VITTORIA PRESENTS VITTORIA
I was born in Rome on October 29th, 1927. I started writing poetry when I was eight and I never stopped. I published thirty-two books, four of which were prose (three more will follow). My best editor was Attilio Vallecchi.
I graduated in Modern Literature at the age of twenty-one and a half and in the same year (after doing several jobs: janitorial assistant, copyist, babysitter, assistant teacher, assistant secretary) I started working for Adriano Olivetti, in the president offices.
I got married at twenty-two.
I wanted – and had – six children, three boys and three girls.
I was admitted to the National Order of Journalists when I was thirty. I have written for newspapers, weeklies, periodicals, I have been the editor in charge of some newspapers, I have founded art and cultural journals, conducted radio columns, organised literary events in various cities of Italy and a series of multipurpose meetings in Romagna. In 1971 I founded the Cultural Association IL SALICE “meetings in preview” of which I am president for life. For ten years (1979-1989) I taught a cycle of poetry as part of the initiative “Milan for you” and for The Third Age University. In 1994 I was invited by Società Dante Alighieri to speak about art and poetry in Dutch Universities. (In 2005 Pen International invited her to the literary conference in Strasbourg).
I have been awarded several prizes (cups, plaques, medals, rarely checks!). The most important ones: Gavetta Prize for journalistic activity; Andersen Prize for the fairy tale; Quasimodo International Prize, Madonnina City of Milan, Taormina International Poetry Prize and Gronchi Prize for poetry; Rosa D’Oro of success. I received the Certificate of Civic Merit (1976) and the Ambrogino d’oro (1977) from the City of Milan.
I like to travel and have seen most of the world: Europe, United States, Brazil, Argentina, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Anatolia, Greece, Russia. I touched – by sailing boat – almost every island in the Mediterranean. I’ve met hundreds of people, I had – and have – real friends.
I love the sea – I love art – I love love.
I’m not interested in the chatter, the shopping, the superfluous.
What I want cannot be bought, only received. I’ve had a lot and I’m thankful to God. I believe in God, I feel his presence.
I have always given, I don’t know to what extent, but I say yes with my heart before my lips. I believe life is a perennial miracle. I begin a new each day, careful not to lose what, everywhere and always, is good and beautiful.
I work for the trade union newspaper IL GIORNALISMO and I am on the board of arbitrators for the Lombard Association of Journalists.
I continue to have literary “conversations” when asked, to take care of my friends’ exhibitions, to listen to those who talk to me and confirm (even to myself) that life is given to us to live.
Vittoria
Milan, December 2003
P.S. Vittoria returned to being wind, light, tidal wave on January 29th 2010
