Photo: Stefania Lucchetti portrayed by Emma Terenzio
Sign up through the form to read my blog on the substack app or receive it by email.
“What would you like me to sacrifice beyond this
Exactly?
Where can I conceal myself to occupy less space
Where can I retreat to avoid disturbing your priorities”
Excerpt from the poem “Encroachment” included in the contemporary poetry collection Coffee Stains on My Books, Stefania Lucchetti, 2024
Purchase the book to read the full poem
I READ IT IN ITALIAN ON YOUTUBE>HERE
There are some stories I haven’t yet had the courage to tell in my verses, but I will in the future. The events of this period are pushing me to explore certain themes more deeply, to look at them with greater courage and clarity, even if — for now — not fully.
“Some stories still must not be told,
Their time has not arrived, yet, to be bold,
They have not reached their final page, still trapped within a silent cage.”
© Stefania Lucchetti, A Story (unpublished)
Some time ago, I shared a post dedicated to my poem Medusa. Read it here > MEDUSA. Medusa tells of the dehumanization of victims of violence: at first viewed with pity, then – over time – considered responsible for the consequences that violence left on their life and the lives of others. Medusa is a character who endures horrific physical violence, perpetrated by different individuals over time.
There is also another type of violence, harder to identify: emotional violence.
Emotional violence is made up of both coercion and control, as well as silences and absences. It is often a toxic alternation of both. Gaslighting and subtle manipulation aimed at subjugating the other are part of emotional violence’s repertoire.
Stalking is a physical expression of this. The consequences can be dramatic, as we’ve seen in recent news stories about femicides. They can also be long-term, resulting in the emotional destruction of the victim.
Those who report these abuses are often not believed, because there are no visible signs. The reaction heard too often – especially when there was a relationship or children involved – is:
“You brought it on yourself,”
“You chose him.”
The poem Encroachment speaks of this.
But it also speaks of redemption.
Of the strength that, sometimes, we find within ourselves when living in a suffocating situation. The strength to wait for better times, to grow internally even in the silence forced upon us by an oppressive situation.
Digital Citizenship
Lately, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the rise in verbal violence in forums, comment sections, and on social media.
I believe it’s helpful to start thinking of our online presence as digital citizenship.
It’s not just about rights and duties: the Merriam-Webster dictionary also defines citizenship as “the quality of an individual’s response to membership in a community.”
Being digital citizens means engaging responsibly with others in virtual communities, maintaining awareness, respect, and care for the impact of our words.
Read here > Cyberspace: the new legal and psychological frontier
Miyazaki and the Collective Desire for Beauty
A few weeks ago, a social media trend went viral: transforming personal photos into the poetic style of Hayao Miyazaki using AI. Suspended skies, magnificent creatures, dreamy cities amid rust and wind. A recognizable, beloved aesthetic. Looking at those images, I sensed something beyond the AI-assisted imitation of a style. I felt nostalgia, and a collective yearning to see oneself and the world differently.
I saw how people — often unconsciously — see AI as a mirror to pass through, in search of a beauty they can’t find on their own, one that touches them deeply.
An instinctive search for the power of poetic and artistic language as a response to everyday dehumanization. It is a paradox to search for humanization in the algorithm, but it is indeed something that needs to be understood and pondered.
Yes, it was a trend, and it will be replaced by others. But what makes a work truly human? The aesthetic formula can be mimicked, but what truly makes an artistic work (visual or literary) human?
Aesthetics, metrics, and style are not all there is. The intimacy of a thought, of a way of seeing things, is expressed through the ideas that generate that particular graphic, style, or narrative mode.
Learning to distinguish and appreciate what is human-made from what is AI-generated will be a key skill required of us in the future. I personally believe, with some optimism, that this may create opportunities. When searching for spaces which are distinctly human, especially in the realm of art, we should remember that imperfection is what makes us who we are. It creates mystery and charm. That is why Al can create a stunning aesthetic or produce a verse in perfect metric but they are charmless. Art and beauty feed on imagination and imagination is ignited when the mind finds voids which inspire its search for meaning, purpose and beauty.
Alien – the movie
Still musing on the theme of human resilience in oppressive contexts, I recently rewatched Alien (1979), starring the wonderful Sigourney Weaver. In Alien, it’s especially meaningful that the protagonist, Ellen Ripley — embodying a new and revolutionary female presence in the sci-fi/action genre of that era — manages to defeat both the artificial intelligence (the machine) and the alien creature. Though different in nature, both are monstrously allied: the AI driven by research and corporate control, the alien driven by survival through destruction. In a narrative space dominated by hostile and inhuman presences, Ripley is a figure of resilience and ingenuity.
Her triumph over both the AI (representing the coldness of corporate control and technological dehumanization) and the alien (the embodiment of primal, uncontrollable threat) is not just about survival. It’s a reaffirmation of humanity in all its complexity, vulnerability, and strength.
From a poetic perspective, I see Ripley as the soul, spirit, and inner strength of humanity. The ability, through thought and the combination of rationality, intuition, and emotion, to prevail over impossible situations, oppressive forces, artificial and monstrous threats.
Guest Author – Alessandro Di Zio
Just this week, the poetry collection Rotolando La Nuvola by Alessandro Di Zio was released (NullaDie Edizioni). Alessandro Di Zio, author of several poetry books, was born in Pescara in 1973 and is a literature teacher. He writes both poems and song lyrics, and has notably written most of the lyrics for Italian singer Giò Di Tonno, participating in “Sanremo Giovani” in 1993 and 1994, and in “Sanremo” in 1995.
I had the opportunity to meet Alessandro Di Zio recently because he is the lyricist behind the beautiful musical The Three Musketeers – Opera Pop.
I was especially struck by his truly powerful ability to tell stories through music, and I look forward to reading his new book with great interest. I will share a translation of one of his poems soon.
Reviews
Have you already read Coffee Stains On My Books? If you did, take a few minutes to leave a review on Amazon. You can write a review even if the book was gifted to you. Reviews are important to help the book reach new readers, especially those who haven’t heard about it yet or are unsure whether to purchase it!
