“Certainties”, fragments of life from the pen of Donatella Manzuoli

Poetry and stories are literary forms that have never had much success in Italy. It is no coincidence that we are a rhetorical and excessive country, which eschews simplicity and conciseness. We then prefer the tinsel to the simple and crude literary manifestation of our own interiority. That interiority in all its sparse evidence that we find in the lyrical prose that animates “Certainties” (Marco Del Bucchia Editore, 2023, Euro 12, pp. 72), the latest creature born from the pen of Donatella Manzuoli. We ask the author of this peculiar and dense booklet first of all to clarify whether those contained in “Certainties” are narratives, thoughts, poems: «I define them as fragments of life, initially in search of composition and then finally reunited in a calm sea of achieved serenity. In fact, in my first writing, from 2019, entitled "Fragments", I take an extremely intimate look at my life and my experiences. In the second, two years later, "Equilibrismi", I narrate myself and my life through the distorted lens of the lockdown, therefore, with all the suffering caused by the situation that the world has had to face, and that I, specifically, as teacher, I particularly had to suffer first and then rework, in order to still be able to give a message of hope, especially to my students and in general to my readers."

You are a teacher... how did you end up becoming a writer?

«I've been writing since I was thirty, so for as many years now, but I've always done it shyly, almost as if I was afraid of exposing myself or didn't consider my writings worthy of attention. Then we all had the bitter surprise of the pandemic, and so much of that time that we never thought possible, given that we are always in a hurry and in trouble. And then I threw myself in, and I made writing a means to calm myself, to throw myself out, but also to clarify to myself whether writing could become second nature in me. And the rest came by itself."

What peculiarities does “Certezze” have?

«It has the primary characteristic of being very concise, of drying out in style as it is formed. Like a source, initially quite rich in water, which then finds small trickles, however sufficient to allow it to communicate and flow into the sea of its readers. In fact, at the beginning the book has mainly stories, towards the end mainly poems, indeed, examples of lyrical prose, very synthetic."

It's not your first book... how does it differ from the others you mentioned before?

«As I was saying, it has a drier style, and is also much less linked to my personal events. It captures feelings applicable to humans, in general, and refers to how human beings have found stability and motivation once they have abandoned the gloomy period of lockdown, re-emerging into life."

Is there a story of “Certainties” that you are particularly attached to? For what reason?

"Yes. It's a short story entitled "The Wrecker". The story of violence against a woman that is filtered by the story told to a lawyer, the Wrecker, who, in listening to this desperate account, will receive a very bitter surprise. I feel very close to this theme, which is more relevant than ever these days, a theme which among other things was already present in at least another couple of stories in the first book “Fragments”».