23 Sept-1 April. John Cabot University in Rome has selected The Bluest Eye by Nobel Prize-winning American author Toni Morrison as the subject of this year’s Italy Reads, its annual community-based English language reading and cultural exchange programme.

Published in 1970, The Bluest Eye is Morrison's first novel and follows a year in the life of a young black girl named Pecola who develops an inferiority complex due to her eye color and skin appearance

Each year Italy Reads focuses on classic American novels, helping to raise their profile among an Italian audience. There are a number of public events included in this year’s programme, the first of which is a keynote address by Professor Alessandro Portelli, of University of Rome La Sapienza, at 19.00 on Wednesday 23 September.

There are also video and writing competitions for students, and a production based on The Bluest Eye by the English Theatre of Rome scheduled for the last two weekends in October, times still to be confirmed.

All events take place in the Aula Magna Regina at JCU on Via della Lungara 233, in Trastevere. For full details on the Italy Reads programme, see the JCU website.

See related feature article.