Sebastiano Paolo Mazzola and the power of poetry: giving words to emotions, from a young age
He is 17 years old, studies at the classical high school of the “Giovanni Falcone” National Boarding School in Palermo, and was born and raised between Palermo and Montelepre — yet his gaze already reaches much farther. Sebastiano Paolo Mazzola is a young poet who has chosen writing as a space of freedom, listening, and awareness. Alongside the piano and theatre, poetry has become for him a way to get to know himself, to inhabit emotions, and to give shape to what often remains unspoken, especially among the very young. From the pandemic — experienced as a time of escape and refuge in writing — to the inspiration drawn from Dead Poets Society, Sebastiano has built a deep and authentic relationship with the poetic word, nourished by faith, attentive observation of the world, and a visceral bond with Sicily, a land he considers an inexhaustible source of beauty. From this vision also comes his most ambitious project: a poetry community dedicated to middle and high school students, conceived as a safe space for expression, dialogue, and emotional growth. Not a workshop meant to “train poets,” but a place where one can learn to listen to oneself, to recognize one’s emotions, and to use words as an alternative to violence and silence. A small seed of humanity, as he himself defines it, rooted in the belief that beauty – authentic beauty – still has the power to change the world.
Q: You are only 17 and you have already chosen poetry as a form of expression. Do you remember when you started writing and what pushed you to do so? Was there a specific moment when you felt that words could become your space?
A: My love for writing has been with me since I was very young. I have always felt the need to tell my story, to give written form to my thoughts, to take refuge in writing, and through it I have also learned to get to know myself. Writing was especially fundamental for me during the pandemic, when I was about 12 years old, a time when I felt a strong need to go out, to escape, to run. It was a form of escape for me, as well as a simple pastime to fill those empty days. Finally, I cannot fail to mention one of my favourite films, L’attimo fuggente (Dead Poets Society), which deeply inspired me and helped my passion for poetry grow.
Q: Today, where does Sebastiano Paolo Mazzola’s inspiration come from? Is it personal emotions, the people you meet, what you observe around you, or the need to give voice to what often remains unspoken?
A: In my poems I give voice to the most intimate and hidden part of myself, which finds the courage to emerge only when I take pen and paper in hand. However, I believe that the greatest gift I have received, after faith itself, is sensitivity to beauty. I find something to write about in strangers I meet on the street or on public transport, in nature, in what many people do not see — or rather, do not look at. We often look very little at what passes before our eyes; we walk while completely ignoring those who pass by us and what surrounds us. Those who write poetry learn to see everything. Since rediscovering my Christian faith, many of my texts are addressed and dedicated to God. I do not believe there is a more beautiful love story to tell.
Q: What is your relationship with Sicily? How does your homeland enter — or not enter — your poetic writing: as a place, a feeling, an identity?
A: I am in Sicily and Sicily is in me, therefore it is present in my writing. In my life, even though I am still young, I have travelled a great deal, both within Italy and abroad, and I can say with absolute conviction that none of the places I have visited surpass Sicily in beauty. It is easy to be a writer in Sicily because you do not have to strain to find beauty — you just have to look around.
Q: Writing poetry, especially at a young age, can be an act of great exposure. For you, is poetry more of a refuge or a way to enter into dialogue with the world?
A: In a world where, fortunately, almost everyone has the necessary tools and, above all, the freedom to express themselves, making one’s voice heard — especially for young people — is extremely important. Young people, and I include myself in this, often feel misunderstood or not sufficiently listened to, considered, or seen by those who are older than them. Poetry, like writing in general, is a means of speaking about oneself to the world and of giving value and strength to one’s voice.
Q: You created a community dedicated to middle and high school students. How did the idea of creating a shared space for poetic writing come about, and what did you feel was missing for your peers?
A: I decided to create the online poetry community toward the end of my second year of high school. I have always lived my school experience very intensely, and I wanted to turn my passion into a tool to bring together students from lower and upper secondary schools through a shared love of writing, reading, and beauty. Over time, the community has become a safe place where people can open up, engage with one another, and grow both as writers and as human beings.
I believe that writing, and poetry in particular, is one of the most powerful weapons against violence (and today’s world is in great need of writing), because young people — especially those born and raised in urban peripheral areas, with high social vulnerability and low levels of education — often lack the means to express their discomfort, their anger, their sense of absence. And without mastery of words and language, many resort to violence. Today’s young people are not “ugly”; I assure you that poetry can be found in every one of them. It is the contexts in which they live that are ugly.
Q: In Sebastiano Paolo Mazzola’s project, poetry is not only writing, but also dialogue, guided reading of classic texts, and emotional growth. How important is it, in your opinion, to learn how to recognize and tell one’s emotions through words?
A: One of the main elements of poetry is listening, and today’s world is forgetting how to listen. And I am not speaking only of listening to others — an external form of listening — but above all of inner listening. Many young people often feel overwhelmed, swept away by their emotions, and defenseless in the face of them. One must learn to stay with one’s emotions, even when it is uncomfortable. Not to flee into noise, but to remain in silence.
Poetry helps greatly in this. A person who knows how to listen, and therefore also how to recognize their emotions, is less inclined to violence, as I mentioned earlier, and certainly more inclined to dialogue and sensitivity toward others. Those who write or read poetry also cultivate empathy, the ability to listen to themselves, the ability to manage their emotions, and the ability to communicate fully, openly, and harmoniously. Human relationships need all of this, and when it is missing, war is born — every kind of war.
Q: What kind of change or awareness do you hope young people will take with them when they join this community? What would you like them to learn about themselves and others?
A: Clearly, the community does not aim to train great poets or writers. I hope that poetry can become a companion in their lives, as it has become in mine. I hope poetry teaches them to look more closely at the world and at the people around them, to look them in the eyes and understand what they feel. I hope that through poetry they learn to know themselves better and to live their lives more intensely, always recognizing and showing the authentic beauty they hold within. I hope that, just as they find meaning in complex verses, they will also know how to find it in their own lives. And finally, I hope my community can be a small seed of humanity. Dostoevsky was right: beauty will truly save the world.
Q: Looking to the future, what are Sebastiano Paolo Mazzola’s wishes, as a poet and as the creator of this project? Where do you imagine poetry might lead you in the coming years?
A: As long as I am at my school, I will continue to keep the community alive and help it grow more and more. When I graduate, I am sure I will find someone who will take my place and manage the community even better than I have in the years to come. Beyond that, I do not dream of great achievements with my poetry. I do not know what life has in store for me, but I am certain that poetry will help me live every moment to the fullest.
