LIBRI E CAZZOTTI, L’AVVINCENTE STORIA DI UN EDITORE (with English Version)

LIBRI E CAZZOTTI di Tullio Pironti

La recensione

L’editore Tullio Pironti si racconta nel coinvolgente “Libri e Cazzotti”. Tra boxe, amori, grandi amicizie, e battaglie legali.

La biografia di Tullio Pironti non narra la storia di una sola persona rappresenta, infatti, uno spaccato della vita culturale napoletana, italiana e anche internazionale della seconda metà del Novecento. Una delle figure più interessanti emerse dal racconto è sicuramente Fernanda Pivano, scrittrice italiana, grande amica dell’autore la cui storia è intrecciata con quella di grandi del secolo scorso, come Hemingway, Pavese, Primo Levi. Tra le tante vicende narrate  da Pironti, c’è quella di Giuseppe Marrazzo, detto Joe, che fu giornalista Rai, sempre impegnato in temi sociali, soprattutto riguardanti la malavita. E non manca un certo Federico Fellini…Insomma, Libri e Cazzotti non racconta solo la vita dell’editore, ma è una raccolta di frammenti di tante vite e tante storie. Leggere questo libro fa venir voglia di approfondire e ricercare, tanti sono gli spunti e le curiosità presenti nelle sue pagine. Armatevi, dunque,  di matita, perché potrete ritrovarvi a sottolineare durante la lettura.

Già nei primi capitoli, brevi e ben calibrati, si entra in scena a suon di cazzotti. Eh già, cazzotti; Pironti, infatti, è stato un pugile promettente, è arrivato alle selezioni nazionali e si è battuto con boxer rinomati nel panorama internazionale. La descrizione dei combattimenti è incalzante, e spiega le tecniche senza essere pedante, facendo divertire anche chi non mastica sport. Le battaglie fisiche, i duri allenamenti, le botte prese e quelle date nella giovinezza, fanno da contraltare alle battaglie intellettuali ed editoriali che affronta il Pironti adulto. Come nei migliori film hollywoodiani, oltre ai cazzotti, alle belle donne (perché ce ne sono nel libro), ci sono anche le battaglie legali. L’editore, infatti, è divenuto famoso per le sue pubblicazioni in controtendenza, talvolta scomode ai poteri forti. Mettere in commercio libri che  parlano di scandali politici, camorra, mafia, corruzione in Vaticano e quant’altro ha un prezzo, tuttavia in queste lotte, Pironti ha sempre avuto l’appoggio della comunità intellettuale, dai giornalisti ai poeti, dagli scrittori ai registi.

Altro tema importante è la bellezza di Napoli, la sua città. Quest’uomo, da quel che emerge dalla biografia, ha fatto scoprire il bello di questo posto anche a chi l’aveva in odio. Così racconta del periodo della guerra e di come i cittadini si adoperassero per sopravvivere, anzi, di vivere in quella situazione. E racconta anche il fermento intellettuale di Piazza Dante e dintorni, dove sono situate le librerie storiche della città partenopea. Una realtà che si sta spegnendo, poiché i luoghi d’interesse della gente sono cambiati e perché la cultura sta diventando un peso piuma, una cosa piccola e per pochi.

I racconti di cui è composto Libri e Cazzoti risultano commoventi, intriganti, spassosi e sono scritti con semplicità e scorrevolezza . Spingono il lettore a chiedersi: “Ma come avrà fatto una persona a fare tutte queste cose e a conoscere tanti grandi personaggi in una sola vita?”. E, come accade nei grandi romanzi, si ha l’impressione di conoscere il protagonista da sempre e si ci identifica in lui. Se Pironti avesse scritto un romanzo, forse, non avrebbe potuto inventare un personaggio migliore di Pironti stesso. In conclusione si tratta di una storia da film (come molti hanno suggerito), ma che un solo film non riuscirebbe a raccontare in modo esaustivo. Un modesto consiglio? Una serie televisiva!

Translated by Viviana Tarantino

LIBRI E CAZZOTTI by Tullio Pironti.

THE REVIEW

Tullio Pironti, editor of a publishing house, wrote about himself in the interesting book entitled Libri e Cazzotti (Books and punches) dealing with boxing, relationships, big friendships and legal battles.

Tullio Pironti’s biography does not tell the story of a single individual. It reveals instead  portions of Neapolitan, Italian and International life during the second half of the twentieth century.

One of the most interesting stories from the book is Fernanda Pivano’s, an Italian writer and great friend of the author’s, who had the chance to meet big names of the past century such as Hemingway, Pavese, Primo Levi.  Among the stories told by Pironti, we cannot pretend not to notice Giuseppe Matarazzo’s, known as Joe, a news reporter from Rai, constantly committed into social topics, especially racket. Not to mention Federico Fellini…So, Libri e Cazzotti does not only report the author’s life; it’s more like the collection of many different shreds and stories.

Reading this book makes me want to investigate and search; there are so many ideas and curiosities present in its pages. Therefore, arm yourselves with  pencil, as you will find yourself keen to highlight while reading.

From  the very first chapters, short and well-balanced, it all starts at the sound of punches. Yeah, punches; Pironti, as a matter of fact, was a promising boxer, he got to the national selections and competed against renowned boxers of the international scene. The description of the fighters is relentless and explains the techniques without being obnoxious, entertaining even those who do not go crazy for sport. The physical battles, the tough trainings, the beatings took and those given in his youth, contrast the intellectual and editorials battles that are faced by Pironti in his adulthood. As in the best Hollywood movies, in addition to punches, beautiful women (because there are many of them in the book), there are also legal battles. The publisher, in fact, has become famous for his crosscurrent publications, sometimes inconvenient to someone. Publishing books about political scandals, mafia, corruption in the Vatican and so forth,  has a price; however Pironti has always had the support of the intellectual community in this struggle, from journalists to poets, from writers to film directors.

Another important theme is the beauty of Naples, his home city . This man, according to his own biography, gives the chance even to those who hated it, to discover the beauty of this place. So he tells about the war period and how the citizens acted to survive, or better, live in that situation. He also describes the intellectual ferment of Piazza Dante and surrounding places, where the historical libraries of Naples are located. This is a reality that is fading, as places of interest have changed but also because the culture is becoming a featherweight, something small and for a limited target of people.

The stories inside Libri e Cazzotti are moving, intriguing, amusing and their style has a simple and smooth flow. They push the reader to wonder: “How did a person manage to do all these things and get to meet so many great people in one single life?”. As it happens in the great novels, you have the impression of having known the protagonist for a lifetime and you put yourself in his shoes. If Pironti had written a novel, perhaps he could not have invented a better character than Pironti himself.

In conclusion, it is a story that is adequate enough to give life to a movie (as many have suggested), but at the same time a single movie would not be able to report in an acceptable way . In my honest opinion, it would be perfect for a  TV series!

INTERVIEW TO THE AUTHOR

For the interview, Mr. Pironti leads me to his office located in one of the elegant buildings of Piazza Dante, Naples. The furniture, inspired to modern art and full of books of American writers, tells a lot about the Neapolitan publisher’s culture. He does not show his real age and he still seems that young boxer, with a lively look, as on the cover of his biography. I start my interview.

In the novel, a Pironti man with a strong sense of business stands out, a sense which allowed you to enter the publishing world; is this something that you take from your father (renowned bookseller in Naples)?

My father was the owner of the Pironti book shop, where I started to work. For those who do this job, the objectives are either to build a large library or enter in the publishing world. I had a strong ambition, which allowed me to become a publisher. The same ambition prompted me to do boxing, and try to become the best. What prevented me from growing even more in publishing was the lack of major economic funds (needed to start a large company) and the basic preparation. When I started the business in this area, I had just ended my career as a boxer and I had no experience in the publishing field. Of course, what my publishing house always missed was a good organisation; I started doing everything myself. However, I can have the satisfaction to be the one who brought in Italy novels of great international writers such as Don Delillo, Neguib Mahfouz (Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988) and others. In my opinion, young people should always have the ambition to achieve goals in life. For example, myself accepted the challenge. I might have not become the best publisher, but at least I tried!

With this in mind, boxing taught you how to face those problems with which you had to deal with in the shoes of the publisher?

Boxing is a struggle, and I was a very technical wrestler. When I was a boxer, I was scared, and I was trying to avoid the punches, and while doing so I did it well. Similarly, in publishing, I tried to avoid bad books.

In recent years, a major crisis has hit  publishing,  the closing of the famous library and publisher Guida, a few steps from yours, is an example. In this regard, do you believe that this is due mainly to the economic crisis or there is a crisis in the sector?

Certainly the economic crisis matters, but not as much as you think. The problem has a cultural nature. In particular, the crisis begins among young people, who do not read anymore. Firstly,  there is a crisis at school which affects the students’ preparation. Starting from elementary school, there should be a more comprehensive training and from early childhood, children should develop a sensitivity for reading. Then we added the TV that sent misleading messages to these  young minds, with morally harmful programs. And on top of all, there is family: you have to be lucky to be born into a family that has culture as a priority. Let’s face the truth: people can still afford to buy a cheap book even with a a crisis, the problem is that they do not want to do it.

She has always had very clear ideas about how to be a publisher, even when it came to publishing politically inconvenient books. I’m thinking of “il Camorrista” by Joe Marrazzo .

Regarding inconvenient books, it was me who wanted to have them . As for the rest, I had the help from my guardian angels, my great friends. Fernanda Pivano advised me on literature, Giuseppe Marrazzo, instead, suggested anything embracing the social. Many other people were fundamental to me, people who now are gone. Fortunately enough, I found a new friend, Giancarlo Dotto, a great journalist and a great writer, and a playwright as well. He gave me his book, due out in a few months, with the funny title Sono apparso alla mia donna (I appeared to my woman), paraphrasing Sono apparso alla Madonna (I appeared to the Virgin Mary) by Carmelo Bene, for whom Dotto was assistant. On the first page, he lists the women of his life …

Speaking of which, your biography tells love stories that you have lived, that make the novel more sparkling.

Not only in this book, even in the Paradiso sul balcone (Paradise on the balcony) I described love  relationships. In particular, in this book, I have dealt with the beginning of my passion for the brothels, which allowed me to get to know a girl  I fell in love with, Rosaria. This relationship ended  when they banished the “whorehouse”.

After this funny anecdote, I say goodbye to Mr. Pironti,  glad for meeting him and being able to interview him.