Manzoni, Dostoevsky, and Borges

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On the occasion of the publication of The Betrothed
A new translation by Michael F. Moore of Alessandro Manzoni’s I promessi sposi

Manzoni, Dostoevsky, and Borges
Lessons to Be Learned from the Papal Reading List

A Lectio Magistralis by
Fr. Antonio Spadaro s.J.
(Editor in Chief, Civiltà Cattolica)

Followed by a conversation with
Paul Elie, Georgetown University
Antonio Monda, NYU

with the participation of 
Michael F. Moore
(translator of The Betrothed)

Moderated by Stefano Albertini, NYU

In ENGLISH

During the Covid-19 pandemic, pope Francis made frequent references to the chapters dedicated to the plague in Alessandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed, the 19^th century Italian novel recently translated into English by Michael Moore. An avid reader, the current Pope was exposed to many great works of fiction and poetry when growing up and during his tenure as a young professor of literature. As we mark the ten year anniversary of his election, we are able to piece together his literary journey, also thanks to the many works he has referenced in his writings and interviews.

In his lecture, Fr. Antonio Spadaro will attempt to delineate the Pope’s “aesthetic”. Paul Elie, author of The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003) and an authority on American Catholic writers, and Antonio Monda, an Italian writer who often deals with Catholic characters and themes in his novels, will engage in a conversation with Fr. Spadaro with the participation of translator Michael Moore.