November 30 – December 1, 2022, a two-day conference dedicated to the work and legacy of Grazia Deledda, the first and only Italian woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (1926). A collaboration between NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò and the Istituto Italiana di Cultura, New York, this jubilant celebration of the 150th birthday of Grazia Deledda is organized with the support of the Consulate General of Italy in New York.

Kicking off on November 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò - NYU (24 W 12th St, New York, NY 10011), the first seminar session will be dedicated to Deledda’s legacy in the US. On December 1 at 5:30 p.m. at the Italian Cultural Institute (686 Park Ave, New York, NY 10021), the second day’s seminar will consider the innovative and revolutionary figure of Deledda as our contemporary, concluding with a screening of the documentary film Grazia Deledda, La Rivoluzionaria (in Italian with English subtitles), by Cecilia Mangini and Paolo Pisanelli.

On the morning of December 1 at 11 a.m. at the Italian Cultural Institute, a unique program will be dedicated to secondary school instructors and students, featuring Alexa’s “Parole di Grazia” with audio segments revealing the life of Grazia Deledda and the settings of her novels, including taped readings of excerpts from her work.

“I’ve developed these conversations with an eye on the future,” explains Valeria Orani, the New York-based curator of the seminars. “Dialogue between Italian scholars and leading North American researchers on Grazia Deledda reveals how Deledda overcame the restrictions of male chauvinism. Her self-expression as artist and woman is deeply rooted in Sardinian culture, where the role of women has always been recognized.” The NY seminars have been programmed in collaboration with the Institutional Committee for the 150th Anniversary of Grazia Deledda, including the Province and Municipality of Nuoro, Museo MAN, UniNuoro, and
the Fondazione Banco di Sardegna.

For Anthony Muroni, the Committee’s Artistic Director, “It is especially important that the city of New York, with its history of freedom, defense of civil rights, and attention to the role of women in society, should participate in this homage to an author who helped lift restrictions on women and, before anyone else, set out on the road to self-determination, as rendered in the lives of the protagonists of her novels.” Muroni’s words are echoed by Constantino Tidu, Chief Administrator of the Province of Nuoro and head of the Institutional Committee, who adds, “The New York seminars are particularly important for presenting the figure and work of
Deledda to the sophisticated and sensitive North American audience.”

See the full program here and find the panelists’ bios here.

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