Remo Ceserani (Soresina, Cremona, 1933 –) is one of Italy's most internationally renowned scholars and a leading figure in the field of Comparative Literature. After his graduation from the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, he taught at the Universities of Genoa and Pisa, and, until recently, at the University of Bologna where he was Professor of Comparative Literature. His longstanding and close professional relations with North America date back to the late 1950s when he attended the University of California at Berkeley as a visiting graduate student. Since then, Ceserani has been Visiting Professor at many leading universities, including Berkeley, Brown, Harvard, and Stanford. His many publications include Raccontare la letteratura (1990), Treni di carta (1993), Il fantastico (1996), Raccontare il postmoderno (1997) and Guida allo studio della letteratura (1999). Together with Lidia De Federicis, he is the author of a highly influential anthology of Italian Literature, Il materiale e l'immaginario (1979–95). More recently, he has been co-editor of a thematic dictionary of world literature, which is due to appear in 2007/08. The conversations which form the basis for this interview took place on two separate occasions, in May 2006 at the London conference 'Postmodern Impegno' and in September 2006 in Pontignano, near Siena, during the seventh annual gathering of Synapsis, the 'European School for Comparative Studies', of which Ceserani is a founding member.