The art of telling stories has accompanied man since his appearance on earth and has become, over time, increasingly complex and sophisticated so much so that it has been transformed, starting from the nineties, into a very powerful weapon of persuasion. It is called storytelling and today it is a real working tool that in the hands of marketing, management and political communication gurus is able to shape the opinions of consumers and citizens.
In an intense dialogue between the writer Alessandro Baricco and the French intellectual Christian Salmon, one can not only retrace the evolution of storytelling in history, but also recognize the sophisticated techniques of storytelling management or digital storytelling that lie behind the most important advertising and electoral campaigns.
Christian Salmon is a writer and member of the Centre de Recherches sur les Arts et le Langage (CNRS). In 1993, with the collaboration of more than three hundred intellectuals from all over the world - including Salman Rushdie, Jacques Derrida, Toni Morrison, Javier Marías and the Italians Antonio Tabucchi, Claudio Magris, Vincenzo Consolo - he founded the International Parliament of Writers. Among his numerous volumes, we should mention Storytelling, a bestseller in France and translated into seven languages. Alessandro Baricco is one of the best-known and best-loved Italian writers. Born in Turin, he graduated in philosophy with a thesis in aesthetics, and made his debut with Il genio in fuga. Due saggi sul teatro musicale di Gioacchino Rossini. His first novel, Castelli di rabbia, winner of the Selezione Campiello Prize and the Prix Médicis Etranger, is a true revelation in the panorama of Italian literature and receives the approval of critics and the public. Since then, other successful works have followed, including Novecento and Seta, television and theatre collaborations and recently also his debut as a director with the film Lezione 21. His latest book is Emmaus. In 1994 he founded the Scuola Holden.
