In the densely-packed schedule of literary festivals, Dedica stands out as being one of the longest-running and because of its unique formula: it is in fact centred upon a single author – a prominent figure of international literature – around which a programme featuring a sequence of conversations, interviews, theatrical performances, films and music is constructed; though densely packed, the programme unfolds at a leisurely pace, enabling the public to gain more in-depth knowledge about the author.
The twenty-second edition of Dedica is dedicated to the Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra, who writes in French.
“The novel is a tool, an instrument to make the truth accessible”.
With this statement Yasmina Khadra effectively sums up his idea about writing, an idea to which he has remained faithful whilst varying the genres that he has tackled: from noir novels denouncing the problems of Algerian society to the historical fresco on Algeria torn apart by the civil war; from novels dealing with the rise of fundamentalism in his Country to those that describe the tormented reality of the Middle East and Africa. Khadra has always drawn his inspiration from the shadowy areas of the contemporary world, in the conviction that the writer may contribute in some way to illuminating these. As for him, he does it by elegantly handling a rich, polyphonic language, in which he alternates dryness and lyricism, daring metaphors and sober intensity.
Devised and curated by the Thesis cultural association, the Dedica project is promoted by public institutions and bodies – in particular by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Tourist Board, Pordenone Municipal Authorities, the Province of Pordenone and the CRUP Foundation – and is produced with the support of a special partner, Servizi CGN, and key private individuals.