TOMMASO IORCO
LITERARY CURRICULUM

Poet and playwright by vocation, as well as actor and director by professional direction, in 1989 he founded the non-profit cultural association aria nuova, in which coexisted for three years three realities: the arya study center, the publishing house aria nuova edizioni and a theatrical company.

Nine of his poetic texts published so far: Amritagni (1996), Alkesti (2001), L’opera della fenice (2004), Dana (2009), Circe (2011), Lila (2012), Versi sberleffi (2015), Oggi (2017), Lyra Mystica (2021). Some of his lyrics have been transposed by contemporary composers into scores for voice and orchestra, or for voice and chamber instruments. His poetry attracted the attention of critics of the caliber of Edoardo Sanguineti, Giorgio Bárberi Squarotti, Edoardo Esposito.

He has theatrical performances such as Una stagione all’inferno (1993), Magna Mater (2000), La luce della memoria (2003, dedicated to the victims of the Shoah), Sohamasmi (2012), Anima Mundi (2015) and many others, participating in international theatre events, as in the case of Pangea (1994), under the artistic direction of Luca Ronconi.

He translated the entire poetic work of Sri Aurobindo, published in seven volumes with parallel texts. Among other translations made by him, undoubtedly worth mentioning the complete edition of the Ṛgveda (with parallel texts) and Gringo by the French writer Satprem (decorated hero of resistance to the Nazis).

Profound connoisseur of Indo-European culture, he wrote the essay (also published in English) From Veda to Kalki (2003), “a text that is undoubtedly committed and full of food for thought; really a remarkable compendium of Indian culture”, according to Marilia Albanese (Professor of Orientalism at the Ismeo of Milan); “I recognize sincere commitment and enthusiasm, the result of a personal research and journey”, says Mauro Maggi (Professor of Oriental Studies at the La Sapienza University of Rome). We would cite also the words of Marcello De Martino (Professor of Linguistics at

U.S.A. and Indian universities) about the translation of the Ṛgveda: “We can well say that the Ṛgveda by Tommaso Iorco published by La Calama is a pendant to the editions of the rigvedic text in English of R.T.H. Griffith and in the German language by H. Grassmann, demonstrating a hermeneutic approach to the text which shows an excellent background, which is well suited to the lyrical affluence that shines through the Italian version”. Franco Battiato greeted this edition defining it as “wonderful, an extraordinary work”.

In 1995 he made also the video Kaosmos, warmly welcomed at the Modern Art Gallery in Turin, Italy.