Participant profiles
Marcello Fois
The first event (in Italian with English interpreter) of the series Italian Writers in Leeds had as protagonist Marcello Fois.
Marcello Fois. Born in Nuoro, Sardinia, in 1960, Marcello Fois lives in Bologna. He is one of the most gifted of a group of writers exploring the cultural roots of their own regions; in addition to several successful novels and short stories, he writes for the theatre, television, and cinema. He also co-founder and organizer of the literary festival Isola delle Storie. Festival letterario della Sardegna, taking place every summer in the Sardinian village of Gavoi.
For more information, see the writer's website.
Patrick Creagh has translated into English three of Fois' novels: Sempre caro, Sangue dal cielo (Nuoro and Milan: Il Maestrale and Frassinelli, 1998 and 1999), and Memoria del vuoto (Turin: Einaudi, 2006). They are available with the titles of The Advocate. A Sardinian Mistery (London: Vintage, 2003), Blood from the Skies(London: Harville Press, 2006), and Memory of the Abyss (London: Maclehose Press, 2012).
If you would like to read a review of The Advocate on 'The Telegraph''s website (Christopher Tayler, Civilised Barbarians, 'The Telegraph', 10th August 2003), click here.
You can also listen to two interviews in Italian:
- Marcello Fois presents his novel Nel tempo di mezzo (2012) at Fahreneit - Radio rai 3 (2012)
- Marcello Fois e la scoperta della Sardegna, at Rai Letteratura (18th May 2012)
In Leeds, Marcello discussed with staff and students issues of multilingualism, narrative style, genre, and the role of the writer in the contemporary society. He also presented his latest novel, Memoria del vuoto (Turin: Einaudi, 2006), which after a few months was awarded the Grinzane Cavour Literary Prize for Italian Fiction.
The talk at the University of Leeds was preceded by a seminar in Italian at the University of Oxford, co-organised with Professor Diego Zancani as part of the 'Italian Graduate Research Seminars':
7th May 2007: Il giallo, l'isola, la scrittura. Gigliola Sulis and Diego Zancani in conversation with Marcello Fois, University of Oxford
Un intellettuale al lavoro nell'Italia contemporanea: conversazione dello scrittore Marcello Fois con Gigliola Sulis (Dublin and Cork, 23rd-24th March 2011)
The Irish tour of Marcello Fois in 2011 was co-organised by Italian Writers in the UK and Ireland, the Departments of Italian at Trinity College of Dublin and University College of Cork, and the Italian Institute of Culture of Dublin.