Beppe Costa

Early life

Despite being born into a poor family, Costa grew up in an environment rich in books. He published his first volume of poems in 1970 (Una poltrona comoda, Giuseppe Di Maria editore), characterized, like the others that followed, by the theme of love and nonconformity.

Costa wrote and published two tour guides, first at local level, Catania, Guida ai monumenti, and the second at regional level, Sicilia, Guida ai monumenti, both with Muglia publisher. He also translated two books of the playwright Fernando Arrabal.

In 1978 he met the poet Dario Bellezza, which would begin with poetry readings and book presentations all around Italy, using everywhere available, including squares, bars, libraries, and theatres.

Successes

Costa reached fame with the book Romanzo siciliano, the autobiographical story of an intellectual Sicilian in his struggle in the south and with the Mafia. In the United States the novel was reviewed by World Literature Today.

He wrote, until 1985, articles for Giornale del Sud and in Siciliani, both directed by Giuseppe Fava. In Giornale di Sicilia he published interviews with Alberto Moravia, Enzo Jannacci, Léopold Sédar Senghor, and Leo Ferré. He also participated to the radio program of poetry by RadioRai named Zenit & Nadir.

In 1985 he finally left Sicily. He published other collections of poems and received the Akesineide prize for Fatto d'amore and Canto d'amore.

In 1989, he won the Alfonso Gatto prize with the collection Impaginato per affetto. The preface is by Giacinto Spagnoletti, who, first recognised the artistic talent of Pier Paolo Pasolini. He appreciated the poetry of Costa, as expressing the pain of living, the need to love and the difficulty of harmonising this with the reality of another world.

His poems were read by actors like Lina Bernardi, Arnoldo Foà, Milena Mancini, Viviana Piccolo, Sara Pusceddu e Valeria Di Francesco and set to music, among others, by da Giovanni Renzo, Alessandra Celletti, Nicola Alesini, Giuliano Perticara, Mario Pettenati, and Gianluca Attanasio.

Fascinated by the musical innovations, Beppe Costa recorded a cd with Giovanni Renzo. This experience led him quickly to make visual poetry with photos and music videos mostly of René Aubry and Alessandra Celletti.

He inaugurated, with Beatrice Niccolai, in 2008, the exhibition Malaspinarte.

In 2008 the encounter with the poet and composer Mario Salis contributes to greater synergy to the Italian edition of the Teranova Festival, which was born in France and founded by Mario Salis under the leadership of Fernando Arrabal, has already seen the participation of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Patrice Leconte and of the same Arrabal.

In March 2010, as part of Beppe Costa's cycle of meetings, Fernando Arrabal visited Rome and spent two days with the Poets From Space, a group of poets from different Italian regions, chosen by Fabio Barcellandi.

Came out in June 2010, for Multimedia Publishing (Casa della Poesia from Baronissi – Salerno), his new collection of poems Anche ora che la luna, with a letter from Adele Cambria and Lia Levi.

From 2011 began the partnership with the poet Stefania Battistella creating the new reading/show: di me, di altri, ancora.