Antonia Arslan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Antonia Arslan
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1938 |
| Notable works | La masseria delle allodole |
Antonia Arslan (Armenian: Անտոնիա Արսլան) is an Italian writer born in 1938. She used to be a university professor. Her family comes from Armenia, and this background is very important in her books.
About Antonia Arslan
Antonia Arslan was born in Padua, Italy, in 1938. Her father was Michele Arslan and her mother was Vittoria Marchiori. Her grandfather, Yerwant Arslanian, was born in a place called Kharpert in 1865. This place is now known as Harpoot.
Antonia Arslan studied archaeology at university. After finishing her studies, she became a professor. She taught modern and recent Italian literature at the University of Padua. She wrote many studies about Italian books. She also focused on popular Italian stories and books written by Italian women in the 1800s and 1900s. She was very interested in understanding which Italian books are considered important.
Her Armenian Roots
Later in her career, Antonia Arslan started writing about her Armenian family history. She translated poems by Daniel Varujan, an Armenian poet, into Italian. She also worked on books about the Armenian genocide. This was a very sad time in history when many Armenians faced great difficulties. She also wrote about Armenians who found a new home in Italy.
Her Famous Novel
Her first novel, La masseria delle allodole, came out in 2004. This book is based on her own family's story. It tells about an Armenian family trying to escape to Italy during the Armenian genocide. They want to join a relative who has lived in Italy for many years.
The book won many important awards in 2004. These include the Premio Berto, Premio Fregene, Premio Stresa di Narrativa, and Premio Fenice-Europa. It was also a finalist for the Premio Campiello award and won the Il Campiello Secondo Noi. The book was very popular. It came in second place for the Premio Super-Campiello.
In 2005, La masseria delle allodole received the Premio P.E.N. and the Premio Manzoni. The book has been translated into many languages. The English version is called Skylark Farm. It was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the International Dublin Literary Award. The book also inspired a movie in 2007. The film was made by the Taviani brothers and is called La Masseria Delle Allodole (or The Lark Farm in English).
Other Books and Awards
Antonia Arslan's second novel, La Strada di Smirne, was published in 2009. It was also translated into Armenian.
She has written other books too. Ishtar2: cronache dal mio risveglio (2009) tells about a time when she was very ill. Il cortile dei girasoli parlanti came out in 2011. In 2012, she published Il libro di Mush. This book is about the Msho Charantir, which is the biggest Armenian handwritten book that still exists. This book won the special Premio Giuria Viareggio award.
Antonia Arslan has also received special medals for her work in culture. These include the Narekatsi Medal in 2010 and the Movses Khorenatsi Medal in 2012.
See also
In Spanish: Antonia Arslan para niños
