I discovered the work of John Keahey by accident a few years ago when his first book about Sicily (Seeking Sicily: a cultural journey through myth and reality in the heart of the Mediterranean) randomly popped up on my Amazon search for books on my usual trawl through the internet for inspiration. After a…
Continue reading ➞ Sicilian Splendors: discovering the secret places that speak to the heart
I'm gradually adding to my Reading Trincaria reading list and so I will be posting a regular quick Sicilian themed book review during the week to gradually extend our Sicily related reads. This week I'd like to share one of the first books I ever read about this magical island, a true classic which helped…
Continue reading ➞ Short and sweet classical history
Sicily’s rich history, culture and literature are filled with endless stories, and so one writer or interpreter visiting here will never come up with a definitive interpretation, each experience will remain unique. Sicily has many faces and reflections, depending on where and when you visit and who you meet, it is impossible ever to finish…
Continue reading ➞ Seeking Sicily an interview with John Keahey
Andrew and Suzanne Edwards are both accomplished writers and translators with a deep admiration for Sicily, their guide to the island is a detailed love letter to the history and culture of this place. Together they trace an outline of Sicily through its rich literary history creating an intriguing portrait of this ancient place.…
Continue reading ➞ Sicily: A Literary guide for travellers
Jeremy Dummett is a lover of history, a dedicated Italophile and a frequent visitor to Sicily. It was while on a trip to Syracuse in 2005 that the seeds of an idea were planted. Dummett became interested in the history of ancient Siracusa, he discovered an immense amount of literature referring to this city and…
Continue reading ➞ Syracuse: City of legends an interview with Jeremy Dummett
One of the most surprising discoveries on my journey to know and understand Sicily better has been Anthony Di Renzo’s book Trinàcria (Guernica, Toronto 2013) which eloquently evokes the spirit of Sicily. Di Renzo gathers threads from Bourbon Sicily through the periods most vibrant characters and to bring their energy back to life. With the…
Continue reading ➞ Trinàcria: A tale of Bourbon Sicily an interview with Anthony Di Renzo
Elio Vittorini’s Conversations in Sicily has been on my reading list for a while and I was delighted to find the original English translation in the Amazon Kindle store compete with an introduction from Ernest Hemingway so I immediately snapped it up. However, for some unknown reason, it was never delivered and after several emails,…
Continue reading ➞ Conversations with Elio Vittorini and his critics
Venero Armanno's trio of Sicilian themed novels is a significant accomplishment, written masterfully by the son of Sicilian migrants with a powerful dedication to Sicily. The volcano is a novel of emotion, passion and fire set in the shadowlands around Etna and tells us of the epic journey of Emilio Aquila. The book…
Continue reading ➞ A journey to the Volcano with Venero Armanno
I stumbled upon Vitaliano Brancati quite by accident in a bookstore at Messina. I was attracted by the title of one his books, I discovered after he was quite a prolific novelist and later his most famous novel Il Bel Antonio was developed into a movie starring Marcello Mastroianni, which became a classic of Italian…
Continue reading ➞ Literary Islands: Vitaliano Brancati
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