The power of imagination explained by Gianluca Caporaso
On 28 and 29 December, at the Museum of Shepherding, the Fantastic and Poetic Writing Workshop was held by a guest who has long had a special relationship with the art of storytelling: Gianluca Caporaso.
He has been involved for many years in promoting reading and storytelling, and nurtures the power of imagination with his workshops open to all. After a stint in marketing and advertising, he began working in the social and solidarity field, providing his support and expertise for the planning and networking of voluntary associations.
And here is her story:
Let’s start with a simple question. How was the reception in Castelsaraceno?
The hospitality was amazing. The people we met were all absolutely warm and generous in their welcome, a very, very nice aspect of the country…
What topics were covered during the workshop?
The themes of my workshop are linked to the development of fantasy skills, the aim of which is to enable pupils to write fantasy texts themselves.
The aim is not to nurture and support the development of talents or artists. Rather, the idea is based on the ability to accompany anyone to develop expressive skills that are fundamental for the development of aspects related to the relationship with the world that is always mediated by language.
Therefore, the more structured and articulated the journey in the word, the more one becomes capable of inhabiting the world and of being suitable in the encounter with others and with the things of life…
In a way, to return to that original function of storytelling as a tool to know the world and to know oneself?
Yes, and then there is also the aspect of storytelling, which is obviously always one of those paths through which the first aspect that comes true is the ability to stay together and then to create links, that is, to tell in a very ancient way what man knows to weave, with a thread of voice, the threads of a community. The first aspect that comes true is the ability to stay together and then to create bonds, that is, to recount in a very ancient way what man knows in order to weave, with a thread of voice, the threads of a community.
In all this, storytelling is also a way of marvelling at oneself and thus filling with sparkle that which in life might seem a little grey at first glance.
These are some of the aspects, but building narratives means accompanying the development of verbal and lexical skills and of course behind every form of narration there is a question that is always present and silent…
That is: Where are you?
I think that every word is always a search for the other and this is what is at stake: the encounter, dialogue and being together, which are fundamental things…
This workshop was open to children, but how important is fantasy for adults?
In this case, the municipality, in my opinion, in a very intelligent way, beyond my presence, opened the workshops not only to primary school children but also to secondary school children and teachers because I held three appointments and addressed different topics.
The rationale is always to bring tools, instruments and content to everyone, hoping that they will be useful in training, didactics and pedagogy, in short, knowledge that is never fully accomplished if it is not accompanied by relational skills.
I would like to conclude by asking you: Does fantasy find fertile ground in a fascinating landscape suspended in time like Castelsaraceno?
All places potentially lend themselves to the development of fantastic paths. Every place is enriched by the imagination of its inhabitants, and so the attempt is always to make as many people as possible participate in the destiny of a community, which in this case is called Castelsaraceno. It is a sort of long bounce of knowledge.
Finally, there is the need to build an educating and competent community, which means putting an entire community at the service of a positive transformation of the place they inhabit.
In this episode of Writing with Light, the protagonists have the floor…
