Literature connecting the two shores of the Atlantic. From this idea comes Inkwaves, a literary series conceived by the Italian Cultural Institute of New York in collaboration with the Alferj literary agency.
The series links together established Italian writers, invited to reflect on the influence American authors have had on their work—and vice versa.
Opening this new cycle on Wednesday, April 8 at 6:00 PM is Chiara Barzini, whose latest book, Aqua: A Story of Water and Lost Dreams, has recently being released. For this first event, Barzini has chosen as her reference text The White Album by Joan Didion.
She will be in conversation with American writer ,Michael Frank author, among others, of the memoir The Mighty Franks (2018), the novel What Is Missing (2020), and the nonfiction work One Hundred Saturdays (2022). Moderator: Claudio Pagliara, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute of New York.
An opportunity to explore how the waves of the ocean carry the ink of books from one shore to the other.
InkWaves in a few words
“[…] with A Farewell to Arms, what happens to me is what happens with the greatest books, and I must think that this, among yours, is the greatest. A Farewell to Arms, in short, is one of the books I want to go on living with, and I wish it would never end.”
This is what Elio Vittorini wrote in a letter to Ernest Hemingway on March 12, 1949, speaking about A Farewell to Arms.
There are books that, once encountered, ask us to remain close to them.
They accompany us over time and speak about who we are, the choices we make, and how we have arrived where we are.
A book is an encounter—with a story and with the person who wrote it. Sometimes with someone we might never have chosen to listen to in real life; at other times with a distant brother or sister we didn’t know we had.
Because books can do this: shorten distances, reveal connections, dismantle barriers, and travel across the waves of time.
From this idea comes Inkwaves, the literary series conceived by the Italian Cultural Institute of New York in collaboration with the Alferj literary agency.
A dialogue between Italian and American writers, invited to reflect on a book written in English or Italian that has profoundly influenced their writing and their lives.
They will be joined by American scholars, researchers, translators, and publishers.
Upcoming events:
• Paolo Giordano – Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace – April 22, 2026
• Nicola Lagioia – Gilead by Marilynne Robinson – June 24, 2026
It is not possible to make multiple reservations with the same email address.
Register to the Event