Yet another prestigious award obtained by the compatriot writer and poet Isabella Flego that adds to the substantial list of certificates. This time she won first place at the International Literary Award "Golfo di Trieste", presenting the story "La galleria della memoria". She is an author already known at the aforementioned competition, as four years ago she had won the first prize for fiction, then with the autobiographical novel "Memorie da sopra l'equatore", published by CAN of Capodistria.

The competition, now in its 18th year, is promoted by the circle of “Il Salotto dei poeti”, with the patronage of the Municipality of Trieste, the Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Province and the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, with the aim of contributing to the dissemination of poetry and narrative. The story that this year met with the approval of the jury deals with a subject that is very close to the author's heart, the writing of which was inspired by a visit to the Albona People's Museum, which left an emotional mark on her. The town, which boasts a mining tradition of four centuries, wanted to dedicate a monument to those who have left part of their lives in the darkness of the underground tunnels. In the basement of the institution, in fact, there is a faithful reproduction of the mine corridors in full scale, complete with all the characteristic elements and tools, including the original sounds recorded inside. The visit strongly evokes all the severity and atrocity of mining activity.

“My father entered the mine with his grandfather at the age of 12 and worked there for 38 years until he retired. He never spoke about his work in the family, so I didn’t know much about it,” Flego revealed, adding that she vaguely remembered that sometimes, upon returning from the mine, he would complain of back pain, due to the inhumane working conditions, when he spent an entire day moving in a tunnel less than half a meter high. Miners rarely talk about work at home, but only confide in each other. “My father had a miner friend with whom they would spend hours and hours talking about the difficulties of the job, they would even stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning talking, almost as if it were a need to vent. Entering the museum’s basement, it seemed to me as if I was seeing my father who, as a child, would lift me up by his hands and spin me around. A memory kept under my eyelids in the dark, where he, by force of circumstances, was used to being. The tunnel brought back memories that were stored in my memory and made me aware of the hard work of the miners, in daily contact with death. Now I understand better the choice my father made when, having retired, he decided to go and work as a campground guard, outdoors, under the sun and by the sea. He loved the light so much that it bothered him even when my mother half-closed the shutters in the summer to protect us from the heat”.

“When I write about the mine and the miners,” Flego concluded, “I feel a special sensation, I feel like I’m finding the words hanging on the line where my mother hung out the laundry. It’s as if they were waiting for me there, so I could pick them up and put them in the story.” The awards ceremony will take place on October 23 at the Casa della musica in Trieste.

Mariella Mehle
Source: The Voice of the People – 01/10/2022