1. TO TURIN WITH MOUNTIES.
- Author
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Bethune, Brian
- Subjects
- *
CANADIAN literature , *LITERARY prizes , *CROSS-cultural communication , *CANADIAN authors - Abstract
Canada is a dangerous place in the collective memory of Turin. Stylized Mohawk warriors loom menacingly over the front windows of the northern Italian city's 300-year-old Palazzo Carignano. Formed in solid brick, they represent the vivid recollections of Turinese soldiers who fought in New France's 17th-century Iroquois wars. Plus ça change. For the 50-odd Canadian writers, publishers, public servants and journalists who went to Italy in mid-May to see Canada honoured at Turin's annual international book fair. Every year for the past decade, a local committee in the Italian town of Castel Goffredo has picked a country, named five of its books and rounded up 135 copies of each. Then the citizens start reading; at summer's end they award the Acerbi prize. But nothing beats Ottawa's seed money, which has been astonishingly successful for a modest cost. About $50,000 a year has fostered a network of Canadian studies departments at seven Italian universities. There are now dozens of academics interested in the country, according to University of Milan professor Luigi Bruti Liberati.Over the past decade Canadian literature has been celebrated and welcomed with open arms around the world.
- Published
- 2003