The Italian Embassy Cultural Centre is proud to announce its participation in this year’s New Delhi World Book Fair 2025 with the presentation of the autobiography Il Corpo Nero with the author Anna Maria Ghenyei.
Il Corpo Nero is a powerful autobiographical novel exploring the experiences of growing up as a second-generation Italian. Through vivid storytelling, Gehnyei reflects on identity, belonging, and the challenges of navigating a society that often overlooks the voices of multicultural Italians. The book offers a heartfelt and thought-provoking perspective on race, citizenship, and the meaning of home, inviting readers to confront critical social issues with empathy and understanding.
Anna Maria Gehnyei, a Liberian Italian artist, is also a musician who blends African rhythms with electronic music. Co-founder of PepeSoup, she explores second-generation integration through her acclaimed album 2G, activism, and projects like Roots with Amnesty International. Her recent work includes the novel Il Corpo Nero, a new album, and a dance performance supported by Italy’s Ministry of Culture. A cultural identity advocate, she organized Rome’s 2020 Black Lives Matter rally.
The discussion will be moderated by translator Gioia Guerzoni who has been translating literature for almost 30 years. Her authors include Teju Cole, Jenny Offill, Siri Hustvedt, Deborah Levy, Hanif Kureishi, Lydia Davis, and Samantha Harvey. After two decades in subcontinental megacities, she edited anthologies of Indian writing and is now co-editing an African fiction series, writing illustrated books, and teaching translation in creative writing courses.