Join our Caffe' Letterario for a discussion of award winning Dacia Maraini's latest novel “Chiara di Assisi: Elogio della disobbedienza” (In Praise of Disobedience: Clare of Assisi). You can read the Italian original edition or the English translation by Jane Tylus.

Novel: An author receives a mysterious e-mail begging her to tell the story of Clare of Assisi, the thirteenth-century Italian saint. At first annoyed by the request, the author begins to research Saint Clare and becomes captivated by her life. We too are transported into the strange and beautiful world of medieval Italy, witnessing the daily rituals of convent life. At the center of that life is Saint Clare, a subversive and compelling figure full of contradictions: a physically disabled woman who travels widely in her imagination, someone unforgivingly harsh to herself yet infinitely generous to the women she supervises, a practitioner of self-abnegation who nevertheless knows her own worth. A visionary who liberated herself from the chains of materialism and patriarchy, Saint Clare here becomes an inspirational figure for a new generation of readers. 

Author: Dacia Maraini is one of Italy’s most prominent contemporary authors. Her books have been translated into twenty-two languages and she has won the most prestigious Italian literature awards: the Formentor Prize for L'età del malessere (1963); the Premio Fregene for Isolina (1985); the Premio Campiello and Book of the Year Award for La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa (1990); and the Premio Strega for Buio (1999). In 2013, the documentary I Was Born Travelling about her life portrayed the story of her imprisonment in a concentration camp in Japan, to the legendary journeys around the world with her partner Alberto Moravia, her close friends Pier Paolo Pasolini and opera singer Maria Callas.

Location: In person in Honolulu. Registered guests will receive an email with address prior to the event. You must have read the book to participate, grazie :-).

RSVP: A week prior to program.

Note: The Friends of Italy Society of Hawaii is not responsible for any liability, cost, and damages which could arise from the programs; and does not provide any refunds, except if it cannot deliver the program, for instance in the case of insufficient enrollment.

Questions: Email us at info@friendsofitalyhawaii.org.