”The voice of Isis "Claudia Conte's latest book
Your passionate and poetic writing is also very fertile. You published the sylloge "Fragments stolen from fate" and three novels "Vital breaths. When the heart begins to beat", "Wine and roses. The eternal challenge between good and evil.", "The law of the heart." . Social issues are central to your volcanic activity and also to your literary output. In this latest work of yours "The voice of Isis" there is something more than in the other novels. Who is Isis?
This is a motivational, training book. It is dedicated not only to young people but also to parents. We all have a duty to do more for the new generation, to worry about transmitting values. Young people are in search of identity and reference points to give to make sense of life. Isis' voice is a scream that has been in her throat for a long time. Her disturbances and anxieties are those of an entire generation that needs to be investigated, told, listened to. Youth unease often results in violence. We have seen it with the rapes of Caivano, of Palermo, the baby gangs of Milan. Or young people try to fill the gaps with drugs or affiliations with criminal organizations.
School and family seem depowered. What can save young people?
Definitely culture and sports, which is a real social antidote. But what Isis discovers is volunteerism. She gives us a solution not from the pulpit of a holy man, a theologian or a religious sect. She is an 18-year-old girl who discovers that giving to others means also helping oneself to cope with hardship. Volunteering makes one realize that no one is saved alone in a world full of hatred and violence. Alleviating the suffering of others is a great help we give to ourselves
This novel is a eulogy of volunteerism and generosity. As a social activist you know something about this....
I discovered volunteering at a time when I was also in search of identity . I overcame what seemed to me insurmountable mountains because of volunteering, because of knowing real suffering. Because if you compare yourself with orphaned children, with war refugees with migrants who defy death in search of a new life, you understand how small what is happening to you is.
Volunteerism in Italy should be encouraged more especially in secondary schools, perhaps with reward scores for those who dedicate themselves to others?
Italy is a country of donors and volunteers. There are 330,000 Third Sector entities so we are a country that knows the value of solidarity. But surely we need to make people understand right from the school benches the meaning of volunteering, which should be considered an educational activity and not just a supplementary one. Volunteering is contagious: once you embark on that path you carry it for life. This has been not only my experience but also that of many young people I have met over the years.
Can volunteering also be a response to the real-life isolation that, paradoxically, is the result of the exasperated virtual presence in social media?
Yes, certainly. It is a dangerous autistic individualism, emphasized by social media: we only talk about ourselves and do not listen to others. Isis had become impervious to emotions, locked in her small room, convinced that there was a whole world there. She repressed emotions but without eliminating them. In this way she was hindering a path of personal growth. But then she experienced pain, knew violence and then liberation through volunteering. It is important for children to be educated about emotions and feelings in order to have a balanced approach for well-being then psychological
To receive information and arrange a meeting with writer Claudia Conte for the presentation of the novel "The voice of Isis" - you can contact the literary agency Demea Cultural Events: ufficiostampa@demeaeventiculturali.it | 333 26 20 27 6″
Italian 
Albanian 
English