{"id":2640,"date":"2025-02-05T09:26:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T09:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stefanialucchetti.it\/?p=2640"},"modified":"2025-08-27T14:34:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T14:34:42","slug":"aphrodite-contemporary-poem-by-stefania-lucchetti-and-the-poetical-value-of-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stefanialucchetti.it\/en\/aphrodite-contemporary-poem-by-stefania-lucchetti-and-the-poetical-value-of-beauty\/","title":{"rendered":"The value of beauty and Aphrodite – by contemporary Italian poet Stefania Lucchetti"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Photo: Botticelli, Birth of Venus,\u00a01485 circa (Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze)<\/em><\/h6>\n

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Read in Italian\/Leggi in italiano<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201c\u201cI am the vessel of wonders and love<\/em><\/h6>\n
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Queen of Cups, ruling from above<\/em><\/h6>\n
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my hands sculpt dreams from desire\u2019s clay<\/em><\/h6>\n
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igniting love\u2019s fire in every heart\u2019s way.\u201d<\/em><\/h6>\n\n

Excerpt from the poem\u00a0\u201c<\/em>Aphrodite<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>\u00a0included in the contemporary poetry collection\u00a0Coffee Stains on My Books<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Stefania Lucchetti<\/a>, 2024<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Purchase Coffee Stains On My Books<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What if you could not recognize beauty? Would the world be fairer – or emptier?<\/h1>\n\n

Lately, I have been reading\u00a0Ted Chiang\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>books. If you don\u2019t know Chiang, he is a US based science fiction writer whose work has won four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and six Locus awards. He has published mostly short stories, particularly the collections\u00a0Stories of Your Life\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Exhalation.\u00a0<\/em>His\u00a0Stories of your life\u00a0<\/em>was the inspiration for the screenplay of the 2016 movie \u201cArrival\u201d starring Jessica Chastain.<\/p>\n\n

He pushes intellectual and scientific boundaries, similarly to the series\u00a0Black Mirror.\u00a0<\/em>He is an exceptional writers and all his stories leave the reader with a spark of thought.<\/p>\n\n

There is one particular story which surprised me and left me thinking and that is \u201cLiking what you see: a documentary\u201d<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

In\u00a0“Liking What You See: A Documentary”<\/em>\u00a0Ted Chiang explores the ethical and societal implications of “calliagnosia,” a fictional condition which disables one’s ability to perceive physical beauty. The story is presented through a series of documentary-style interviews, through which it examines how this cognitive adjustment affects individual identity, social dynamics, and cultural values. It raises questions about beauty, bias, and the true nature of perception in a media-driven world. Chiang is able to express different opinions and points of view in the story, all of which have meaning and dignity.<\/p>\n\n

Here I will express one point of view, which is not of course absolute: it is one of the several possible points of view on this topic. I believe beauty is a fundamental aspiration of the human being.<\/p>\n\n

Beauty<\/strong>\u00a0has always been considered one of the highest ideals to which humanity aspires. In every form of art, beauty represents a kind of striving toward the sublime, an aspirational quality that drives us to seek perfection, harmony, and to transcend daily hardships. It is not merely an aesthetic ideal but also a tangible manifestation of the deepest emotions and aspirations of the human soul.<\/p>\n\n

Oscar Wilde once said,\u00a0\u201cBeauty is a form of genius\u2014indeed, it is higher than genius, as it needss no explanation. It is one of the great facts of the world [\u2026] It cannot be questioned, and it has its divine right of sovereignty; [\u2026] Sometimes people say that beauty is only superficial: that may be so, but at least it is not as superficial as thought. For me, beauty is the wonder of wonders.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

In other words, beauty needs no justification because it is self-evident, and it is precisely its ability to exist without explanations that makes it a powerful and transformative force.
Denying the importance of beauty or diminishing its value is a form of neurosis, a disconnection from an element of humanity that enriches us emotionally and spiritually.
In a world often focused on functionality, utility, and efficiency, forgetting the centrality of beauty means rejecting an essential part of the human experience. Beauty is not merely superficial; it is a spiritual necessity: it offers solace to the soul, stimulates creativity, and allows us to see the world from a higher, more enlightened perspective. When beauty is denied, we lose touch with a fundamental dimension of what it means to be human.<\/p>\n\n

In the attempt to rationalize or reduce everything to mere tools of utility, we risk compromising what makes life not just bearable, but deeply meaningful.<\/p>\n\n

It is akin to trying to eliminate poetry from everyday life, condemning ourselves to an existence devoid of color, flavor, and wonder.<\/p>\n\n

Afternoons of Suspended Love<\/h3>\n\n

Did you miss my update about\u00a0Afternoons of Suspended Love<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n

Read it here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Press<\/h3>\n\n