Dario Fo said Wednesday he
never gave a thought as to whether or not his use of the word
"gypsy" in his forthcoming novel could be deemed offensive by
some.
"That's what they're called - it's what they've always been
called," the 89-year-old Nobel prize winner said of his latest
latest novel Razza di Zingaro (Gypsy Race).
"People need to get back to getting angry about real
tragedies, like the Romanian who asked for his wages and was
burned to death by his employer," Fo said of a true story that
became the premise of one of his earlier books.
Gypsy Race is based on the life of Johann Trollmann, a
German boxer of Sinti ancestry born in 1907 who was stripped of
his title in Nazi Germany and died in a concentration camp aged
35.
"It's the story of a great champion, a story that still
repeats itself in other forms," Fo said.
Regarding his choice to base his latest book on another
true story, he said that writers must "tell stories that move
the conscience of a people".
As his 90th birthday approaches on March 24, the height of
electoral season for the new mayor of Milan, Fo said he'll be
voting.
"Of course I'm going to vote, I've always voted and I make
it known who I vote for".
The writer also voiced concern over the closure of 10
theaters in Milan in recent years.
"Ten theatres gone is like the entire history of a people,"
he said.
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