Lecture: Stereotype or truth? Translating Tim Parks on Italy

On 23 September, the well-known English writer Tim Parks, together with Eleonora Gallitelli (Roma Tre University), will give the guest lecture ‘Stereotype or Truth? Translating Tim Parks on Italy’ as part of the course Piazza Italia. Cultuur en maatschappij.

An Italian way of life?

Looking at passages from three books about different aspects of Italian life – A Season with Verona, The Hero’s Way, Italian Life – this lecture will consider the conundrum of national character: is it a convenient fiction, riddled with stereotypes, or is there really a specifically Italian way of life?

About Eleonora Gallitelli

Gallitelli holds a PhD in Translation Studies from IULM University and is a research fellow in English and Translation Studies at Roma Tre University. She was recently appointed Associate Professor at the University of Udine, where she will teach English for tourism. She has been a professional translator since 2009, translating mainly nonfiction, including six books by Tim Parks. Her upcoming book, T.S. Eliot in Italy: The Italian Reception of the Four Quartets (1944-2022), will be published in autumn 2024.

About Tim Parks

Tim Parks is a novelist, essayist, travel writer, and translator who has lived in Italy for over forty years. He is the author of twenty novels, including Europa, Destiny, and Mr Geography. Parks has translated works by Moravia, Pavese, Calvino, and others. His nonfiction works include A Season with Verona, The Hero’s Way, and Italian Life. In Translating Style. A Literary Approach to Translation, he explores literary translation through Italian translations of English modernists.