Alfonso Gatto (17 July 1909 – 8 March 1976) was an Italian writer. Along with

Giuseppe Ungaretti Giuseppe Ungaretti (; 8 February 1888 – 2 June 1970) was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic, academic, and recipient of the inaugural 1970 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. A leading representative of the experim ...

and

Eugenio Montale Eugenio Montale (; 12 October 1896 – 12 September 1981) was an Italian poet, prose writer, editor and translator, and recipient of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Literature. Life and works Early years Montale was born in Genoa. His family were che ...

, he is one of the foremost Italian poets of the 20th century and a major exponent of hermetic poetry.

Biography

Gatto studied at the

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

classic

lycaeum The Lyceum ( grc, Λύκειον, Lykeion) was a temple dedicated to Apollo Lyceus ("Apollo the wolf-god"). It was best known for the Peripatetic school of philosophy founded there by Aristotle in 334 BC. Aristotle fled Athens in 323 BC, and ...

, where he discovered his passion for poetry and literature. In 1926 he attended the

University of Naples Federico II The University of Naples Federico II ( it, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II) is a public university in Naples, Italy. Founded in 1224, it is the oldest public non-sectarian university in the world, and is now organized into 26 depar ...

, but he had to discontinue his studies due to financial problems. Like many Italian poets of his age, such as

and

Salvatore Quasimodo Salvatore Quasimodo (; August 20, 1901 – June 14, 1968) was an Italian poet and translator. In 1959, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own time ...

, he never graduated. Gatto fell in love with Jole, the daughter of his mathematics teacher, and at the age of 21, he eloped with her to

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. He worked many different jobs: bookshop assistant, college instructor,

proofreader Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication. Professional Traditional m ...

, journalist, and teacher. In 1936, due to his

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

activism, he was arrested and jailed at the San Vittore prison in

. During those years, Gatto had been a contributor to various innovative journals and

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

of the Italian literary culture. In 1938 he founded the magazine ''

Campo di Marte Firenze Campo di Marte (or, simply, Firenze Campo Marte) is the third railway station of Florence and the eighth station of Tuscany and the biggest station in south Florence. The station is mostly used by commuters going to Florence coming from t ...

'' together with writer

Vasco Pratolini Vasco Pratolini (19 October 1913 – 12 January 1991) was an Italian writer of the 20th century. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times. Biography Born in Florence, Pratolini worked at various jobs before entering the li ...

and commissioned by Italian publisher Vallecchi, but it only lasted a year. It had been created as a fortnightly magazine (first issued on 1 August 1938) and with the specific remit of educating the public in the artistic and literary production of all

genres Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

. The magazine was directly connected with the so-called Florentine

Hermeticism Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical system that is primarily based on the purported teachings of Hermes Trismegistus (a legendary Hellenistic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth). These teachings are containe ...

. Founding the magazine was a significant experience for Gatto, who was able to enter the leading literary circles. In 1941 Gatto was appointed professor of

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italian people, Italians or in Languages of Italy, other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely re ...

for "high merits", at the Art School of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, and a special correspondent for the newspaper ''

L'Unità ''l'Unità'' (, lit. 'the Unity') was an Italian newspaper, founded as the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1924. It was supportive of that party's successor parties, the Democratic Party of the Left, Democrats of the ...

'', thus being placed in a primary position for the promotion of literature of communist inspiration. Subsequently, Gatto abandoned the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...

and became a ''dissident'' communist. Gatto died in a car accident on 8 March 1976 at Capalbio in the province of

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the m ...

. He is buried in the cemetery of

and on his tomb (which has a boulder as its tombstone) is engraved his friend

Montale Montale is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pistoia in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about east of Pistoia. Montale borders the following municipalities: Agliana, Cantagallo, Montemurlo, Pis ...

's funeral farewell:

Poetics

Alfonso Gatto was one of the most important and active exponents of ''

''. Not much is known about Gatto's first years in Salerno, which surely must have had a determinant role in his cultural background, and little is known also of his first readings, his first literary meetings, and his friends. However, the publication of his first book of poems in 1932, entitled ''Isola'' ("Island"), was highly welcomed as a truly new lyrical voice. When

published in the same year his '' Sentimento del tempo'' ("The Feeling of Time", 1933), he included Gatto in a relevant chapter, notwithstanding the latter's very recent arrival on the literary scene. With ''Isola'', Gatto commenced his poetical existence, which concluded with his tragic death forty-four years later. ''Isola'' represents a decisive text for the construction of a hermetic grammar which will be defined by the poet himself, as a quest for a "natural absoluteness". His language is rarefied and timeless, allusive, and typical of a

poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...

of "absence" and empty space, rich in melodic motives. These will be the main elements of all of Gatto's output: these elements, in fact so distant from traditional models, are found in all his poems until 1939 and will gradually pass from familiar themes and landscape visions from youth, to a new phase, before and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, which opens with his ''Arie e motivi'' ("Arias and motifs") and culminates with ''Poesie d'amore'' ("Love poems").

The motif of love

Gatto's motif of love is sung in all possible manners and to all possible directions and, even if with classicist tones, never loses the phonic value of words, as they become their own moment of suggestion. In the period between 1940 and 1941 the poet revised his previous poems – which will later be included in a collection published in 1941 under the title ''Poesie'' ("Poems") – and they will not undergo changes until 1961 when, by giving them a better chronological and inspirational order in a new volume, will achieve Gatto's greatest lyricism. One of the most vivid images of modern

Italian poetry Italian poetry is a category of Italian literature. Italian poetry has its origins in the thirteenth century and has heavily influenced the poetic traditions of many European languages, including that of English. Features * Italian prosody is a ...

can be found in his poem ''Oblio'', where the poet expresses the joy of life he feels, and which becomes memory and celebration: :''Tutto si calma di memoria e resta'' :''il confine più dolce della terra,'' :''una lontana cupola di festa'' In these verses one can detect a disappearing of strict analogy, part of Gatto's first books, and in his ''Amore della vita'' ("Love of Life") of 1944, he will succeed in conveying a rare vigour to a rhetorical moment dedicated to the

Italian Resistance The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

. As a matter of fact, Gatto adhered to the poetry of

Italian resistance The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

, moved by the Italians' civil and political spirit, and in his subsequent collection of poetry, ''Il capo sulla neve'' ("The head in the snow"), he will create forceful and emotional words for the " Martyrs of the Resistance", expressing them in poems of deep meditation and poignant immediacy. Gatto is thus a poet of nature and instinct, who continuously reinvigorates his poetic form and narrative structure, including in them a lyrical self-analysis and historical sense of participation. In reading his latest works – ''Rime di viaggio per la terra dipinta'' ("Rhymes for journeying in the painted land"), and ''Desinenze'' ("Declensions") – the latter published posthumously, the image lingers of a poet with a turbulent life, yet always happy to fix in memory all emotions, in a language rich of motifs and surprises.

Major works

English translations of Gatto's opus are very rare, mainly due to the difficulty in translating his hermetic language. Cf. anthologies in the bibliography below.

Poetry

*''Isola'' ("Island"),

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

1932 *''Morto ai paesi'' ("Dead to the villages"),

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

1937 *''Poesie'' ("Poems"),

1939, new edition

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

1943 *''L'allodola'' ("Skylark"), Milan 1943 *''La spiaggia dei poveri'' ("The beach of poors"), Milan 1944 *''Arie e motivi'' ("Arias and motifs"), Milan 1944 *''La spiaggia dei poveri'' ("The beach of poors"), Milan 1944, new ed.

1996 *''Il sigaro di fuoco. Poesie per bambini'' ("The cigar of fire. Poems for children"), Milan 1945 *''Il capo sulla neve'' ("Head in the snow"), Milan 1947 *''Nuove poesie 1941–49'', Milan 1949 *''La forza degli occhi'' ("Force in the eyes"), Milan 1954 *''La madre e la morte'' ("Mother and death"), Galatina 1959 *''Poesie 1929–41'', Milan 1961 *''Osteria flegrea'', Milan 1962 *''Il vaporetto. Poesie, fiabe, rime, ballate per i bambini di ogni età'' ("The Ferryboat. Poems, fairy tales, rhymes, ballads for children of all ages"), Milan 1963, new eds. Salerno 1994 & Milan 2001 *''La storia delle vittime'' ("Story of the victims"), Milan 1966 *''Rime di viaggio per la terra dipinta'' ("Rhymes for journeying in the painted land"), Milan 1969 *''Poesie 1929–69'', Milan 1972 *''Poesie d'amore'' ("Love poems"), Milan 1973 *''Lapide 1975 ed altre cose'', Genoa 1976 *''Desinenze'' ("Declensions"), Milan 1977 *''Poesie'' ("Poems"), Milan 1998 *''Tutte le poesie'' ("All poems"), Milan 2005

Prose

*''La sposa bambina'' ("The child bride"), Florence 1944, new eds. Florence 1963 & Salerno 1994 *''La coda di paglia'' ("Tail of straw"), Milan 1948, new ed. Salerno 1995 *''Carlomagno nella grotta. Questioni meridionali'' ("

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

in the grotto. Southern questions"), Milan 1962, new ed. Florence 1974 (as ''Napoli N.N.'') & Salerno 1993 * ("Small hours"), Salerno 1975 *''Parole a un pubblico immaginario e altre prose'' ("Words to an imaginary public and other writings"), Pistoia 1996 *''Il signor Mezzogiorno'', Naples 1996 *''Il pallone rosso di Golia. Prose disperse e rare e l'inedito "Bagaglio presso"'', Milan 1997 *''L'aria e altre prose'', Pistoia 2000 *''Diario d'un poeta'' ("A poet's diary"), Naples 2001 *''La pecora nera'' ("The black sheep"), Naples 2001 *''La palla al balzo – un poeta allo stadio'' ("Catching the ball – A poet at the stadium"), Limina 2006

Theatre

*''Il duello'' ("The duel"), Milan 1944, new ed. Salerno 1995

Filmography

Alfonso Gatto also appeared in various films. In ''

The Sun Still Rises ''The Sun Still Rises'' (Italian: ''Il sole sorge ancora'') also known as ''Outcry'' is a 1946 Italian neorealist war-drama film directed by Aldo Vergano and starring Elli Parvo, Massimo Serato and Lea Padovani. It was one of two films produced ...

'' (1946) by

Aldo Vergano Aldo Vergano (1891–1957) was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. He was the father of actress Serena Vergano. Biography Born in Rome, was son of Sebastiano Lodovico Vergano and Eleonora Zuddas. Vergano was the co-founder with ...

he was a train conductor. Other roles he had in two films by

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...

: in '' Il Vangelo secondo Matteo'' (1964) he was the apostle

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

, in ''

Teorema ''Teorema'', also known as ''Theorem'' ( UK), is a 1968 Italian allegorical film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini and starring Terence Stamp, Laura Betti, Silvana Mangano, Massimo Girotti and Anne Wiazemsky. Pasolini's sixth film, it ...

'' (1968) he was a physician. He also appeared in ''Cadaveri eccellenti'' (

Illustrious Corpses ''Illustrious Corpses'' ( it, Cadaveri eccellenti) is a 1976 Italian-French thriller film directed by Francesco Rosi and starring Lino Ventura, based on the novel ''Equal Danger'' by Leonardo Sciascia (1971). The film was screened at the 1976 ...

) (1976) by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director. His film ''The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, often appeared to ha ...

where he was Nocio and in ''

Caro Michele ''Caro Michele'' is a 1976 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli. It was entered into the 26th Berlin International Film Festival, where Monicelli won the Silver Bear for Best Director. Cast * Mariangela Melato as Mara Castorelli ...

'' (1976), by

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the ''Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and was awa ...

, from the novel by

Natalia Ginzburg Natalia Ginzburg (, ; ; 14 July 1916 – 7 October 1991) was an Italian author whose work explored family relationships, politics during and after the Fascist years and World War II, and philosophy. She wrote novels, short stories and essays, fo ...

, where he interpreted Michele's father.

Notes

Bibliography

* P. Hainsworth, David Robey, eds., ''The Oxford Companion to Italian Literature'', "Alfonso Gatto", OUP Oxford (2002) * E. O'Ceallachain, ''Twentieth-century Italian Poetry: A Critical Anthology (1900 to the Neo-avantgarde)'', Troubador Publishing (2007) * ''Alfonso GATTO. Centenario 1909–2009'

a poetry presentation by the

Italian Cultural Institute The Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the Italian Cultural Institute in English, is a worldwide non-profit organization created by the Italian government. It promotes Italian culture and is involved in the teaching of the Italian language. The creati ...

of San Francisco, 2010 * Barbara Carle
''Poiein and Pictura in Alfonso Gatto’s "Rime di viaggio per la terra dipinta"''
on Journal ''ITALICA'', Vol.83, Nos.3–4 (2006). Retrieved 1 June 2011 * C. Muscetta, ''Pace e guerra nella poesia contemporanea: Da Alfonso Gatto a

Umberto Saba Umberto Saba (9 March 1883 – 26 August 1957) was an Italian poet and novelist, born Umberto Poli in the cosmopolitan Mediterranean port of Trieste when it was the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Poli assumed the pen name " ...

'', Bonacci (1984) * S. Ramat, "Alfonso Gatto", in ''Dizionario critico della letteratura italiana'', vol. 2, 1986 * R. Aymone, ''L'età delle rose'' (1982) * B. Carle, "Viaggio attraverso le ''Rime'' di Alfonso Gatto: i sonetti", in ''Letteratura e Oltre, Studi in onore di Giorgio Baroni'', Fabrizio Serra Ed., 2012, pp. 578–582.

External links

''Il poeta dal canto fioco''
article by G. Langella. Retrieved 31 May 2011
Timeline for Alfonso Gatto
on ''Google''. Retrieved 31 May 2011
Images of Alfonso Gatto
on ''Google''. Retrieved 31 May 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gatto, Alfonso 1909 births 1976 deaths People from Salerno Italian male poets Italian literary critics Italian dramatists and playwrights Italian anti-fascists Viareggio Prize winners Italian Communist Party politicians 20th-century Italian politicians Road incident deaths in Italy 20th-century Italian novelists 20th-century Italian male writers 20th-century Italian poets 20th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights Italian male novelists Italian male dramatists and playwrights Italian male non-fiction writers Italian magazine founders