Student Wins Society for Pirandello Studies' Undergraduate Essay Competition

Huge congratulations to New College student Flavia Velásquez Cotini, who won the Society for Pirandello Studies' undergraduate essay competition. 

Her essay, which was judged to be 'well written, clearly structured and characterized by insight', will now be published in Pirandello Studies. 

Flavia shared her thoughts with us: 

"I am very grateful for the opportunity to have participated in the Society for Pirandello Studies’ undergraduate essay competition, as this is a playwright whose work fascinates me. In particular, crafting my essay entitled ‘Art, Madness, and Truth: “Come parla la verità” in Pirandellian Theatre’ allowed me to delve into Pirandello’s contemporary understanding of truth not as that which conforms with fact, but rather as a multifaceted concept, accommodating varying perceptions of reality without discriminating between them. In recognising the ambiguity underlying truth, Pirandello’s plays feel to me very relevant to our present time, capturing this often unstable, fluid sense of truth that contemporary society has to grapple with. 

 

The process of researching the topic, drafting and redrafting the essay, and fine-tuning its details, was not only enjoyable but also very rewarding. I was thrilled to learn recently that I had won the essay competition! I am deeply thankful to my tutor Dr Giuseppe Stellardi for introducing me to this thought-provoking author and for his endorsement of my submission." 

Congratulations once again to Flavia on this fantastic achievement!