Online conversation with Alessandro Baricco (Italy), special „BookStar“ X10 award for recognized excellence in literature.
Few authors can be described with so many epithets as Alessandro Baricco, and yet have them all fully justified. Simply put, he is undoubtedly the most famous and beloved Italian writer and intellectual who became a global sensation—an author whose name resonates like that of a rock star!
I remember when “Silk” first appeared in Macedonian language toward the late 1990s. It was a literary phenomenon our reading culture had never seen before. The small book, which could be read in one breath, suddenly left many breathless and sleepless. It was reread, recommended, gifted, and discussed. But it was never retold. Baricco's books are like love and sex, like swimming and riding a bicycle—they cannot be retold; they must be experienced. In our conversations, Baricco’s "personal" translator into Macedonian, Liljana Uzunovikj, mentioned several times that “Silk” had probably seen dozens of editions, making it one of the best-selling books of all time in our modest readership.
With great anticipation and high hopes, we awaited the release of his next works, such as “Lands of Glass”, “Ocean Sea”, “Novecento”, “City”, “This Story” etc. Publishers were constantly vying to be the ones to publish this Italian word-magician, making Baricco something of a record-holder in Macedonia, as a foreign author with the most different publishers. Many things changed around him, but the interest in his books didn’t wane throughout the 2000s. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon to come across photocopies of his books, already worn from reading and borrowing.
Baricco was an author read and analyzed even in academic circles, where not every writer is granted access, as well as in niche reader communities that typically only stick to specific types of literature. Such a contradiction always happens when exceptional authors are involved.
In Baricco's works, the short chapters, sometimes just a few words long, are in secret connection with the full-page sentences, both complementing and contrasting each other beautifully. Poetic imagery cuts through historical scenes, lifting time and space into some ethereal dimensions. The unusual names of characters add extra charm to the enigmatic personalities. Repeated phrases create a rhythm like a musical composition, and this aspect is particularly important because the rhythm of his stories aligns perfectly with the human heart’s natural rhythm. Baricco’s books are magical keys to realms within us that we have been unable to unlock any other way. The atmosphere in his works is captivating, and combined with his unique philosophy, they become an ode to beauty and talent. Baricco’s lyricism is essentially an empathy for loneliness and sadness, yet always with a touch of wit, seamlessly woven into the fabric of his storytelling.
We can safely state that one of the reasons for the success of Alessandro Baricco's books in Macedonia was the translations by Liljana Uzunovikj (1964 – 2022). Italian professors at the Faculty of Philology said that she knew the Italian language better than they did. Just as few Macedonian readers would have guessed that Baricco's translator was Serbian on both her mother's and father's side, fate alone brought her to Skopje. She had the unique ability to capture and convey the nuances of the Macedonian language better than anyone else. Her translations were so delicate and subtle that they seemed as if they had been written in Macedonian. This event is dedicated to her as well!
From its beginnings, the "BookStar" festival had been in communication with the Italian author's team to arrange his visit to Macedonia. One could easily write a book about the correspondence on this subject. And after a few years – a small miracle. We had a date for Baricco’s visit to Skopje – October 11, 2019! There are no words to describe the joy. But just a month later, we received notice that the visit had to be canceled for personal reasons. Again, words could not express the disappointment. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the correspondence resumed. It was neither fast nor easy, but on April 4, 2024, we received an email from his assistant confirming that Baricco would first visit Skopje on September 30, and then head to Belgrade on October 2, before flying to an event in Palermo on October 5. What a twist! Yet, during the summer, things changed, and the trips to the Balkans were canceled for the second time. For us, this wasn't the end of "this story." We couldn’t let the connection between Macedonia and Baricco end so trivially—that would be so "un-Baricco-like."
We're talking about an author who conquers new literary territory with every book. Although some readers later did not recognize the "new" Baricco from the Baricco of the 1990s, he remained a voice that, even when writing differently from his recognizable style, was still fresh and innovative. Baricco is an eternal metamorphosis of imagination and its boundless possibilities.
Because of all this, the festival committee decided that the first "BOOKSTAR" X10 award, given for lifetime achievement and exceptional contributions to literature every decade, would be awarded to Alessandro Baricco, one of the most significant authors of our time. The meeting with him will take place online, as our attempt to start a dialogue with an entire universe.
The conversation will be led by Vladimir Jankovski, with an introductory speech by Prof. Dr. Anastasija Gjurčinova.
Ž. K.
