When we talk about Gianni Rodari, we cannot help but go back to childhood and the world of tales. Rodari remains, without a doubt, one of the most loved authors of short stories and nursery rhymes of children's literature, in Italy and abroad. Who has never read his fables? Who does not remember his "Jasmine in the land of liars"? Today, April 14, marks the forty-second anniversary of the death of this extraordinary author who was a teacher, journalist, poet and writer.
Teaching and journalism
Gianni Rodari was born in Omegna, on Lake Orta, in 1920. He was only a child when his father Giuseppe, who was a baker, died of bronchopneumonia. At the age of nine he moved with his brother and mother to the latter's hometown, Gavirate, in the province of Varese, where he continued his studies. It was his mother who, in 1931, pushed him to enter the Catholic seminary of San Pietro Martire di Seveso (Milan), but then, since that was not his true vocation, he passed to the master's and obtained his master's degree in 1937. Two years later enrolled in the faculty of languages at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, but did not finish his studies for a few exams. He started teaching for a few years. He became interested in politics: first approaching the Catholic world and, after the fascist interlude, he approached the Communist Party and participated in the struggles of the resistance. After the Second World War, he began his journalistic career which led him to collaborate with various newspapers, including L'Unità, Paese Sera, Pioniere.
The fables
Rodari began publishing his fairy tales in the early 50s and, from there, until the 70s, enjoying great success. Titles like "Tales on the phone", "Jasmine in the land of liars", "Cipollino's novel", "The blue arrow", "Nursery rhymes in heaven and on earth", "Once upon a time there was Baron Lamberto", are still read and appreciated today by young and old. His books have been translated into several languages. In 1970, Rodari (he was the first and only Italian to date) received the prestigious Christian Andersen Award, considered the "Nobel Prize" in children's literature. One of the most important publications of him is the famous "Grammar of fantasy. Introduction to the art of inventing stories ", of 1973, which consecrated him among the greatest theorists of creative and fantastic writing. This essay has indeed become a point of reference for teachers, but also for parents and animators.
Some of his texts for children, including the very famous "It takes a flower", were set to music by Sergio Endrigo and other songwriters. He died at the age of 59 of heart failure in Rome, the city where he had lived since the 50s. There are numerous texts that remember him and speak of his work. But so are the places, the streets, the parks, the libraries named after him. The most famous is the Fantasy Park in Omegna.
The moon of Kiev
A nursery rhyme by Gianni Rodari entitled "The Kiev moon" has become very popular in recent weeks because it refers to the war in Ukraine. "Is the moon of Kiev the same as the moon of Rome?" the author asked himself in 1955, almost seventy years ago. Today this rhyme has returned to the attention of the social media, where it was published as a message of hope in this dramatic war-torn period. Inspired by this nursery rhyme, two days ago, the album illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna dedicated to "The moon of Kiev" (Einaudi Ragazzi) was released in all bookstores, the proceeds of which will be donated to the Italian Red Cross for the emergency in Ukraine . The idea is to transform the positive message of the nursery rhyme into a concrete and useful action for those who, at this moment, are suffering from the war.
The text of "The moon of Kiev"
Who knows if the moon
of Kiev
she is beautiful
like the moon of Rome,
who knows if it's the same
or just his sister ...
“But I'm always the same!
- the moon protests -
I'm not
a night cap
on your head!
Traveling up here
I light up everyone,
from India to Peru,
from the Tiber to the Dead Sea,
and my rays travel
without passport ".
Photo source: Facebook page Gianni Rodari
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