British writer Zadie Smith was awarded the Seal of the City of Milan by Mayor Giuseppe Sala today. The recognition is three years overdue as a result of the pandemic.
Today, author Zadie Smith received the seal of the city of Milan. The recognition, which she should have received in 2020 during the Bookcity event, was awarded to coincide with the release of her new historical novel, ” The Fraud: A Novel“.
The mayor praised the writer for her lucid and passionate writing, defining her as an important critical and supportive voice in a difficult moment like the current one. He hailed her as the “author of multicultural London, always in tension between tradition and modernity, just like Milan.” He added, “You’ll always be welcome in Milan”.
Smith, who lived in Italy for a time, thanked the mayor in Italian and declared her love for the country and for the city.
“I love this country and I love Milan. “The only thing that would have made me happier than this seal would be if you had handed me an Italian passport to make me European again”.
Who is Zadie Smith?
Zadie Smith is a prominent contemporary British author renowned for her astute and humorous examinations of themes such as race, cultural identity, and contemporary society.
Her literary career took off with the release of her debut novel, “White Teeth,” in 2000, which garnered widespread acclaim and earned its status as a modern British classic. While studying at Cambridge, Smith started writing of “White Teeth,” and the partial manuscript became the centre of a fierce bidding war. Ultimately, the rights to the novel were secured by Hamish Hamilton.
