Library

Giancarlo Michelini has been living alone in Bergamo in public housing since 1953, when he moved there with his family. At the age of 13, with no idea of what would come of it, he wrote a poem, and over the years, more than a thousand followed. The inspiration to put his own story into verses has accompanied him throughout his life, marked mainly by difficulties and painful events. Writing has helped him overcome many challenges and, at the same time, allowed him to articulate hopes and values for which it is worth existing. At 82, with the help of his sister, Giancarlo found the strength to gather his poems and create a book, which he published with the desire to leave messages of goodwill. And a profound lesson: life should be lived fully, always, until the end.

A calm family and environment mark the beginning of Franca Silva’s story, raised on the shores of Lake Iseo: school, teenage friendships, youthful love leading to marriage, and the birth of a child. Yet, this narrative is also intertwined with the death of her nationally renowned athlete father and the premature loss of her husband. Besides leaving a void of affection, the latter compels Franca to suddenly confront the issue of her own and her son’s livelihood.

This turning point prompts her to invest in her artistic talent, which had remained somewhat concealed until then. To make a living, Franca starts painting consistently and discovers that for her, it is not just a job but an inner necessity she cannot ignore. This journey leads her to be appointed the “official portraitist of the Republic.” Even today, despite compromises to her vision, her passion for painting still burns brightly, with each artwork serving as a tribute to the beauty and complexity of life.

This ebook is an excerpt from the memoirs of Mado (96 years old) written by François Thibault in 2019. The audio excerpts were collected by Yann Toux, a social worker at the Saint-Nazaire Community Action Center, in the autumn of 2023.

Her memoirs recount her memories as a little girl and teenager, in Nantes, her hometown, and then in Saint-Nazaire throughout the entire period of World War II.

This excerpt tells the story of her parents’ meeting in Nantes.

As part of the Silver Books project, Les Apprimeurs trained a worker from the CCAS Senior Animation Department in Saint-Nazaire to use the ebook editing tool, Book Creator.

After launching a call for participation, this worker initiated the book project with Dany and Rose-Marie.

The two “sisters,” as they call themselves, met a few months ago but immediately formed a strong bond exchanging their memories and the astonishing coincidences that connect them. Both of mixed race, they lived in Saigon before and during the War of Independence (First Indochina War) and realised they lived on the same street and attended the same school.

The book created is the story of their Meeting from the End of the World. It was composed from two recorded interviews with Dany and Rose-Marie and their personal photos and writings.

The project’s presentation took place at the CCAS in the presence of social workers and beneficiaries of the Senior Animation Center. A ULIS class from Albert Vinçon College was also invited, with the aim of encouraging students and elderly people to exchange ideas and create a collective ebook live.

To share memories is to rediscover places, moments and people that have crossed our lives. This book revisits all these areas, allowing us to travel back in time with the protagonists who narrate them.

The anonymous voice of the people’s poets is the soul of the people transformed into words.The poetry they interpret portrays the experiences, emotions, colours and awakens the senses of those who listen to them. Reconciling the wish to share this intimate desire with a collective construction is also about filling the void of conviviality that life throws at us at certain moments in our lives.

Facing the ocean, the fate of the Portuguese was to leave the land and sea borders that for decades isolated us from the rest of the world. Today, we are witnessing the reverse process, moving from a place of sending to a place of hosting, and the diverse stories that each migrant carries are an opportunity to celebrate diversity and open ourselves up to a time of tolerance, equality and justice.

An inescapable figure in Guimarães society, whose contribution to civil society organisations is just one of the legacies that his career as a citizen, professional and leader has left in Guimarães’ history. In this book we get to know Dr Santos Simões, whose centenary is celebrated in the emotional voice of his daughter.

Valuing artistic heritage and all those who have contributed to its generational transmission, in contexts other than those that gave rise to it, is a way of perpetuating knowledge, respecting local heritage and giving way to the innovation that new generations always bring to each era.