L”Isola delle Storie XVIII
Guido Catalano

Guido Catalano

Writer

Guido Catalano was born in Turin on February 6th 1971 at 8:50 a.m. and is still alive today. At 17, he decided he wanted to become a rockstar, but later settled on being a professional living poet because there are more vacancies. He has published nine books of poetry. The first one, released in 2000, is titled I cani hanno sempre ragione (The Dogs are Always Right), though no dogs are featured in it. Subsequent poetry collections, published by Seed and, later, by Miraggi Edizioni, are Sono un poeta cara (I Am a Poet, Dear), Motosega (Chainsaw), La donna che si baciava con i lupi (The Woman Who Made Out With Wolves), Ti amo ma posso spiegarti (I Love You But I Can Explain), and Piuttosto che morire m’ammazzo (I’d Rather Kill Myself Than Die). Over the years, the poetry elite has accused him of being a comedian while comedians have accused him of being a poet. Nevertheless, Catalano remains the victim of an irresistible word-of-mouth phenomenon, his poetry spreading across social media, suburban coffee shops,  Arci (Italian Recreative and Cultural Association) circles, in libraries, on stage at community centres, and at book and music festivals. He has also successfully performed on the stages of some of Italy’s most important theatres and live music clubs, with several sold-out events. In February 2016, he published  the novel D’amore si muore ma Io no (One Dies of Love, But Not Me) with Rizzoli, achieving significant success. He told the press: “Asking me to write a novel is like asking a 100-metre athlete to run a marathon. But I love a challenge and, despite the cramps, I hope this book will grant me some satisfaction”. After his highly successful “Grand Tour 2016”, with over a hundred dates booked all over Italy (including the islands), 34 thousand kilometres travelled and several sold-out events, he retreated to private life in his house in Turin.
In November 2016, he made his debut on screen at the 34th Turin Film Festival with the mockumentary Sono Guido E Non Guido, directed by Alessandro Maria Buonomo and produced by Elianto Film and Fargo Film, in which he stars as himself and his alter ego Armando Catalano.
2017 saw the release of a new poetry book, titled Ogni Volta Che Mi Baci Muore Un Nazista (Everytime You Kiss Me a Nazi Dies), published by Rizzoli, and of the accompanying live tour, which marked Catalano’s return to Italy’s most important stages, where he collected congratulatory kisses and sold-out events. This was followed by a successful tour across Italy with songwriter Dente, titled “Contemporaneamente insieme” (Simultaneously Together),  a theatrical, musical, and poetic performance rich in comedy and romance, directed by Lodo Guenzi.
In 2018, his second  novel, Tu che non sei romantica (You Who Are Not Romantic), was published by Rizzoli. In the same year, Catalano was a regular guest on the Italian tv show “Brunori sa”, created and hosted by songwriter Dario Brunori, and broadcasted on Italian tv channel Rai 3. In December 2019, Poesie al megafono (Poems Through a Megaphone, Rizzoli) was released. The first “talking poetry book in history”, this collection of poems combines printed text with recordings of the author’s voice,  similar to how children’s books feature farm animals’ sounds.
In February 2021, Fiabe per Adulti Consenzienti (Fairytales For Consenting Adults, Rizzoli) was published, a collection of exhilarating fairytales written during the pandemic and expertly illustrated by Marco Cazzato.
Catalano’s first podcast, Amare Male (Loving Badly), produced by Chora Media, debuted on all platforms in the summer of 2021, followed by its sequel, Amare a Marzo (Loving in March), in April 2022. In March 2022, Catalano’s latest literary work hit the shelves: the memoir-novel Amare Male (Rizzoli), bearing the same title as the podcast despite dealing with a different topic.
In the summer of the same year, the two-man show “Cose che non avremmo sperato di potervi dire” (Things We Wouldn’t Have Hope To Tell You), written and performed by Guido Catalano and Roberto Mercadini, premiered, followed by a summer tour across mainland Italy and the islands.
Finally, in 2023, Guido Catalano’s highly anticipated poetry collection, Smettere di fumare baciando (Quit Smoking By Kissing), was published by Rizzoli. It marked his return to poetry after six years spent working on novels, fairytales, podcasts, and talking books. All of Catalano’s oeuvre, including his olde

In February 2021, Fiabe per Adulti Consenzienti (Fairytales For Consenting Adults, Rizzoli) was published, a collection of exhilarating fairytales written during the pandemic and expertly illustrated by Marco Cazzato.

 

05/07 - ore 16:00
Reading

Giardino Comunale Binzadonnia

Cosa fanno le femmine in bagno

di e con Guido Catalano

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