Cover of La gioia di scrivere. Tutte le poesie (1945 – 2009), published in 2009.
La gioia di scrivere. Tutte le poesie 1945 – 2009 is a full collection of the poems written by the Nobel Prize Winner between 1945 and 2009. It ranked first among the best-selling books in Italy this past February, with the Corriere della Sera noting a real fever for Szymoborska in Italy
The head of Adelphi publishing house, which has already released eight editions of the collection of Szymborska’s poetry, has confirmed that Szymborska’s La gioia di scrivere is the only book in the world to rank first for the fourth time. The Joy of Writing has held the first place in the list of best-selling books. Already 64 thousand copies of the collection have been purchased.
The collection was edited by the eminent translator and expert in Polish Studies, Pietro Marchesani, who died at the end of 2011. Roberto Calasso, the head of the prestigious Italian publishing house Adelphi, which has already published eighth editions of Szymborska’s poetry, has confirmed in the Rome-based newspaper "la Repubblica" that Szymborska’s collection of poetry is the only book in the world that has ranked first for the fourth time. A similar record was established by Ted Hughes’s collection of poems dedicated to his wife, Sylvia Plath. Although it enjoyed a remarkable success, it never ranked first, added the head of Adelphi.
Analysing the phenomenon of popularity of the poet who passed away on February 1, 2012, Calasso has observed that the admiration for her poetry in Italy, reaching a diverse readership that cannot be compared to any other country. In addition, the publisher has pointed out that the fascination exploded with the first edition of Szymborska’s poetry published by his publishing house. Calasso remarked that
Since we started publishing her poetry, we have met with highly favourable reactions from those who usually do not read poetry. And that’s the beauty of it. In this case people not accustomed to poetry found in Wisława Szymborska what cannot be found elsewhere.
The head of Adelphi publishing house also sees the record-breaking sales of The Joy of Writing coming on the heels of a comment made by a popular writer and journalist Roberto Saviano, the author of Gomorra, which came four days following Szymborska’s death. Saviano read out an excerpt from her poem and recognised the accomplishments of the Nobel Prize Winner on a widely watched talk-show on RAI channel.
Adelphi publishing house is meeting demand by printing other collections of Wisława Szymborska's poetry over the next few months. Elogio dei sogni / In Praise of Dreams, which was published in December 2011 also met with excellent reception. This volume opened a series entitled A Century of Poetry prepared by the biggest Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
source: PAP