Benches of an Author

“La panchina è un luogo di sosta, un’utopia realizzata. E’ vacanza a portata di mano. Sulle panchine si contempla lo spettacolo del mondo, si guarda senza essere visti e ci si dà il tempo di perdere il tempo, come leggere un romanzo.” Beppe Sebaste, da “Panchine. Come uscire dal mondo senza uscirne”

“The bench is a resting place, a realized utopia. It is a vacation at hand. On benches we contemplate the spectacle of the world, you look without being seen, and it gives us the time to lose time, like reading a novel.”

In February, the Italian author, poet and journalist for the newspapers L’Unità and La Repubblica, Beppe Sebaste, visited and honored Italian Literature 1 and IB Italian Literature HL students by discussing and answering questions on his esteemed novel, Panchine. Come uscire dal mondo senza uscirne. (Benches. How to escape from the world without leaving it). Marymount was honored to meet guest speaker, Sebaste, at this event, which was organized by Ms. Iorio. Sebaste, a secluded and diligent writer who spends most of his time writing, rarely leaves his office, except when he walks through the parks of Rome. Social events are not part of Sebaste’s routine, so when he did arrive at Marymount and saw the enquiring students, and “Il Progetto Panchine” (the bench project) that Ms. Iorio and her students had organized in the Bosco di Calvino near the Little Free Library, Sebaste shed a few tears from the impact his novel had on the young literature scholars.

In his novel, Sebaste talks about the role of benches in society, literature, history, science etc. According to Sebaste, benches are places where “we contemplate the spectacle of the world, you look without being seen, and it gives us the time to lose time.” For the author, sitting on a bench is escaping reality while still being present in it. The world stops for you while sitting on a bench and permits you to observe your surroundings while not being observed.

While visiting the Little Free Library, Italian Literature students and Ms. Iorio noticed that there was something missing from that area created about two years ago, where people can borrow and donate books. The missing element was both essential and yet hidden: benches. There was no “formal” place to sit and read the books. Immediately, the “Progetto Panchine”, a plan to construct benches for the Little Free Library, began. The day that Sebaste arrived at Marymount, the project was inaugurated. Thanks to a benevolent benefactor who donated pellet to the Progetto Panchine, it was possible to create these benches that accommodate the readers of the Little Free Library. The Italian Literature students would like to thank Beppe Sebaste for inspiring them and prompting this improvement to the Little Free Library project.