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Smith College Students, Faculty and
President to Perform Marathon Reading of Dante's 'Inferno'
on April 8, Holy Thursday
NORTHAMPTON -- Holy Thursday,
which will take place this year on April 8, may be the most
apropos evening on the calendar on which to perform a marathon
recitation in its entirety of Dante Alighieri's "Inferno," the
most famous of the three books in his classic masterpiece "The
Divine Comedy."
The "Inferno," a poetic creation of 34 cantos,
is a carefully structured book that describes Dante's journey
through Hell, a torture labyrinth in his famous depiction
comprised of nine levels, each pertaining to the nature of
one's sins.
Dante's journey begins on Holy Thursday night when he becomes
aware of being lost in a dark place after wandering astray
and continues through to the dawn of Easter Sunday when he
finally emerges from Hell. His stay in the underworld is
intended to correspond symbolically with the period between
Christ's death (on Good Friday) and Resurrection (on Easter
Sunday), the same period during which Christ himself was
said to have descended into Hell, according to some interpretations.
On this year's Holy Thursday, April 8, beginning at 7:30
p.m., the entire cycle of cantos in Dante's "Inferno" will
be recited in order by Smith College faculty, students and
other guests, including President Carol T. Christ, in a nearly
six-hour marathon reading that will carry participants into
the morning hours of Good Friday, the day Christ was crucified,
died and was buried. A different reader will recite each
canto. Members of the Northampton community will be invited
to read.
The reading, which will take place in the Helen Hills Hills
Chapel at Smith, is free, open to the public and wheelchair
accessible. The program will also include musical performances
of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt and Giuseppe
Verdi.
The event is modeled after an annual Holy Thursday reading
of "Inferno" at The Cathedral Church of St. John
the Divine in New York City. The idea was suggested by a
student in a class at Smith taught by Alfonso Procaccini,
professor of Italian language and literature and a Dante
scholar. He and several of his students decided to stage
the reading to commemorate Christ's descent into Hell in
light of Dante's poetic vision.
"The Divine Comedy," one of the most important
and widely studied works in world literature, was written
during the years 1306 to 1321. It is generally accepted that
Dante underwent a profound life-changing experience at some
point just prior to the fictional date of his declared journey
commencing on Holy Thursday, April 8, 1300, according to
Procaccini. "Whatever the experience, no doubt it served
to awaken him and in turn inspire him to imagine and compose
the work that would become his timeless literary masterpiece."
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Office of College
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Northampton, Massachusetts 01063 |
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Marti
Hobbes
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T (413) 585-2190
F (413) 585-2174
mhobbes@email.smith.edu
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