Laura Garavaglia was born in Milano in 1956 and now lives in Como. She is a poet, journalist, teacher, founder and president of “La Casa della Poesia di Como” (www.lacasadellapoesiadicomo.com). She is director of International Poetry Festival “Europa in versi” (www.europainversi.org) that take place every year in Como.
Laura Garavaglia’s poetry books are: Frammenti di vita (Il Filo, 2009), Farfalle e pietre (Lietocolle, 2010) Jury’s Award “Alda Merini – Brunate” 2011, La simmetria del gheriglio (Stampa2009, 2012, new edition in English and Rumanian) Finalist at Mario Luzi Awarad 2103, Correnti ascensionali (CFR, 2013, in English, Spanish and Rumanian) Poetry Prize at European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Literarture 2017, Numeri e Stelle (Ed. Ulivo, Balerna, CH in English, Spanish and Rumanian, new edition in English and Potuguese, IQdB, 2019) Poetry Prize “Antonio Farina” 2017, La presenza viva delle cose – Living Things (Puntoacapo, 2020), Sayi ve Yildiz, poems translated in Turkish (Şiirden Yayıncılık, 2018). In Japanese Duet of stars / Hoshi no nijuso: za sutazu dyuetto (Nihon Kokusai Shijin Kyokai), Duet of Formula / Shiki no Nijuso (Nihon Kokusai Shijin Kyokai.), Những sự vật hiện hữu, antologia di poesie in Vietnamita, 2020. Three anthologies of her poems have been published in Romanian in 2019: Numere si Semme / La presenza viva delle cose (Revers, Craiova), La ruga profonda della vita / Ridul Adînc al vieţii, Muzica sferelor (Editura pentru Literaturâ şi artâ, 2019), Csendkvantumok (AB ART Kiado, 2020) poems in Ungarian, La Presenza viva delle cose, in Serbian, (Alma, 2020).
Laura Garavaglia won the Poetry Prize 2018 of European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Literature in Paris. She’s member of PEN Club of Italy and Switzerland and of European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Literature (Paris). Some of her poems won the Naji Naaman Honour Prize 2019. She was honoured by Accademia Mondiale di Letteratura Miahi Eminescu (Craiova – Romania) for her international cultural management and Honoris Causa Degree by High Education Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. In 2019 she also won the Jubilee Poetry Prize at 55° International Poetry Meeting in Gjacova, Kosovo, the title of Poetry of Historical Capital of Iasi, Romania and the Poetry Prize of Literatura şi Arta, Moldavia. She also was decorated by Orthodox Patriarch of Kiev for developing culture in the word.
Laura Garavaglia’s poems are translated in several languages and published in many anthologies and literary magazines in Italy and abroad. She has been invited to many International Poetry Festival (Romania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Spain, Turkey, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Vietnam, Japan, Corea, Colombia, USA etc.). She has edited the Anthologies of four edition of Festival Europa in versi: Poesia e arte (2016), Poesia, scienza e tecnologia (2017), La Poesia e il viaggio (2018), La Poesia e l’altro (2019) and the books of poems Unspoken / Inespresso of Fatiha Morchid (Lietocolle 2013), Il Colore dell’Oscurità / Karanligi Rengi of Metin Cengiz (Lietocolle 2017) and La cenere del cuore of Ion Deaconescu (IQdB, 2019), L’età mitica – L’âge mythique of Jeton Kelmendi (IQdB, 2020), La montagna e il fiume sulle nostre spalle – Mountain and river on our shoulder, anthology of Vietnamese poets (IQdB, 2020). She is member of jury of Literary Awards “Antonio Fogazzaro”, International Literary Award “Europa in versi” and International Literary Award “Kanaga”.
The smell of tar at the end of the pier,
barnacled encrust the keel.
The iridescent bubble of summer
drift upwards with the thermals
not knowing in which direction travel the heart.
Of all that light that expanded the day
What’s left is the faded fabric of the pillow,
The dry seaweed on the rock,
The eyes of Saint Lucia on the nightstand,
The bloody embrace of a jelly fish on my neck.
Summer 2
It may have been last summer, or the one before.
The show, in any case, is always the same: the damned
Dipped to the chest, the coconut man,
Grease of sun cream on the paper.
Only the backdrop changes
From Correnti Ascensionali, CFR, 2013
© Translated by A. Tavani
The young Irish girl has hair of copper
face of porcelain eyes of obsidian.
She plays unaware, happy among broken waves, cracked sea shells.
The man of the water passes by silently.
Black knight, the sea his kingdom.
The fish in the net glimmer their silver agony.
Another day has left its footprints in the sand.
From Da La simmetria del gheriglio Stampa2009, 2014
© Translated by B. Ferri
Breathing Sea
Feeling the breathing sea
the fascination of sky and light
the soft shivering wind
following the old seagull’s plaintive call.
Things that are and will be
Misleading time and memories
The life I am no more.
Colourless images
confused and silent
before the breathing sea.
From La presenza viva delle cose – Living things, Puntoacapo, 2020
© Translated by A. Tavani
Nights of stars and crickets
Nights of stars and crickets.
The rosemary hedge smells of
lazy afternoons and tabby cats
lying down the vermilion floor.
The sun steals colours to the roof tiles
darting, it challenges the bright red of the geraniums.
Everything is still in the indolence of the hours,
in the heat they expand the wait.
All is quiet in the silent slumber
of the summer, it does not offer shadows
to the gaze that brush the green mantle of pines,
the outline of the hill fades and turns pale.
From Farfalle e pietre, Lietocolle, 2010
© Translated by Laura Garavaglia
Published with the permission of Laura Garavaglia