Spring 2011 - Publication

It was published the book L'umano nell'uomo. Vasilij Grossman tra ideologie e domande eterne (Rubbettino 2011)

Collected papers on Vasilij Grossman and his work edited by P. Tosco.

Authors of papers: Vittorio Strada (Venice), Robert Chandler (London), Frank Ellis, Alexis Berelowitch (Rome), Fausto Malcovati (Milan), Myriam Anissimov (Paris), David Fel'dman (Moscow), Jurij Bit-Junan (Moscow), Gabriele Nissim (Milan), Anthony Graybosch (Chico, CA), Giuseppe Ghini (Urbino), Enrico Guglielminetti (Torino), Artur Mròwczynski-Van Allen (Granada), Giovanni Maddalena (Molise), Anna Bonola (Milan), Pietro Tosco (Verona), Tat'jana Kasatkina (Moscow), Giovanna Spendel (Torino), John e Carol Garrard (Tucson, AR), Aldo Ferrari (Venice).

Ponte di Legno, October 15, 2010- University Convention

On October 15, during the University Convention, "Introduction to the University", Dr. Pietro Tosco (University of Verona) organized a meeting entitled "Introduction to Vasily Grossman".

Spring 2010- Publication

The Spanish translation of the biography of Vasily Grossman "La Vida y el Destino de Vasili Grossman" by John and Carol Garrard (Encuentro, Madrid 2010) was published.

Chieti, April 26, 2010- Conference

Dr. Pietro Tosco (University of Verona) held a conference in Chieti, in the Department of Letters, entitled "The Allure of Truth", which was a presentation of the book "Life and Fate".

Genoa, April 21-28, 2010- Exhibit and Conference

From the 21st to 18th of April the exhibit "Life and Fate: The Novel of Freedom and the Battle of Stalingrad" was shown at the Palace of the Doges in Genoa. At the introductory meeting, Dr. Pietro Tosco (University of Verona) spoke.

Columbia, April 19, 2010- Conference

Crossroads Cultural Center presented Vasily Grossman's novel at Columbia University in the encounter "Fate, Life, and Freedom in Vasily Grossman".
Professors John and Carol Garrard (University of Arizona) and Professor Giovanni Maddalena (University of Molise) spoke.

Chico, California April 14, 2010- Conference

Professor Giovanni Maddalena (University of Molise) held a conference entitled "Vasily Grossman's Conception of Freedom" at the California State University at Chico.

Washington D.C, March 19-May 26 2010- Exposition and Conference

From March 19 to May 26 the show "Life and Fate: The Novel of Freedom and the Battle of Stalingrad" took place in Washington D.C. at the John Paul II museum.
On March 19 there was an introductory conference organized by the Crossroads Cultural Center at the John Paul II Institute. John and Carol Garrard (University of Arizona) and Giovanni Maddalena (University of Molise) spoke.

Boston, January 28, 2010-Conference

Dr. Pietro Tosco (University of Verona) gave a talk at the Newman School in Boston on "Life and Fate: Living Literature to Understand Life".

The exhibit dedicated to Vasily Grossman will be on display from January 16-18, 2010 in New York

Life and Fate. The novel of freedom and the battle of Stalingrado

The exhibit dedicated to Vasily Grossman's masterpiece, Life and Fate, will be on display from January 16th to the 18th, 2010 in New York. It will be part of the cultural festival known as the "New York Encounter." www.newyorkencounter.org, New York Marriot Marquis-Time Square, 1535 Broadway, New York City.

The Pier Giorgio Frassati Cultural Center of Turin sponsored the exhibit's creation in 2005, upon the occasion of the centennial anniversary of Grossman's birth. With the collaboration of the non-profit Foundation for Jewish Art, History, and Culture of Casale Monferrato and the Western Piedmont, and with the Christian Russia Foundation, the exhibit reconstructs the central scenes of V. Grossman's masterwork novel. (recently republished in Spanish and Italian)

At the heart of the reconstruction, one finds a dense collection of text and images, including passages from the original manuscript (from the archive of Fedor Gubor, Grossman's adopted son) and about one hundred photographs from the Museum of Contemporary History in Moscow.

This initiative, brought forward in collaboration with Crossroads Cultural Center in New York, was sponsored by the Regione Piemonte, the Compagnia di San Paolo, and the Fondazione CRT.

Download the invitation.
Exterior of the exhibit brochure
Interior of the exhibit brochure

The Bones of Berdichev wins the Commisso Prize

At the 27th meeting for the Commisso Literary Prize of the Region of Veneto/City of Treviso, the panel gave the first prize in biography to John and Carol Garrard, for their book The Bones of Berdichev: The Life and Fate of Vasily Grossman. It is the most complete existing biography of Vasily Grossman, now finally published in Italian by Marietti.

The Second International Vasily Grossman Convention, Turin, February 19-21, 2009

"Vasily Grossman: Between Ideologies and Eternal Questions"

The first international convention was organized in Turin on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of Grossman's work, with the theme "Life and Fate: The Novel of Freedom and of the Battle of Stalingrad." It took place at the Museum of the Resistance from January 12th to the 13th, 2006, in conjunction with the exhibit on the novel Life and Fate and with the collaboration of the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia and the Memorial Foundation of Moscow.

The second convention took place in Turin, at the Villa Gualino from February 19th to the 21st, 2009, where participants continued with the scientific and cultural itinerary already underway, deepening their study of Grossman's works and thought with scholars from all over the world. Among others, the speakers at the convention included: Vittorio Strada (University of Venice), David Markovic Feldman (Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow), Fausto Malcovati (University of Milan) Cecilia Nizza (University of Jerusalem), Michel Aucouturier (University of Paris).

• Significantly, the convention took place between two important recent publications: that of the new edition of Life and Fate in Italian, by Adelphi, and that of the Italian translation of John and Carol Garrard's powerful work, The Bones of Berdichev: The Life and Fate of Vasily Grossman, published by Marietti.

• The publication of the conference proceedings is expected for March 2010, with Rubbettino Publishers..

Download the flyer here

Theatrical Performance of "The Mother," based on Life and Fate

On January 28th and 29th, 2009, the Baretti Theater in Turin presented the play "The Mother," based on Life and Fate. It was arranged and performed by Marina Bassani."

Download the flyer here

Jerusalem, Monday, October 27th to Monday November 10th, 2008

The Stalingrad of Vasily Grossman on view in Jerusalem
Jerusalem Culture Center - Hillel Street, 27 - Jerusalem - Israel
Monday, October 27th - Monday, November 10th, 2008  

From Monday, October 27th to Monday November 10th, 2008 , the Jerusalem Culture Center will host the English language installment of the exhibit "Life and Fate: The Novel of Freedom and the Battle of Stalingrad," dedicated to the masterpiece of Vasily Grossman. For this occasion, the exhibit was also translated into Hebrew and Russian.

The exhibit opened on Tuesday, October 28th at 6:00 pm at the Museum of Italian Jewish Art, adjacent to the Center, with interventions from Dr. Claudia De Benedetti (Vice-President of the Italian Jewish Community Union) and Professor Giovanni Maddalena (lecturer in Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Molise), along with important representatives of the Israeli Russian community.

Between the three speakers, there were brief intervals of music inspired by the themes of the exhibit.

Download the flyer here (in English)
Download the flyer here (in Hebrew)

The exhibit was announced on the site www.ilsussidario.net: download the article in Word clicking here.(Author: G. Maddalena)
Below, some images of the exhibition on display..

Argentina, May 12th to June 15th

From May 12th to June 15th, 2008, the exhibit "Vasily Grossman (1905-2005): Life and Fate: The Novel of Freedom and the Battle of Stalingrad" was displayed in Buenos Aires. G. Maddalena (philosopher and author of the exhibit) and G. Saccomano (writer) participated in the opening of the exhbition.

Moscow, May 2008 - Award Ceremony for the Third Annual Vasily Grossman Prize

The award was instituted in collaboration with the Memorial Foundation in 2007 on the occasion of the exhibit's construction. As in past years, the contest was open to middle school and high school students in all of Russia, who participated by submitting research papers on the chosen theme.

Munich, June 28th, 2008

Presentazione del libro Vita e Destino a cura del Centro Studi Vita e destino.

Rho, June 21-22, 2008

At the Villa Banfi in Piazza Visconti, the Vasily Grossman (1905-2005) exhibit will be on display for the occasion of the "Happening" meeting, organized by the Life and Fate Association.
(Download the flyer here)

Saluzzo, March 8-16, 2008

Exhibition of "Vasily Grossman (1905-2005) Life and Fate: The Novel of Freedom and the Battle of Stalingrad." On the occasion of the exhibit's opening, there will be a presentation on the book The Novel of Freedom. Vasily Grossman Among the Classics of the 20th Century (Rubettino 2007), by Giovanni Maddalena and Pietro Tosco.

Milan, February 12-16, 2008

The play Life and Fate, based on the novel of the same name by Vasily Grossman (1905-1964) and written and directed by Lev Dodin will be playing at the Little Theater of Milan and of Europe. While the play is showing, the exhibit "Life and Fate: The Novel of Freedom and the Battle of Stalingrad," dedicated to the life and work of Vasilij Grossman, will also be on display.
(Download more information)