For over twenty years, Gruppo Albatros il Filo in Rome has hosted great literary personalities and emerging authors in its catalogue, creating a unique blend in the publishing sector in Italy and beyond.
One of the most successful projects carried out by Gruppo Albatros il Filo is the Nuove Voci series, dedicated to emerging writers, defined as the most awarded series of the sector in Italy. One of their rising authors is Lorraine D. Cork, a British author who writes bilingual stories, plays and poems for children in English and in Italian.
After publishing her first book of plays and poems: Recitiamo in Inglese! Lorraine went on to release Leo la Superstar! which gained her widespread recognition in Italy and further afield. She went on to win the Golden Wizard Book Prize in the UK and then became a FINALIST at the 8th edition of the CONCORSO INTERNAZIONALE DI POESIA E NARRATIVA CITTA’ DI CEFALU‘ in Italy.
Just recently Lorraine released her first Christmas story: “Bubble and Twig” in English and Italian and following this she sat down with her publisher to discuss it in more depth.
1. What inspired you to write your bilingual Christmas story “Bubble & Twig”?
The story “Bubble and Twig” is based on my play “Where’s Father Christmas?” which I wrote as a child. It can be found in my first book “Recitiamo in Inglese!” which contains plays and poems in English and Italian.
2. What are the main challenges when working with two languages?
I think bilingual books are fantastic resources that can be used at home, at school, and anywhere! Not only are they educational, but they are also a lot of fun – people just need to know how to use them effectively. There are actually many different types of dual language books. Some contain a parallel text and others have a different layout. For example, the Italian edition of my book “Bubble and Twig!” has the English version (the original in my case) at the beginning of the book and the Italian version of the story in the second half of the book.
As with all bilingual books, the stories can be read in one language or both languages. Some people prefer to read the story in the foreign language first, while others prefer to start with the native language. You can also introduce the foreign language in a FUN and practical way: through games, songs and creative activities.
3. Bubble and Twig are such fun characters. What inspired you to create them?
My favourite characters of all time are the comedy duo: Laurel and Hardy, and Bubble and Twig were inspired by them.
4. Theatre and musicals seem to play an important role in your life and works. How do these elements influence your writing?
I have always been extremely interested in the 1920s period: the musicals, Broadway-style tap dancing, black and white films, mime and Slapstick comedy. My love for the golden era of the 1920s has really influenced my writing style and many parallels can be drawn with the settings and the characters in my stories.
5. As you have written other bilingual books in the past, do you believe that this formula is an important bridge to introduce children to foreign languages?
In my opinion, there are endless advantages to learning another language through reading: you can converse with people from other countries, you can learn about other cultures, you can understand a song you’ve always loved, you can order ice cream at the bar when you go on holiday, you can gain self-confidence and you can even find a great job! Obviously, children don’t realise that there are all these benefits, because they are children and they just want to play, but if you make language learning fun and really get down to their level they will always remember the fun time they had when reading the book as a child. Plus, the experiences and words they learn will stay with them forever.