Ada Rizzo Italian Poet Author & Book Writer
Name: Ada Rizzo
Place of Birth: Sicily, Italy
When did you start writing: The creative process began quite naturally. It was during the pandemic, just after the end of the last Italian lockdown. I remember it very well. It was 2021, and when I found myself outdoors in a green park, with mountains around me, beneath a magnificent blue sky, surrounded by a spectacular mountain landscape, I felt a deep emotion and a connection to the universe, like a small vibrant part of the cosmos. In that moment, I felt an emotional urgency to express and somehow capture the emotions I was experiencing. With nothing else with me but my smartphone, I activated the recording function and began to articulate the feelings I was having. This happened several times over a number of days. Once I returned home, I started transferring the content from the recording into a Word file, and little by little, the draft of my first book titled “Did I Want the 12 cm Heels?” was born. It is a novel with a strong autobiographical connotation that addresses the delicate theme of disability. Initially, I had no intention of publishing it, as it consisted of personal reflections, sometimes painful circumstances where I had laid bare my vulnerabilities. Subsequently, I was advised to submit the draft to a writer, who not only encouraged me to publish but stated that the manuscript could not languish in a drawer. I told myself that if I trusted her opinion, I should also follow her advice to publish. That’s how my first novel was born. A year later, I wrote my second book “Iris, Glass Wings,” which deals with the delicate issue of eating disorders. In 2023, my third book “Ninety Beats Per Minute” was born, the true story of a woman who, in 2017, received the most precious gift a human being can receive: a new heart. This novel addresses the delicate subject of organ transplantation, a very complex and divisive topic because, unfortunately, organ donation is inextricably linked to the theme of death, a subject often avoided in the West to the point that people talk about it while trying not to say the word “death.” Last year, in 2024, following all the femicides that have been committed in Italy and around the world, because gender violence is not just an Italian phenomenon, I published “Twenty-Four Carats.” Each of my books, before drafting, involves a deep study of the subject through specific texts and discussions with professionals who deal with that specific discomfort or pathology. Only after that, do I embark on the creative part of the narrative weaving in which the characters of the book will move. I believe that a book should not only entertain but also leave a message, an invitation to reflection.
My inspiration: As I mentioned earlier, I never decide at the table what topic I will address, but rather, it is the topic that, in a certain sense, seeks me out and reaches me. Therefore, there is a circumstance in my life that helps me understand and choice what theme I will tackle in my next work.
My motivation: The inner drive to write is undoubtedly the passion I have for writing combined with the desire to raise awareness on socially relevant topics. As I have already stated, I always address topics that have a certain social impact and on which I wish to keep attention and awareness high. For some time now, I have approached poetry too, and even through lyricism, the focus is on raising awareness on social issues that are close to my heart and promoting the values of peace, human rights, and, I repeat, I will never tire of it, the fight against gender violence. My poems have been translated and published in Europe, America and Asia; they are part of both print and digital magazines and international anthologies.
Challenges: I am a woman who loves challenges; I enjoy experimenting, learning, and constantly improving. Even after the numerous international recognitions I have received, I still feel me like a “drop” in the international literary environment, this magnificent ocean of hearts and souls of poets and writers. I firmly believe that both prose and lyric authors have a great social responsibility. The voice of Culture must rises as a single voice, a bulwark in defense of the highest values of humanity.
Another challenge I am preparing to undertake is to intensify cultural promotion by increasingly supporting emerging literary talents. I realize that in the international literary landscape, there are numerous poets and writers who, without the necessary visibility, would remain unheard and virtually unknown. I believe it is the duty and pleasure of every writer or poet to promote other literary talents.
Who are your role models:
In the literary environment, they are the people from whom I can learn, so my colleagues, cultural promoters, international publishers; all the people I have met along my path who share human values, professionalism, and a passion for literature and life with me.
As for the great masters of Italian literature, I have many role models. I will limit myself to mentioning a few: the poetess Alda Merini, the poets and writers Eugenio Montale, Alberto Moravia, Salvatore Quasimodo, Umberto Eco, Dante Alighieri, Alessandro Manzoni. On an international level, I enjoy the classics of American and English literature.
Finally, my daily role models are the people I interact with, and from whom I humbly and with a deep sense of welcome seek to learn the life lessons they offer.
Where do you see yourself in ten years: I am a dreamer and I don’t make long-term plans, also because such distant goals require careful thought, and one must be very, too rational. And I am a person who, like everyone, is made of emotions and rationality, but what guides me are my emotions. So, in ten years, I don’t know what I will do, but I hope to be in the literary environment, engaged as a cultural promoter and continuing to nurture my passion for writing.
Africans love my art: I spend six months every year in Kenya, involved in humanitarian projects for the Kenyan people. I am part of KARIBUNI COMO, an Italian volunteer organization and NGO active in Kenya in the Kilifi County. For over 20 years, we have been carrying out educational, health, and food projects.
Do Africans love my craft?
In Africa, they do not know my books because they have only been published in Italy, while they might be familiar with my poems since they have been published abroad.
What can be done for Africans and people around the world to know me?
That is a question that implies a very great responsibility and reflection in the answer.
Every achievement, every new publication is a gift for me; therefore, I have never rationally thought, planned, about what to do to make myself known. Of course, I would love for the African people to become acquainted with my work, especially because it contains messages of awareness on important issues, promoting the defense of human rights, peace, and the fight against gender violence.
How do you deal with fans?
I am not feel, perceive myself as famous person with fans; I have many readers who follow me with affection and appreciate my writings. I relate to them and to anyone exactly as I am, with transparency and authenticity.
Word of advice to upcoming writers/performers:
By nature, I do not like giving advice, because having to do so puts me in a non-equal, lecturing role, and I feel like a student of life, in continuous evolution and transformation, with a non-judgmental approach, being also a relational-humanistic counselor, as well as a facilitator in Mindfulness.
I can express my thoughts, indeed. I am deeply convinced that, for every future writer or poet, it is essential to have a passion for what they do, to rely on their inner universe, on their emotions. Always maintaining a relationship with the literary community that is not only focused on one’s dedication to writing but especially on the value of human relationships, because those will always make the difference, not only in the literary field but in any context.
I thank the journalist from Mount Kenya for this opportunity and hope that my books and poems will soon be known in Kenya as well.
Thank you!
Last words
I wish to greet you with one of my poem:
“Women” in Italian, English, and Kiswahili.
Donne
(italian version)
Donne che sostengono un mondo incerto e sospeso
Donne che se abbassassero le braccia il cielo stesso cadrebbe
Le vedi? Sono forti come bianche scogliere sferzate dal vento di maestrale della vita
Le senti? Spesso cantano al buio ma non sono folli, si fanno coraggio per scacciare la paura.
E la notte sognano un futuro di burro che la mattina a colazione spalmeranno sulle loro fette di pane aggiungendo amore su quelle dei loro bambini.
Sono forti perché non hanno avuto altra scelta, ma hanno bisogno di un abbraccio rotondo e di tempo e di tenerezza per affrontare la violenza che danza nel buio.
Nel silenzio della notte si asciugano le lacrime, raccolgono i sogni e li custodiscono come piccoli bagliori per illuminare un’alba ancora incerta.
Le loro mani intrecciano coraggio, forza e fragilità in un ordito invisibile che avvolge e sostiene la loro anima
Mentre il mondo si muove in balia dei venti, le donne restano salde e irradiano luce come un faro in mezzo alla tempesta
Una, nessuna, centomila donne che a passo leggero e inarrestabile percorrono il loro cammino e brillano
hanno scelto di denunciare la violenza travestita d’amore…
hanno scelto di continuare a risplendere,
nonostante tutto!
Women
(English version)
Women who uphold an uncertain and suspended world
Women whose arms, if lowered, would cause the very sky to fall
Do you see them? They are as strong as white cliffs battered by the Maestrale winds of life
Do you hear them? Often they sing in the dark, but they are not crazy; they summon courage to chase away fear.
And at night, they dream of a buttery future that they will spread on their slices of bread at breakfast in the morning, adding love for their children.
They are strong because they have had no other choice, but they need a warm embrace, time, and tenderness to confront the violence that dances in the dark
In the silence of night, they dry their tears, gather their dreams, and keep them like small glimmers to illuminate a dawn that is yet to come.
Their hands interweade threads of courage, strength, and fragility like weft and warp of an invisible fabric that wraps around and supports their souls.
As the world moves at the mercy of the winds, the women remain steadfast and radiate light like a beacon in the midst of the storm.
One, none, a hundred thousand women walking lightly and unrelentingly along their path, shining because they have chosen to denounce the violence disguised as love…
they have chosen to continue shining despite everything.
WANAWAKE
(Toleo la Kiswahili)
Wanawake ambao wanashikilia ulimwengu usio na usiosimamishwa,
wanawake ambao mikono yao ikiwa imeshushwa ingesababisha anga kuanguka.
Unawaona?
Wana nguvu kama miamba mieupe inayopigwa na pepo za maisha.
Unawaskia?
Mara nyingi huimba gizani,lakini si wazimu
wanaita ujasiri wa kufukuza woga
na usiku,wanaota ndoto ya siku zijazo nzuri
ambayo wataeneza kwenye vipande vyao vya mkate na kifungua kinya asubuhi
na kuongeza upendo kwa watoto wao.
Wana nguvu kwa sababu hawakua na chaguo lingine
lakini wanahitaji kukumbatiwa kwa joto,wakati wa huruma
ili kukubaliana na vurugu zinazocheza gizani.
Katika ukimya wa usiku,hukausha machozi yao,
hukusanya ndoto zao na kuziweka kama miale ndogo ya kuangazia
mapambazuko ambayo bado yanakuja.
Mikono yao ilifunga nyuzi za ujasiri,
Nguvu na udhaifu kama mkunjo wa kitambaa
Kisichoonekana na kinachozunguka na kusaidia roho zao
Dunia inaposonga kwa rehema za pepo
Wanwake hubaki thabiti na kurudisha nuru kama taa katikati ya dhoruba
Moja,hapana, laki moja wakitembea kwa wepesi na bila kuchokakwenye njia yao,
wakiangaza kwa sababu wamechagua kukemea unyanyasaji huo wakijifnya kua ni upendo
Wamechagua kuendelea kung’aa licha ya kila kitu.
Ada Rizzo, January 8th 2025, Malindi (Kenya)
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