at the levels of other countries, it remains one of the most significant global phenomena of the moment. This week you released an album, “The Tortured Poets Department”. And she coincidentally goes back to talking about poetry and poets, even if tortured, as if this world of plastic and bits couldn’t help but shout out her need for poetry.
Yet more proof that it is really worth dedicating time and energy to words that become verses.
