We’ll collectively agree to pretend this post went up when it was supposed to, three days ago, and not almost a full week after the event I’m talking about 🙈 I’m also going to need September to chill for a minute and let me enjoy its final few days so I don’t start the new month already knackered 😅
Anyyyyway… Sunday was my final day at pordenonelegge for this year and I loved every minute! I started the day with Stefano Allievi, a sociologist who spoke about diversity and integration, two themes that are very dear to me and align closely with my work. I found his talk to be extremely thought-provoking, especially as he did a fair bit of myth-busting (which I knew most of already, but it’s always good to get a refresher) in a very engaging way.
Afterwards, I headed to a conversation between Alexander Etkind, a historian and cultural scientist, and journalist Anna Zafesova. Both are Russian and spoke at length about the situation on the country and future perspectives – which seem quite bleak, as with most global news at the moment.
Finally, I ended the day with a bit of light-heartedness and levity as I attended the presentation of Felicia Kingsley‘s new romance novel, Scandalo a Hollywood (literally, Scandal in Hollywood. No English edition yet as far as I’m aware). I’m not a huge romance reader, and in fact have never read one of Felicia’s books, but she is a bestselling author here in Italy so I attended out of curiosity. The room was packed and people started queuing for the book signing before the presentation had even started! I don’t think I’ll end up reading the book, to be honest, but the presentation was a lot of fun, so I’m still happy to have been there.
Three days went by in a flash! And as I’m sitting here, reminiscing about the sun and blue skies while the rain is pouring outside, I can hardly believe all this happened only last week. I had a lot of fun, enjoyed seeing authors I love and discovering new ones, fell in love with this beautiful city and breathed in deeply the joyous, book-loving air. And now, I can’t wait to do it again next year!
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