IntroductionIn the summer of 2012, Paola Cannas, by then in her
80s, invited her son, Marco Vichi, to dine with her. At that
meeting, she asked him if he would read two of the poems that she
had written. She wanted to know if they were any good, and whether
or not he liked them. As he read them he was moved to tears by
their beauty, simplicity, honesty and goodness, and he felt sad
that he had not known his mother in this way before. He
subsequently collected together all her poems, some written on
scraps of paper, others in old jotters, all of them scattered in
drawers and boxes around her home.Marco , a well-established
author, wanted to be certain that his mother's poems were valued in
their own right - 'walking on their own legs' as he said. He
identified a possible publisher in Pisa - Felici Editore - but did
not at first reveal that the poems had been written by his mother.
He received a very quick response to say that the poems would be
published. Respiri e Sospiri - 'The little big book', as it became
known in Italy - was received with tumultuous applause across the
country. When Marco told his mother that the poems were to be
published, she said, 'I only wanted to see if you liked them. Do
you mean they liked them too?' Shortly before she died, Paola was
interviewed by the Florence newspaper Corriere Fiorentina.These
beautiful poems were written at various stages throughout Paola's
life. Using freeform verse, she draws the reader into each
situation and experience with some of the clarity, depth of vision
and gentle affection with which she was gifted. These poems speak
for themselves. Paola Cannas was born in Lucca in 1928, and lived
all her married life in Florence (Tuscany). She died in her beloved
Tuscany on 17 March 2013. She had very deep feeling for Sardinia -
the land of her forebears.* * * * *I translated these poems almost
immediately after reading them. I had been so moved by them that I
wanted my wife and friends to be able to read them, too. Paola's
dying wish was that any possible proceeds from publication of her
poems should go to charity. Her son, Marco, nominated Il Filo di
Juta (The Jute Thread), which, based in Florence, builds schools in
Bangladesh. In 2014, a school to teach literacy to the children of
Bangladesh was renamed 'The Paola Cannas School'.Having read the
translated poems, Augur Press wanted to make them available to the
English-speaking world.Bernard Wade, translator, Dublin, Ireland
and Lucca, Tuscany, April 2015. * * * * *When we received the first
sample of the translated versions of Paola Cannas' poems, we knew
immediately that this material carried a depth of focus that is
rare. And we knew that the poems had been translated by someone who
loved and really felt and experienced them in both their original
language and its translation. Meaning can be lost in the process of
translation, but in this case, the poetry has retained the original
vital message - sometimes gentle, sometimes forceful, always
powerful, filled with truth and spiritual wisdom. Mirabelle Maslin,
Augur Press, April 2015.
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