It declares itself as a “book party with authors” with a tantalizing image of a cherry (because like cherries, one book leads to the next); it is here in Pordenone in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region from the 19th to the 23rd of September and bears the name of Pordenonelegge or Pordenone Reads. More than an event, it is a guarantee; it is a mark of culture and it is a complete literary dissemination which every year attracts thousands of readers, scholars and enthusiasts. This year, it celebrates its nineteenth edition, for which more than forty locations have already been prepared to welcome its visitors and their expected guests. 
Any names in particular? For starters, there will be Arturo Perez Reverte, Lisa Halliday, Jeffery Deaver, Margaret George, Sunjeev Sahota, John Banville, Miljenko Jergovic; but also Robert Harris, Vladimir Kantor, Javier Sierra, André Aciman, Pierre Lemaitre, Jami Attenberg, Goran Vojnović, Andrés Barba, Elizabeth Mckenzie, Siri Ranva Hjelm Jacobsen, Bernie Mcgill and, among the Italian authors, Mauro Corona, Paolo Mieli, Carlo Lucarelli, Patrizio Roversi, Lilli Gruber, Pier Aldo Rovatti, Tullio Avoledo, Lella Costa, Daria Bignardi, Valerio Massimo Manfredi, Aldo Cazzullo, Antonio Scurati, Andrea Vitali, Benedetta Parodi- in all, over 600 special guests. In an international and multi-ethnic context that shares a commonality: books. As the editors of the festival (Valentina Gasparet, Alberto Garlini and Artistic Director Gian Mario Villalta) suggested at the introduction of Pordenonelegge 2018- change will come from those who read.
If today Pordenonelegge is recognized among the most prestigious literary reviews, it is due to the firm intent to focus on the relaunch of Pordenone as a cultural epicenter. When it all began in 1999, with the idea of Augusto Antonucci (then president of the Chamber of local commerce), it was supported by institutions and gradually developed to attract acclaimed authors and new literary talents. With its strong autonomy guaranteed by the Pordenonelegge Foundation – founded in 2013 – the festival continues to grow and embrace other entities such as the Teatro Verdi, which this year is preparing to bring on stage the satire of the tales of Ennio Flaiano (September 20th) followed by some excerpts of Primo Levi’s work (October 3rd) and by the collapse of moral values outlined in the pages of Arthur Schnitzler (from December 3rd-5th).
Pordenone legge’s multi-faceted program, attentiveness to poetry, music and the publishing world, is a must-do! So highlighters out to mark your calendars- preferably in yellow- the official color of the festival and the color of joy, hope and vitality that true readers experience through books.
copyright photos: udine20.it, fourexcellences.com, pordenoneturismo.com, pordenonelegge.it
