Versace

The epigram is a short poetic composition that concludes in a few biting verses, mostly ironic or satirical, with which one seeks to induce the reader to laughter but also to reflection. This is precisely the expressive form chosen by Moreno Burattini, one of the best-known Italian comic book artists, to continue giving vent to his caustic, ironic, and poetic vein at the same time, expressed through texts that are striking in their brevity: after three collections of aphorisms, here is one of epigrams. The themes addressed are modern and contemporary, but at heart, the source of inspiration is always that of Callimachus and Martial: the human condition observed as it unfolds in daily life. While the quality of the verses does not claim to compete with the Greek and Latin classics, a comparison with popular and illiterate extemporaneous poets (of any era) is fitting. After all, Burattini’s rhymes were born precisely as extemporaneous, to give life to a challenge made to himself: to publish one epigram a day on Twitter for a year in a row.