The writer Walter Lazzarin was born in Padua in 1982, he has two degrees, one in economics and one in philosophy. After precariously teaching Philosophy and History since October 2015 he has decided to pursue a beautiful dream: to promote his books by traveling the streets of Italy. The reason that drives Walter is to bring people closer to reading, and he does it by selling his books to interested people who bend down intrigued, perhaps because of the typewriter he usually takes with him (and with which he churns out express tautograms! ).
His first novel is called "A volta un baci" published in 2011, in 2012 he published the book "21 Love Letters", in 2015 "The dragon does not take drugs" was released which he began to carry around and sell for streets of Italy and also plays in the National Football Writers. Two years later he published "Twenty-one events vaguely shameful", a collection of tautograms, e in 2019 he published another one entitled "Animals in adventure, a collection of tautograms for cuddly children and adults".
In these times of preventive quarantine, aimed at defeating what can already be defined as the largest pandemic in modern history, Walter Lazzarin releases (for now from home) an interview for FIRST Arte:
When did you start selling your books on the street and why?
“I started in October 2015, in Rome. 2014 had been a bad year and 2013 not great; for the first time in my life it seemed to me that I had stopped growing, I needed to revolutionize myself. So I came up with this project, 'Street writer', so as to combine my passions: writing and travel. With the aim also of bringing narrative to the street arts.”
How has your life and career changed since you started with this project?
“My life has changed a lot: touring the streets of Italy allowed me to get to know thousands and thousands of people, hundreds of cities, making me mature. I left Rovigo and after a year of wandering I moved to Rome. Writing-only field since 2016, I worked for a year on a Rai 2 broadcast, published other books and lost a few hairs. The project has really transformed me!”
At the beginning of 2020 you did a "writer on the road" tour in the South, how did it go?
“From the end of January to mid-February I crossed half of the South: Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia. I've taken my last three books around to schools, cultural associations, bookshops and living rooms, but in particular I've promoted “Animals in Adventure”, a collection of tautograms for children, the youngest. The tour went great, both humanly and commercially. People are still hungry for stories and books, it's just that you have to draw them in. It's an era where there is excitement everywhere and waiting for others to discover you is often a waste of time. Better move. Especially in the South, where one is welcomed in the best possible way. Hugs and delicacies, kindness. Every time I come down it's a feast of joy.”
Would you like to tell us about the collateral activities you have carried out alongside your initiative?
“I hold creative writing workshops, especially on tautograms. I write texts on commission and I carry around a song theater show: Mythical! With the singer-songwriter Marcello Ubertone, I perform in clubs and theatres, he sings and plays his songs and I recite my tautograms. Ours is a historical and musical-literary journey, from ancient Greece to today. From Homer to Homer Simpson.”
In these times of quarantine you no longer go around on the street but you still dedicate yourself to your great passion, tautograms, can you tell us about it?
“I've been wondering for a while how to enhance my YouTube channel. The virus came to prick me and I set about: every two or three days I prepare a video that is related to the period we are living and I post it on social media. By racking up several virtual pats on the back.”
And finally, would you like to give us your opinion as a writer and scholar on the Covid-19 pandemic that is sweeping the world through this difficult 2020?
“I allow myself a piece of advice, rather than an opinion.
We all try not to let sadness win us over. We use social media to convey beauty and serenity. "
Cover image: © Walter Lazzarin Facebook page
