I've finally gone down the Elena Ferrante rabbit hole
And we are off to Naples and Ischia in May!
Welcome new subscribers and followers!
I generally post writing/creativity tips and motivational articles, workshop and WJ news mixed in with eps from my current writing projects: a new segment Brush with Fame, a cancer journal, Letters to Leftie Bestie (My Left Breast) and a satirical flash fiction novella: The Everyday Musings of Louisa Greene. You can also find all eps of my travel memoir, Looking for Duras, a Mekong Journey, (where I go searching for traces of the French writer, Marguerite Duras in Vietnam and Cambodia) here.
This week’s news is that we are only 9 peeps away from reaching 2000 subscribers!
A prize is waiting for subscribers 2000 and 2001. If you know someone who might enjoy this stack please let them know.
This week’s post may seem a bit passé, but have you been down the Elena Ferrante rabbit hole?
I must admit I’ve been slow to jump on the bandwagon.
Why?
Maybe 'cos when I started reading her acclaimed novel, My Brilliant Friend, way back in 2013, I was easily distracted. Not hard to do when I’m reading three books at a time on my Kindle ‘cos I can’t fit any more actual books into my house.
Maybe the first 5 pages just didn’t grab me. I should know by now to give any book I don’t like at first sight, at least 20 pages.
Or maybe I was just being a snob. Sometimes when a book is sooo popular you want to get to it in your own time.
Doesn’t really matter, for now that I’m in, I can’t get enough.
I’m reading her on Kindle, watching her on HBO (in Australia via SBS), listening to all the associated podcasts, perusing all the relevant articles online. Well, maybe not all. There’s a lot. Especially if you want to get into all theories around her real identity. And I don’t. If she wants to be anonymous, so be it. It’s nobody’s business but hers.
But if you want to come down my Ferrante rabbit hole, start here…
… by meeting Ferrante’s English translator, Ann Goldstein, along with authors Roxana Robinson and Judith Thurman as they discuss to discuss Ferrante’s work and her collection of essays and letters, Bits and Pieces of Uncertain Origin, hosted by critic Rebecca Carroll. A few years old but still relevant.
Or listen to this episode of the London Review Bookshop Podcast, for an absolutely brilliant in-store discussion ( you will feel as if you are actually there!) between writers and readers on My Brilliant Friend.
Then read an interview in Vanity Fair with the pseudonynomous author of all the Ferrante books here. Apparently she has ‘a one-country-one-interview policy.’ I started to read it but then stopped, because I felt (contrary to what I just said above) that if she truly wants to withold her identity, she shouldn’t be answering any Qs. You can’t have your cake and eat it too!
But then I found this article in the Guardian with loads of quotes from her on this very topic and it all began to make sense. Especially when she says:
“I simply decided once and for all, over 20 years ago, to liberate myself from the anxiety of notoriety and the urge to be a part of that circle of successful people, those who believe they have won who-knows-what. This was an important step for me. Today I feel, thanks to this decision, that I have gained a space of my own, a space that is free, where I feel active and present. To relinquish it would be very painful.”
Mmm, yes, I totally get it. So then I went back to Vanity Fair for Part 2 of the interview I had stopped reading in Part 1. Or did I?
See what a rabbit hole I’ve been running around in! Maybe you went down it yourself some years back or maybe you are a late starter like me. I’d love to know. Do you love, or not love Ferrante’s books, what about her earlier and most recent books? And, have you ever considered to writing anonymously?
But the big question is, why have I finally caught Ferrante Fever now?
Well, next year in May, I’m leading a retreat for writers and artists in Naples and the nearby island of Ischia, where Ferrante’s most popular, Neopolitan Novels are set. You probably already know that the four books follow the intense friendship between best friends, Lenù and Lila — through girlhood, adulthood and old age, as each seeks to find a way out of the poverty and violence of their working class upbringing. Complicated, turbulent and compelling, the books are set in post war Naples at a time of societal change and upheaval.
And while Ferrante’s books were not the reason for the choice of our next Italian retreat (see last year’s here), they certainly add to the literary atmos. Other literary greats to have spent time on the island including : Stendhal, Ibsen, Auden, Capote, Neruda, even Tennessee Williams! As well, Ischia has hosted numerous big stars at its annual film festivals and been the location for many well known films. Luchino Visconti had a private villa in Forio (now a museum). Charlie Chaplin presented the world premier of his film there, A King in New York and Elizabeth Taylor filmed her last scene in Cleopatra in Ischia and got caught by the press snogging Richard Burton!
And we are going to Ischia for the same reason they did — to write, make art and be inspired. Part of this inspiration will come from our stay at the extraordinary Il Monastero Castello Aragonese, a former 16th century convent built on a small rock island in the Bay of Santa Anna. Run by the third generation of the family who purchased the abandoned castle and convent in 1912, it has become a cultural meeting place for artists, writers, film makers and musicians to create and share their creative works, and it offers a number of wonderful workshop spaces for us to use.
In our morning workshops writers and artists take will part in a range of meditative creativity exercises before going off into the various spaces of the Castello — writers to write, artists to sketch, paint or work in their chosen modality. Creative journaling will be encouraged as a means of capturing the process and each evening at cocktail hour we will share the day’s work. It’s a perfect opportunity for progressing a current project or beginning one anew.
In the afternoons there will be time to explore the island — visit thermal baths, beaches, restaurants, cafes, and Ferrante locations. For a glimpse of what to expect, watch Episode 6 of Season 1 of HBO’s TV series, My Brilliant Friend or catch some behind the scenes filming action below.
I’m still down the rabbit hole — about to finish Season 1 and currently reading one of her early books, Abandoned Love. Next time I will tell more about Ferrante’s Naples, where we spend two days at the beginning of our trip. If you want to stay on longer to write or create, our partners Jennifer Richardson and Luisa Donati will have accommodation recommendations.
If you would like to join us in May or want to request more info, see the links below or talk direct to Jennifer at The Create Escape.
WRITERS JOURNEY NEWS
DRAFT BUSTERS ONLINE — Next Module begins Mon Oct 14. Motivation Mondays: 10 - 11.30 am AEST, set your goals for the week, discussion on various aspects of writer’s craft plus a meditative writing exercise. Feedback Fridays: 3.30 - 5.30 pm AEST, readings and feedback on up to 1000 words of your writing project. Workshops are held on Zoom. Contact Jan if you would like to join.
FREE ONLINE WORKSHOP — On the third Sunday of the month at 4pm AEST we meet to introduce our writing projects and do a meditative writing exercise. Open to all— beginners, experienced, published, non published. Next one falls on Oct 20. Contact Jan if you would like to join.
MENTORING — I have a number of mentoring packages available which can be tailored to your current needs. If you need a procrastination coach, someone to look over your manuscript or set ongoing deadlines, see here for what’s possible.
DESPERATE DEBRIEF — for paid subscribers, a free 45 minute chat about any aspect of your work, by Zoom or Whats App. Contact me to arrange.
HEADING OUT IN 2025
Creative Immersion in Ischia, Italy, May 3-10, 2025 for writers and artists. 7 nights, 8 days. We’ll be Elena Ferrante territory, visiting the sites of her Neopilitan novels when we catch a ferry from the Port of Naples across to the volcanic island of Ischia. Daily creativity workshops at our seaside hotel offer inspiration and guidance for your creative work. Immersing ourselves in the island’s healing thermal waters we do a deep dive into our work, employing creative journaling, paper art and collage to further our creative goals. An ideal environment to bring the senses into your writing and art making and really progress your work. In collaboration with the Create Escape. Booking and info here.
Haiku Walking in Japan, The Tokaido Way, November, 2025. Dates tbc. 6 days, 5-nights, starting in Hakone-Yumoto and finishing in Kurami Onsen near Kakegawa. For artists and writers.Daily workshops on the art of haiku, haibun and haiga. A gently-paced haiku walking tour along Japan’s greatest historic road (between Tokyo to Kyoto) aside the Pacific Ocean coast once walked by the famed haiku poet Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), featured in Records of a Well Worn Satchel, and artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) for his iconic Fifty-Three Stages of the Tokaido series of woodblock prints. Staying at local inns and hotels, each evening after our walk we’ll feast on local cuisine and soak in the onsen. My idea of heaven! Send expression of interest by email or DM.
Check out 20 years of Writers Journey international journeys and retreats. See where we went, what we did here.
I love getting your comments! Did you know that your ‘likes, shares or comments’ on the bottom of this page will attract new readers and keep the creative wheel spinning.
I've just finished Wifedom and now pondering my next book - so thanks I have it sorted as I too have not jumped onto the Ferrante hype and this is my sign to do so. Your retreat sounds wonderful! Best wishes
I loved this series. I listened to the audio books after my mother died and it was soothing somehow, life affirming, raw, gorgeous. I should probably reread them on paper one day.