Iranian Writers Invited to Visit Italy

Simon de Conza, the head of the Italian Writers’ Association,has referred to the enthusiasms of Italian writers to establish close contacts with their Iranian counterparts and said ”since last year and particularly after Paris Book Fair, we began to make close contacts with Iranian writers but unfortunately the level of our contacts remains low.”

In an interview with the Mehr News Agency, he went on to say “during the past years, we found out that there are many things about Iran and its literature which we don’t know yet. So, we thought it is necessary to raise the level of our cultural relations because it is now too low.”

Conza also added that Italian writers are interested in the presence of more Iranian writers in Turin Book Fair. “So, we hope with better arrangements, we could witness their further presence in our cultural and literary events.”

During the interview, he added most Iranian and Italian writers and publishers don’t know yet that there are many commonalities between their works. “We are now trying to discover the commonalities. To this end, we need to hold more talks and establish closer relations with each other.”

He called for closer relations between writers from around the world and said “we are seeking a new way to provide the Iranian and Italian writers with appropriate mechanisms to translate and publish their works in other languages and countries.”

Conza stated the Italian association is planning to invite two foreign writers to Italy each month. “We will accommodate and provide them with good facilities so that they would write new pieces or complete their unfinished projects.”

“We will also link them with some Italian publishers to have their works published. We are very interested in having the Iranian writers in our country as well and strengthen the relations between Iranian and Italian publishers.”