“Without him I wouldn’t be who I am today.” On Friday evening from 9pm at the Villa Torlonia theater of San Mauro Pascoli, the Turin poet Guido Catalano brings the show ‘Catalano Vs Bukowski’ to the stage. However, we are not talking about a simple disclosure, but about a real show in which the American writer’s poetry becomes the protagonist of a dialogue in which Catalano shows how Charles Bukowski trained him. The last tickets for the show, organized by Sillaba, are on sale on the Liveticket website.
Catalano, how did this show come about?
“I’ve loved Bukowski since I was 23, plus 2020 marked one hundred years since his birth, so I’ve had this thing in my head for a while. For me he was a fundamental artist, who made me the poet I am today.”
How?
“He taught me that there is also a certain type of poetry, which is certainly not the one they teach in school. A irreverent, unique, autobiographical style, endowed with a strong and singular irony. For me, who at the time had started little to write, it was a necessary encounter. Rereading it today, as a fifty-year-old, I can understand it even more”.
What will he do on stage?
“As the title suggests, I will compare the American writer’s poetry with my own in a sort of battle, with Matteo Castellan’s live music in the background. We are not talking about a popular show, but about a story. Furthermore, I will leave aside the Bukowski the novelist. It’s a good thing we clash in a platonic way, because in the real world he would certainly win.”
What can the public learn from a personality like Bukowski?
“After his boom in the 80s, Bukowski became a cult artist, but in my opinion today he is less known than he deserves, especially in the poetic field. I think you never stop learning from a character like that, in fact I believe that for the public to be the right opportunity to discover things they haven’t been able to enjoy yet.”
Had he done something similar in the past?
“Some time ago I created a show on the fairy tales written by Calvino. In the future I would like to do something similar, but on the musicians who left their mark on me. The first I would talk about is Lucio Battisti, one of my musical idols. First, however, I have to find a suitable musician to create the show with me”.
After poetry, novels and theatre, is there anything else you want to tackle in your career?
“My secret dream is to become a sort of author of lyrics for musical artists. I would like to be like Mogol. Obviously, however, it is necessary first of all to find the right musician to collaborate with. In the theatrical field, however, I would like to continue collaborate with other artists, which is definitely a useful and fun thing.”
