LITERARY EVENING (in Italian) - Italian Cultural Centre of Bristol

L IT E R A RY E VE NI NG (in Itali an) Organized by Italian Cultural Centre of Bristol

Wednesday 20th JUNE 2012, 7pm -9pm SICILY AND DETECTIVE NOVELS: LEONARDO SCIA SCIA (TALK

GIVEN BY ALBA BIASI)

Leonardo Sciascia, a Sicilian writer, used the detective style to illustrate the webs of power and corruption that dominated Sicilian life, pointing to the impossibility of securin g justice in a world dominated by the Mafia. Two texts of the 1960s, The Day of the Owl (Il giorno della civetta) and To Each his Own (A ciascuno il suo), recount Mafia murders and the subseq uent code of silence (or omertà) that prevented the murderers from being brought to justice. The texts are particularly interesting as they invert the traditional setup of a detective novel: usually the individual investigator and society are united in a bid to find the murderer who has upset the social order. In Sciascia’s texts however, it is the investigator rather than the murderer who is isolated, as the murderer and society are united to preserve the social order in which Mafia killings may take place with impunity.

Venue: Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel Colleg e Green · Bristol, BS1 5TA (Palm Bar on ground floor) Prior booking essential as places are strictly limited The mission of the Centre is to promote Italian Culture in all its different aspects through various events such as literary meetings, history lectures, concerts, art talks, cooking classes, food and wine tasting, Italian film screenings an d many other cultural events. We also offer Italian conversation classes and Italian lessons one to one or in small groups. We are able to help those who wish to deepen their knowledge of Italy offering selected and customized trips to Tuscany, Lombardy and Apulia combining leisure and culture. email: [email protected] Tel.: 0117 911 5307 - Mob.: 07575121582 www.italianculturalcentre.org.uk

ALBA BIASI was born in 1985 in Sesto San Giovanni (Milan), at the age of three she moved to Palagianello (Taranto), her family’s village. She obtained her BA in Italian studies with a thesis on Leonardo Sciasc ia followed by the equivalent of an MA degree with a thesis on English Dramaturgy and Shakespeare. She currently Bristol.

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