A novel Street Boys the first translation is a special event, because only a couple of Pasolini’s poems have been translated into Latvian before, even though the author is often cited as one of the most important personalities in 20th century Italian literature and cinema. Pasolini was not only a director and screenwriter, poet, writer and playwright, but he also worked as an actor, painter, politician, journalist and critic. He director of more than twenty films – both feature films and documentaries, co-author of several film scripts, author of several collections of novels and poems. Having entered the cinema in the 60s of the last century, he began to realize his ideas peculiar to him, which he had implemented in literature until then. Controversial in Italy for direct eroticism, naturalistic style and communist visions. Dead, brutally murdered in still unclear circumstances.
Roman Ialive guys tells the fate of ordinary people in Rome in the 1950s. The novel does not skimp on its message, but describes postwar life in both a touching and poetic way. At the end of the Second World War, Rome is in ruins, poverty is everywhere, the Germans are still in the city and the police are trying to stop the thefts happening around every corner. On a hot July morning, the suburban boy Richetto goes to church to receive his First Communion. It doesn’t take long before he robs a blind beggar, but with the money he earns he hires a boat to go out on the Tiber with his friends …
“Thinking of Pier Paolo Pasolini means thinking of the infinite contradictions and mutual incompatibilities of this world”, writes the director Dāvis Sīmanis in the preface of the book. “It also means thinking about what is most appropriate for the Renaissance era universal man – someone who can create with equal success in literature, visual arts, theater or film. And this also means thinking about the Eternal City of Rome “.
The book was translated from Italian by Līva Trektere, editor and proofreader Arturs Hansons, editor Jana Bērziņa, linguistic consultant Giulio Lo Bello, cover designer Dato Mgeladze, layout designer Rauls Liepiņš worked on the publication. The volume was published with the support of the State Cultural Capital Fund and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Publishing house Aminori started its business in 2017 and publishes books on the visual art, history and culture of Latvia and Riga, as well as poetry, fiction and children’s books. Aminori special attention is also paid to the world of cinema: in 2019 it had the honor of publishing the first book by director of photography Victor Freiberg History of a cinephile, this year Viktor Freiberg and Daniela Zacmanes’ notes on film and life were published in diary format Yesterday Today Tomorrow. Aminori he also published Federico Fellini’s autobiographical book Make a movie and the Woody Allen collection Without feathers.
Books can be purchased from the publisher Aminori Via K. Valdemāra 69 on working days from 11: 00-18: 00 and on Saturdays from 11: 00-16: 00, as well as on the website aminori.lv and in bookstores throughout Latvia.
