Funbrain.com Poptropica

The interview with Alberto Cola, winner of the Urania, 2009.

am very pleased to report the Italian version of my interview with Alberto Cola, winner of the Premio Urania 2009 (ie the most recent edition) just published in English on The Portal, international site that deals with fantasy and science fiction in the world, with whom he worked for some time.

I am convinced the Italian authors deserve more attention, even at International, of what is now recognized them, and I hope that even this modest contribution, along with the previous publication of ' interview with editors of Ambiguous Utopia , can go in this direction.
The next piece I will publish in the portal, with regard to the fantastic culture in Italy, is likely to be devoted to Literary Carbonari , the team of Italian in a short time I am honored to join too, and is a member of the Albert.
(The interview, for which I thank Carbonaro Urania Award 2009, is accessible in English by following this link ).

Francisco - Alberto Hello, and welcome. We start from the grounds of your recent victory of the Urania Award with your third novel, Lazarus, "for the superior style, excellent creativity and the hatching of a technological civilization in which the return of the dead is the premise for a survey on the issue the future. "Feels like it is di un romanzo in cui si mescolano elementi fantascientifici e horror. Che direzione sta prendendo la letteratura fantastica dal tuo punto di vista? Che differenze ci sono in tal senso fra l’Italia e il mondo anglofono?

Alberto - Ciao tutti. No, nulla di horror. Solo un po’ di sana science fiction che, come spesso accade, fa da specchio alle nostre paure, alle domande che continuiamo a porci senza trovare le risposte adatte. Di mio poi amo scrivere con contorni sfumati, nel senso che i miei lavori “soffrono” di una certa commistione di generi, ma non è questo il caso. Credo che la commistione sia il reale salvacondotto per la narrativa di genere, e del resto sperimentare e travolgere il lettore con coordinate sempre more uncertain I will be a real panacea for this type of literature. And no doubt the Anglophone world is more open than in the UK.

F. The protagonist is a reviving of Lazarus Yukio Mishima. What led you to this choice? Does it matter that the protagonist is a man who committed suicide in real life for his ideals? And he was a writer?

A. It was always difficult to resist the charm that an intellectual like Mishima (writer would be simplistic to just call it) can also issue 40 years after his death. We say that a man can take upon itself the responsibility for their choices is rare. Nowadays he would found a party to protect, he instead chose a path that gave him a real immortality. What then is controversial and uncomfortable that it increases its peculiarities.

F. In an interview you said that the novel is about (also) of "false immortality." Can you explain what that means?

A. The immortality that men look through the ephemeral, the useless, the artifact. From this point of view instead of the raid Mishima in a future society where this is extreme, is a contradiction to the nth degree. Among those who are looking for ways to commit their lives and resist the time, with the only real immortality is the one who has deliberately sought death.

F. What are your references in the genre literature (Italian and foreign)?

A. Gaiman, Ballard, Simmons ... Those who from my point of view they have, or had the capacity to betray each page with the unexpected. For the Italians, the discourse is more complex. I think is the best known evangelists, but there are many other good authors worthy of the name "locked up", hand me the term, within their borders.

F. Veniamo così alla situazione dell’editoria in Italia. In un’intervista hai affermato che in questo paese “…sembra che uno scrittore debba per forza passare per un premio per pubblicare”. Così è stato in effetti sia per Lazarus che per Ultima Pelle, vincitore del Premio Kipple, oltre che per vari tuoi racconti. E’ davvero così? Ci racconti come la pensi?

A. L’Italia è un paese molto particolare. La narrativa di genere non ha mai realmente attecchito e qua da noi il perché è argomento che si dibatte da decenni. Malgrado la presenza di un nutrito e capace gruppo di autori, le difficoltà sono sempre infinite. The same books that you mentioned in the past had been rejected by other publishers with different motivations, but ultimately the problem is still uncertain that the sales figures affect the choices. If then it is more the fault of the market that incorporates, or publishers who fail to educate them to that effect, I could not tell. The fact is that to suffer are those authors who really have something to say in a broader perspective at the international level. But having the good fortune to be endowed with almost zero visibility ...

F. Have you ever thought of your novel to translate into other languages, or have any expectations or publishing projects in this regard?

A. Not at this time. But it still remains in mid-stream: and then, who would bother to publish it without a minimum of name to spend? There are still publishers who are the editors at pure dare say that investing in a stranger? I authorize you to give my phone number if you want.

F. In recent weeks we have seen the explosion of digital publishing. What do you think as a reader, and also as an author, especially in light of the fact that your first novel, Goliath, is being rolled out in e-book version?

A. It certainly will not regret that such an innovation break into a market in some ways asphyxiated. The fact is that a real commercial maturity is far from just a hand, so when I have no illusions nor will I ask myself too many questions.

F. Writing on the basis of a well-weighted at the start or you let go mostly improvisation?

A. Half and half. I always know where to start and where I will get there. Then in between there are many things that overlap and demand attention, people who point out the way and others that oppose it. But in the end do what I say, even if a healthy pinch of anarchy is always present.

F. I know that you are part of a group of Italian authors, the Literary Carbonari. Can you tell us something about your participation in projects that have ensued and, more generally, on the same Carbonari?

A. It is a collective made up of many voices, completely independent, autonomous and singular. For the moment we just publish anthologies of various kinds such as "First Meeting", "Frittology," "Men in pieces" in the future ... who knows. What sets us apart can be summed up in the first sentence of our manifesto, "The Literary Carbonari, as the name suggests, is a secret of the Pulcinella time literary conspiracy, consumption of carbohydrates with a worthy companion of beverage and other artistic expressions ". In essence, beyond the words come scusa, l’aspetto più importante è la passione da condividere con autori che per prima cosa sono persone, e in quanto tali hanno molto da raccontare. Che poi incidentalmente questi racconti finiscano su carta è un dettaglio alternativo.

F. Alberto Cola si riconosce come autore esclusivamente di genere o intende cimentarsi anche con altre forme di narrativa?

A. Il sottoscritto ama la parola scritta in quanto tale. Il genere è un dettaglio fornito dal gusto, ma la voglia di cambiare non può che essere salutare per chi scrive. Come in tutti gli aspetti della vita, osservare le cose da prospettive differenti rinnova la passione, no?

Questa interview, made in January 2011, was published in English on The Portal .