The Poetry of Belonging

The essay develops a postcolonial perspective on Italy and South Africa based on the writer’s experience of rural developmental work among predominantly Zulu-speaking people and on five main points of connection between that specific locale and the Italian cultural horizon, from Roman times to World War II: Language, Accounting, Spirituality, War and Literature. Central to this cross-cultural encounter is the writer’s direct and intimate involvement in both cultural spheres and the way this i...