Reviews, “Dialect Meetings”: Antonella Cilento and Antonio Franchini protagonists of the last appointment

Antonella Cilento and Antonio Franchini. They are the protagonists of “Dialect in the hands of writers: narrative”, the last event of the “Dialect Meetings”, the project curated by the Scientific Committee for the protection and enhancement of the Neapolitan linguistic heritage, established by the Campania Region, and organized by the Campania dei Festival Foundation directed by Ruggero Cappuccio and chaired by Alessandro Barbano. The event is scheduled for 4 pm on Monday 19 May in the Sala Comencini of the Musap - Museo Artistico Politecnico di Napoli in Piazza Trieste e Trento (Palazzo Zapata).

Nunzio Ruggiero, professor of Contemporary Italian Literature at the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples, will introduce the conversation between the use of dialect and the construction of the contemporary novel in its two variants of form and genre: the historical novel (“La Babilonese” by Antonella Cilento) and the autobiographical novel (“Il fuoco che ti porta dentro” by Antonio Franchini). “We will talk,” explains Professor Ruggiero, “about the variations in the use of dialect in dialogues, between standard Italian, regional Italian and strict vernacular; and about the search for contrasting effects between different expressive registers, with a focus on oral tradition at its various levels: from nursery rhymes to insults.” It will then be interesting to verify the relationship between the use of dialect and the presence of the female character in the two novels. “The dialect of women - continues Ruggiero - who impose themselves as the protagonists of the story. Between sexuality and emotionality, the expressive peculiarities that characterize the Neapolitan lower body, will allow some comment on the singular coincidence of the incipits of the two novels, both focused on the relationship between dialect and olfactory dimension: the miasmas and bad smells that refer to the material and sensorial tension of the plebeian language. A conversation, in short, that helps the public to understand the significance of the relationship between language and literary landscape in the narration of two texts that can be considered among the most successful contemporary novels”.