(Un)useful digital technology and literature between printing and voice

Abstract

Printed bookswould be about to die in front of the advantages offered by the digital world. But for 750 million illiterates over 15 worldwide, for two-thirds women (UNESCO, 2017), literature does not go through digital orprinting on paper. There is also a disturbing degree of returning or functional illiteracy,significantlyaffecting a part of European population.Starting from an idea of literature that is above all the art of the word, the article analyzes the (in)utility of digital media compared to the emotional impact and prestige possessed by printed books; the relationship between e-books and printed books in the self-publishing sector; the importance of the human voice as an ancient and very modern means of telling stories and conveying emotions.Recent statistical data (e.g.Pepe Research, 2020) show the success of audiobooks and podcasts in Covid times, in Italy and in the “Westernworld”, and for some types of disabilities. The article underlines the need to recompose the competitionbetween digital and printed books into a fruitful collaboration. Finally, it is highlighted thatthe voice is, still today and everywhere – from the hi-tech world to African storytellers –an extraordinarytool to produce and promote knowledge about literature.