Chapter 671 670 A tired mind lives in a tired body, so I decided to write a novel to cheer me up
"Okay, I'll write it when I get back." Fang Minghua agreed.
The Trega Literary Award Ceremony in the evening was held at the San Marco Theater. Of course, Fang Minghua could no longer wear T-shirts and shorts casually, but put on a suit and shirt. Li Li was actually wearing a blue and white porcelain cheongsam!
Elegant and elegant, her bookish aroma makes her exude an oriental classical beauty.
This was the first time that Fang Minghua saw Li Li wearing a cheongsam, and he was a little shocked.
"Brother-in-law, do you look good?" Li Li looked at him with a smile.
“It’s very beautiful.” Fang Minghua praised repeatedly.
I muttered something in my heart.
How many sets of clothes did you bring with you for this trip?
But it’s not surprising that my wife is like this too.
"Let's go." The two of them walked downstairs together.
The San Marco Theater is one of the famous opera houses in Italy. It is not far from the hotel. The two of them walked there. As soon as they stepped up the steps, the staff came to greet them. After seeing the invitation, a man in white The waiter in a shirt and tie politely led them into the theater.
Walking on the red carpet in the theater aisle, the two immediately attracted the attention of the people around them.
Orientals?
At the Strega Literary Award Ceremony, Oriental faces rarely appeared.
More importantly, the man is handsome and the woman is beautiful!
Immediately some people started whispering, thinking they were tourists visiting the city. But when they saw the waiter leading the two of them to the VIP area, many people remembered it.
One of the six novels shortlisted this year comes from the mysterious Eastern country!
The Strega Prize was founded in 1947 by Maria and Goffredo Beronzi. This year’s Strega Prize judging panel has a large jury, including 400 “Sunday Friends” "Members of literary clubs, 200 voters selected by 20 Italian cultural offices abroad, 40 outstanding readers selected by the Italian Readers' Association, and 20 collective voters (including libraries, universities and reading clubs), A total of 660 votes.
Six works will be recommended as shortlisted works among the many submitted works, and then they will be selected by the Strega Foundation Steering Committee to finally decide who will win the grand prize.
That is to say, only one work will be awarded a year.
Most of the works participating in the Strega Awards are about stories that happened in Italy and Europe.
For example, the causes of World War II that caused collective trauma in Europe and the disasters it caused to mankind, the terrorism problem plaguing Europe, various problems and thoughts encountered when growing up as a boy or young adult, and generations of people relationships and conflicts, etc.
So Eastern writers rarely appear among award-winning authors, but this time, Chinese writers actually appeared.
The two sat down under the guidance of the staff, and the person next to them immediately responded with a polite smile.
The staff also handed over the program list of the awards ceremony and the introduction of the shortlisted works.
It’s all in Italian!
Don’t do a bilingual comparison?
Thanks to Li Li.
Fang Minghua secretly rejoiced.
"Brother-in-law, the six works shortlisted this time are "Strange Days" written by Marina Mendel, "Unrealistic City" by Cristina Marconi, "The Solver" by Pierre Paul Gianubillo ", Marco Balzano's "I Stay Here", James Coleman's "Too Late", and your book "Skywalker""
"Among them, the top four. They are all Italian writers, and James Coleman is a British writer," Li Li explained in a low voice.
“Have you seen these shortlisted works?” Fang Minghua asked.
“I’ve read them all.”
“It’s amazing, I haven’t read any of them.” Fang Minghua felt a little ashamed.
"You don't understand Italian. Besides, these works have to compete with your novels. Of course I want to see how they are written?" Li Li said.
"How is the level?"
"To be honest, the level is very high. Especially the English version of James Coleman's "It's Too Late" has just won this year's British Booker Prize for Literature." Huh?
It’s pretty awesome.
"But, brother-in-law, you are also very strong!" Li Liyou quickly cheered Fang Minghua up.
"HiHello, are you Mr. Minghua, a Chinese writer? (Hi hello, are you Mr. Minghua, a Chinese writer?" A man's voice in the back row spoke in English.
Redirected by Fang Minghua Looking over, it was just a middle-aged white man with a beard looking at him with a smile.
"I am Minghua, who are you?" Fang Minghua answered in English
"My name is James. · Coleman, British writer, nice to meet you. "The other party extended his right hand in a friendly manner.
It turns out to be the author of "It's Too Late"!
"Thank you, me too." The two shook hands.
"Mr. Minghua, I read the book "Skywalker" you wrote. It is very good." James said again.
Have you seen it?
Fang Minghua looked at Li Li next to him and understood immediately.
What people watch is not the Italian version, but the English version.
"Thank you, I'm sorry, I haven't read your "It's Too Late" yet. I hope to see the Chinese version." Fang Minghua said.
"Mr. Minghua, this book "It's Too Late" has been translated into Chinese and has been submitted for the World Chinese Literature Award held in your country. I heard that you initiated the organization, right?
Ouch
Awesome
One draft and three submissions, ready to win three awards?
However, as the organizer of the Chinese Literature Award, Fang Minghua immediately welcomed him and sincerely wished him the award.
Obviously, this James is a talkative person. He talked about his past and said that when he was young, he was not a full-time writer but a driver and the father of two children.
“The work was very tiring at that time. I started at 8 o’clock in the morning and then worked for 12 hours. When I got home, I was exhausted physically and mentally and could not do anything anymore.”
“But I found that I learned an important artistic principle: a tired body lives with a tired mind, so I decided to write a novel to cheer me up. I got up two hours earlier every day. It was difficult at first but it gradually became a habit.”
Very interesting man.
The two chatted for a while, and suddenly heard applause from around them. Fang Minghua quickly stopped chatting and turned around. It turned out that the award ceremony had begun.
The Strega Prize Award Ceremony was also very unique. It started with an opera sequence, a clip from "La Traviata"!
The performers were students from the Benevento Conservatory of Music, the same ones Fang Minghua and the others saw at the academy during the day!
As expected, the country of opera is everywhere
A man and a woman were singing a song in bel canto, but Fang Minghua couldn't understand it.
"It's "Drinking Song", which Pavarotti sang." Li Li introduced in a low voice.
“Can you sing?”
“Yeah.”
“Translate into Chinese?”
"Okay"
"Sing for me?"
"Okay."
The opera kicked off, and then the host introduced the six finalists this year. The author of the book and the content of the book.
Every time a book was introduced, the venue burst into warm applause!
Unfortunately, it was all in Italian and Fang Minghua couldn't understand it.
Fortunately, this time I was accompanied by Li Li, a competent translator. From the top, she whispered into Fang Minghua’s ear to translate.
"Minghua, a famous Chinese writer, is famous for his varied novel styles. In the early years, he mostly wrote avant-garde works. He was good at using stream of consciousness and magical realism writing techniques. Later, he gradually tended to realism. This " "Skywalker" is reproduced by the author A masterpiece."
After the introduction, there was another long opera, this time it became "Turandot", and an aria "Nessun Dorma" came, and then the awards were presented. The climax of the ceremony: the announcement of the winning works of this year’s Strega Prize.
(End of this chapter)