We are happy to announce the presentation of the volume From The Front at the University of Girona, November the 10th, 2017
From The Front-Zibaldone della Grande Guerra is an essays and excerpts collection born with the purpose of investigating the reality experienced by all people who actively fought during the First World War. The decision to put together the testimonies of soldiers of different nationalities (among them: Italy, Hungary, England, Canada, Belgium, Australia, Catalonia, Turkey), has the aim of giving the reader a polycentric perspective about the war events, moreover, it becomes an important occasion for meditation.
The reality of war was an universal experience made of deep disillusionment and sometimes strong compassion for themselves and for all the people sharing the same battle difficulties, even if from the enemy side. Disillusionment of ideals, illusions, irony towards official propaganda, perception and the role of the body are just some of the many issues discussed in this volume, a work that highlighs the deep and authentic feelings reported on the paper.
Therefore, diaries and letters become important symbols of humanity, deposals of a reality which stongly opposes the stereotypical and celebratory vision of war proposed by strategists and officers: in provate testimonies the perception of the individuals as human beings can survive.
In Girona, the curator Tancredi Artico will participate in a roundtable with Xavier Pla, Francesc Montero, John S. Bak and Maximiliano Fuentes, and they will especially discuss about the influence of the conflict in everyday life, and the importance of personal testimonies (looking at the same traumatic experience, despite coming from different fronts).
