Grazia Valente
AZZURRO NOTTE

Description

As in her previous collection, “Il tempo che rimane” (The Time That Remains), the theme of time continues to run throughout the work. It is depicted in its intrinsic fragility but also implicitly linked to the art of writing, itself ephemeral and transitory. Time and silence pervade the work and lend it the allure of authenticity. The night is not blue, as the title ironically suggests, but at certain moments in life the author likes to imagine that her poetic gaze can work miracles. Grazia Valente’s poetry, despite being firmly anchored in reality, expands and transcends reality, becoming a portal to the universe. With her delicate and explosive verses, at times tender, at times sharp, the author explores the themes of suffering, love, the human condition, and death. We are faced with a mature work, born of silence and an intense, solitary relationship with poetry and life. This collection is composed of ninety-five poems, written between 2024 and 2025.

Grazia Valente was born in Turin, where she lives.
She is the author of prose and poems, some of which have been awarded and published in magazines and anthologies. In 1999 she won the national Haiku Contest prize promoted by the Japanese Cultural Institute (Rome). One of her stories, winner of a R.A.I. competition, was broadcast on the radio and included in an anthology (Edizioni ERI). Some of her poems have been set to music by the Duo Pizzulli. (voice, piano and violin). The contemporary artist Chen Li has graphically interpreted some poems taken from various published and unpublished collections. She currently collaborates with Letizia Gariglio’s online periodical Parole in rete. Works: with the publishing house Portaparole the following have been published: “Il poeta” (The poet), 2012 and “Fillide amorosa”, 2013. With the publisher Achille e La Tartaruga: “Ambaradonna”, 2015; “La fatal quiete” (The fatal quiet), 2017; “Se un filo d’erba basta a farti ombra” (If a blade of grass is enough to cast a shadow on you), 2018; “Galleria delle bellezze – Ritratti femminili in forma di collage” (Gallery of beauties – Female portraits in the form of collages), 2018; “All’ombra dello zen – 99 microracconti” (In the shadow of zen – 99 micro-stories), 2019; “Haiku dei timidi passi” (Haiku of timid steps), 2021; “A proposito di Thomas B. – viaggio nel labirinto della scrittura di Thomas Bernhard” (About Thomas B. – a journey into the labyrinth of Thomas Bernhard’s writing), 2022. With Prinp Editore: “Il sogno – poesie di Grazia Valente – opere di Chen Li” (The dream – poems by Grazia Valente – works by Chen Li), 2022; “Il tempo che rimane” (The time that remains), 2024.