Reading Primo Levi

Abstract: An evening of readings to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Holocaust survivor and writer Primo Levi's death.

Title: Reading Primo Levi
Speakers: Robert Gordon
Professor of Modern Italian Culture, Cambridge University
Jonathan Druker
Associate Professor of Italian, Illinois State University
Michael Rothberg
Professor of English, Criticism and Interpretive Theory, Jewish Culture and Society, UIUC
Emanuel Rota, Eleonora Stoppino
Assistant Professors of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, UIUC
Performers: Amy Stoch, Lawrence Smith
Illinois Program in Theatre History and Criticism

Description: An evening of readings to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Holocaust survivor and writer Primo Levi's death. The following is the program of readings analyzed:

"The Journey"- In this passage, Levi observes the rituals of his fellow Jewish prisoners on the night before deportation.

"Ka-Be"- Levi reflects on the infernal music staged by the Germans in the camp while interned in the infirmary called Ka-Be.

"The Canto of Ulysses"- Levi attempts to summon lines from Dante's Divine Comedy from memory while fetching the evening's ration of soup.

"The Awakening"- Levi passes through Germany and arrives in Turin on his way home from Auschwitz.

"Carbon"- Levi reflects on the materiality of life through the story of an atom of carbon.

Sponsor: Program in Jewish Culture and Society
Lecture Series: Primo Levy Memorial Event
Co-sponsors: Initiative in Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies; Faculty in Italian Studies; Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese; Program in Comparative and World Literature; Program in Theatre History and Criticism; IPRH