POSTCARDS FORM NO MAN’S LAND
PROMOTING TEEN LITERATURE
Cagliari 13-14 Novembre 2009
The Italian children’s literature has lately gone through a significant transformation process. This process has led professionals, such as teachers and librarians, into a foggy path where it is often difficult to recognize that primordial pedagogical vocation that permeated Italian children’s literature during the past.
Specifically concerning the 12-16 age bracket, which is well known for its “reading collapse” and which is highly complex and elusive, one might say that the situation is kind of stormy. The market has undergone an invasion led by literature for young adults, which has swept away the previous categories. French and English literature already seems to be familiar with this new area of interest, whereas Italy literature is still lacking a theoretical consideration on this field. It is also missing a practical approach, involving activities in the schools and libraries.
- on the one side, it seems necessary to give the participants the chance to appreciate an overview on contemporary editing, so as to be able to reason on its changes and meanings;
- on the other side, the Conference is meant to start a whole process of specifically oriented trainings. Indeed, it is intended to be a real chance for those who work with the 12-15 age bracket to get started on ways of promotion, shelves building in the libraries and related themes.
This goal is ambitious and relevant. This is the reason why the Conference has been designed to be held once a year. This should lead to a fundamental continuity in training and confrontation so as to create a net of working teams, focused on a profound and innovative dialogue.
This Conference is meant to be the starting point of a long lasting remark on teenagers, on how they relate to literature and on the meaning of the newborn category of literature for “young adults”. Moreover, this might be a good the place to display new strategies on how to involve the youngest on the great adventure which the pleasure of reading represents. Finally, this Conference hopefully will give us all the chance to start with an ambitious project such as that of building up a movement of librarians who are sensitive to these issues.
Who is the Conference addressed to : Librarians, teachers from primary and secondary schools, educators.
