Will Zerocalcare and Bao be freer at Più libri? The announcement after the Caffo case

The changes to the program of Più libri Più liberi continue after the numerous controversies sparked by the Caffo case. L’editore Bao Publishing confirms his presence but cancels his “participation in any event within the fair”. Its best-known author, Zero limestone supplemented the news by specifying that he too will be at the Nuvola di Fuksas but canceled the scheduled meeting with Chiara Valerio.

The decision comes after the invitation, and subsequent withdrawal, of Leonardo Caffo, in an edition dedicated to Giulia Cechettin, victim of femicide who became a symbol of the fight against violence against women: the philosopher, invited by the writer Chiara Valerio, curator of demonstration, is accused of mistreatment and aggravated injuries towards his ex-partner. The Fair then apologized, admitting that it had “made a mistake and hurt us, beyond our intentions”.

Bao Publishing: “The controversies have put us in enormous difficulty”

Now the publishing house that publishes Zerocalcare communicates the decision in a long post published on its Instagram profile. “In recent days we have been forced to reflect on the opportunity of our participation in the next edition of Più Libri Più Liberi”, reads the note. “The controversies that have involved some choices made by the organization have put us in enormous difficulty, because we consider the few fairs in which we participate every year to be safe places for all ideas and all sensitivities, and when choices are made that are contrary to ours principles, to our ideals, we are forced to take a position with respect to the line chosen by those who organize these fairs”. “We will be there at Più Libri Più Liberi – underlines the publishing house – to honor a commitment made with our readers, with our authors, but we have decided to cancel our participation in any event within the fair This applies both to our guests and to the members of the editorial staff, who apologize to the other speakers of the events who will desert to do program and to communicate that it does not belong to us. We expect in the future, and it is an expectation that we place on all our trade fair interlocutors, a behavior that is more capable of assuming their responsibilities (and the responsibilities of their mistakes) from those who organize a event that hosts us, also makes our respectability its own, which we obviously need to protect”.

Zerocalcare: “The meeting with Chiara Valerio is impossible to hold”

After days of reflection, Zerocalcare has also decided to intervene on the controversy that is engulfing the ‘Più Libri Più Liberi’ fair. Michele Rech, aka Zerocalcare, will be present at the fair at the stand of the publishing house Bao Publishing for signature copies, but has announced the decision to cancel the scheduled meeting with Chiara Valeriocurator of the event, which should have been held on December 6th. The choice was explained in a long and detailed post published among his Instagram stories, shortly after an official statement from the publishing house that publishes his books. Bao has, in fact, announced that, although confirming its presence at the fair with the stand, it will not participate in the internal events organized by the event.

In his message, Zerocalcare addresses the complexity of the situation, explaining that he chose to wait before expressing himself so as not to act hastily or superficially. “I don’t like talking about things that concern everyone and everyone with the haste of mythomania, without first having discussed with other interested people, at least those closest to me. And I don’t like using my media weight to take up space in a discussion in which As a male – who is still coming to terms with his limits and his role – I believe I must above all listen“.

And also because, he adds, “it is undeniable that for many, including myself, it is much easier to talk about fascists than about gender issues, because fascists open up many fewer contradictions between those close to us and even within ourselves”. Zerocalcare openly criticizes the choice to invite the philosopher Leonardo Caffo to the fair, accused of mistreatment and aggravated injuries towards his ex-partner: “it seemed evidently inappropriate to invite a man to a fair dedicated to Giulia Cecchettin (I confess that I didn’t even know who damn he was) accused of violence against his partner”. And again: “It seemed wrong to me to invoke guaranteeism (which is also a topic that is very close to my heart in this time of barbarism) to end a discussion on gender violence, without problematizing the ordeal that many women encounter in reporting abuse , the difficulty of being believed, of having one’s truth recognized. A complex discussion that pertains more to culture than to criminal procedures”.

He also denounces the way in which the matter was handled by the demonstration. “I believe that everything, including the videos, the television appearances, literally everything at least up to the last apology message was wrong; as I know Chiara Valerio, I believe that she is moved by loyalty to a principle and not by another; but when that what we do lends itself to so many exploitations, when we become useful to the articles of the Truth, when our enemies take us as a symbol, it is time to stop and reflect even if we are in good faith”.

Well, given all these premises, adds the cartoonist, “I don’t know what is right to do. I don’t even know if there is a single thing that is right for everyone”. But after days of discussion with colleagues, friends and his publishing house, Zerocalcare decided to cancel the planned meeting with Chiara Valerio which he defines as “objectively impossible to hold: not because I think she is a plague victim or that we cannot get along with her to speak – even when I think he is making a mistake – but because it seems impossible to ignore this topic and talk about publishing as if nothing had happened; and at the same time it seems grotesque to think that a male would hold a meeting in which he explains to a woman how he should have done it behave in terms of feminism.”

Zerocalcare recognizes and respects the choice of those who have decided not to participate in the fair, seeing it as an understandable and necessary reaction to resolve a critical situation. However, for him the renunciation of an event is not just a symbolic gesture, but a pressure tool with a clear objective, which in this case he struggles to identify. “I take it for granted that for some it will not be radical enough, I would like to say that it was done out of respect for the readers, but the truth is that in my case despite the conflicting emotions and the infinite doubts, I was unable to clearly focus on a bet to focus on to be able to say ‘ok we can try to play this'”. certainly I am the custodian”, he concludes.