An avid reader from childhood, a hunter of lost books in second-hand bookstalls, Marco Zapparoli decided to devote himself to literature after discovering Memoirs of a Good-for-Nothing ( Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts) by Joseph von Eichendorff. He started frequenting the publishing industry by translating Novalis, Kleist and Durrenmatt. In 1981, at the age of 21, he founded Marcos y Marcos with Marco Franza. After a period of revival of the great writers of the past-including Toole, Vian, Fante and Lem - today Marcos y Marcos and Letteratura rinnovabile, a cultural association that promotes book and reading culture in inventive and original ways, including large collective events and workshops such as Letti di Notte and Booksound.