Literary festival

THE worry for speakers at Festivaletteratura is being upstaged by long-dead architects. Mantua is breathtaking, and a number of private palazzi and gardens are opened up for the festival. But it’s a friendly affair, energised by hundreds of student volunteers. The bill mixes Italian authors with imports, including Edmund White, John Berger, Amos Oz and Zadie Smith.

Top of the bill are two warhorses: Seamus Heaney and V.S. Naipaul. Heaney, radiating benevolence, can be relied upon to read his work beautifully; Naipaul is an organiser’s nightmare (he has been known to fax through a list of preferred wines), and will either dazzle his audience or annihilate it with grumpy put-downs. The final day is devoted to discussion of a single book, with copies handed out free: this time it’s “White Fang” by Jack London.

Festivaletteratura Mantua September 8th to 12th