"At Three in the Afternoon": A Poetic Dialogue Beyond Borders

ROME, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 5, the Italian Federation of Writers hosted a distinguished literary discussion titled "At Three in the Afternoon — The Global Resonance of a Deliveryman's Poem", at its intimate theater in Rome. Organized jointly with the Rome9 China- Italy economic and cultural Exchange Center and the Suzhou Foreign Cultural Exchange Promotion Association, the event brought Italian audiences into contact with contemporary Chinese poetry while providing a setting for cross-cultural literary exchange.   

At Three in the Afternoon is the signature poem of Wang Jibing, a deliveryman poet from Kunshan, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. At the session, Wang and his collaborator and translator, Martina Benigni, a doctoral student in Civilizations of Asia and Africa at Sapienza University of Rome, recounted the journey that connected them through this poem. Martina Benigni translated the work into Italian and published it in Internazionale, helping introduce the poem to Italian readers and sparking cross-cultural literary dialogue.  

Natale Antonio Rossi, President of the Italian Federation of Writers, stated that such gatherings allow literary enthusiasts from China and Italy to share insights and appreciate each other's cultural perspectives. The Federation plans to expand its collaboration with Chinese universities to foster continued literary engagement.

As a prominent voice in China's emerging grassroots poetry scene, Wang Jibing has written over 6,000 poems, which have been translated into several languages and published in five countries. He explained that At Three in the Afternoon captures a fleeting moment of relative calm in a delivery worker's demanding day. Since December last year, sharing sessions titled "At Three in the Afternoon — The Global Resonance of a Deliveryman's Poem" have been held at the Rome9 China- Italy economic and cultural Exchange Center and Liceo Mamiani di Pesaro.

In Kunshan, the city where Wang resides, the local government is developing the "At Three in the Afternoon • Walking with Light" initiative, a program supporting workers in emerging professions that draws inspiration from the poem's title.

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