Antonio Porta (the pen-name of Leo Paolazzi) was an author and poet and one of the founders of the Italian literary movement Gruppo 63.

Biography

Antonio Porta was born Leo Paolazzi in Vicenza in 1935. In 1958, he became an editor of the literary magazine '' Il Verri'' under

Luciano Anceschi Luciano Anceschi (; February 20, 1911 in Milan – May 2, 1995 in Bologna) was an Italian literary critic and essayist. A pupil of Antonio Banfi, with whom he graduated in philosophy in 1933, he taught aesthetics at the Faculty of Humaniti ...

. During his time as an editor, he wrote a collection of poems to be included in the anthology ''I novissimi'' (1961), which included works by Elio Pagliarani,

Edoardo Sanguineti Edoardo Sanguineti (9 December 1930 – 18 May 2010) was a Genoese poet, writer and academic, universally considered one of the major Italian authors of the second half of the twentieth century. Biography During the 1960s he was a leader of th ...

, Alfredo Giuliani, and

Nanni Balestrini Nanni Balestrini (2 July 1935 – 19 May 2019) was an Italian experimental poet, author and visual artist of the Neoavanguardia movement. Context Nanni Balestrini is associated with the Italian writers' movement Neoavanguardia. He wrote for ...

Gruppo 63

From his experience with ''Il verri'', Porta began collaborating with an

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

Italian movement called ''Gruppo 63''. While working to develop their ideas, he travelled to the conventions they held in Palermo, Reggio Emilia,

La Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

, and

Fano Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the '' Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by po ...

. From 1963 to 1967, Porta was actively involved in the editing of another avant-garde magazine ''Malebolge'' from Reggio Emilia. In these years he also began working in visual poetry, participating in exhibitions in

Padova Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

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 ...

, and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. His work that is most associated with this period is ''Zero'' (1963).

Later career

He contributed as a literary critic for renowned Italian newspapers such as '' Il Corriere della Sera'' and '' Il Giorno'' and collaborated on '' Tuttolibri'', ''Panorama'', and '' L'Europeo''. He was the director and active editor of the monthly ''

Alfabeta ''alfabeta'' was a monthly cultural and literary magazine published between 1979 and 1988 in Milan, Italy. The magazine was the cultural landmark in the country during its existence. History and profile ''alfabeta'' was established in Milan by N ...

'' and '' La Gola''. From 1982 to 1988, he taught at the D'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara, then at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...

, the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

, and the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

Bibliography

* ''Calendario'', Schwartz, Milan, 1956, under the pen name Leo Paolazzi * ''La palpebra rovesciata'', Azimuth, Milan, 1960 * ''I novissimi'', il verri edition, Milan, 1961 * ''Zero'', numbered edition, in proprio, Milan, 1963 * ''Aprire'', poems, All'Insegna del Pesce d'Oro, Milan, 1964 * ''I rapporti'', poems, Feltrinelli Editore, Milan, 1966 * ''Partita'', novel, Feltrinelli Editore, Milan, 1967 * ''Cara'', poems, Feltrinelli Editore, Milan, 1969 * ''Metropolis'', poems, Feltrinelli Editore, Milan, 1971 (finalist for the

Viareggio Prize The Viareggio Prize ( it, Premio Viareggio, italic=no or ) is an Italian literary prize, first awarded in 1930. Named after the Tuscan city of Viareggio, it was conceived by three friends, , Carlo Salsa and Leonida Rèpaci, to rival the Milanes ...

). * ''Week-end'', poems, Cooperativa Scrittori Editrice, Rome 1974 * ''La presa di potere di Ivan lo sciocco'', play, Einaudi Editore,

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, 1974 * ''Quanto ho da dirvi'', collection of all his poetry from 1958 to 1975, Feltrinelli Editore, Milano, 1977 * ''Il re del magazzino'', novel,

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...

, Milan, 1978 * ''Pin Pidìn'', poems of today for kids (with Giovanni Raboni), Feltrinelli Editore, Milan,1978. * ''Passi Passaggi'', poems, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1980 (winner of the " Val di Comino " award, finalist for the D'Annunzio Prize) * ''Se fosse tutto un tradimento'', short story, Guanda Editore, Milan, 1981 * ''L'aria della fine'', poems, Lunarionuovo, Catania, 1982 (winner of Gandovere Prize - Franciacorta) * ''Emilio'', small poems for children, Emme Edizioni, Milan, 1982 * ''La poesia che dice no'', film for TV (RAI,

Rai Tre Rai 3 (formerly Rete 3) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural and ...

, directed by Gianni Jannelli) La Spezia, 1983 * ''Invasioni'', poems, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1984 (winner of the

, and Città di Latina Prize) * ''Nel fare poesia'', anthologia with an introduction on his method of writing, Sansoni, Florence, 1985 * ''La stangata persiana'', play, Corpo 10, Milan, 1985 * ''La festa del cavallo'', play, Corpo 10, Milan, 1986 * ''Melusina, una ballata e diario'', Crocetti Editore, Milan, 1987 * ''Il giardiniere contro il becchino'', Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1988 (winner of the Carducci Prize, the Acireale Prize, and the Stefanile Prize) * ''Partorire in chiesa'', short story, Libri Scheiwiller, Milan, 1990 * ''Il Progetto Infinito'', edited by Giovanni Raboni, Quaderni Pier Paolo Pasolini, Rome, 1991 (distributed by Garzanti) * ''Los(t) angeles'', unedited novel, Vallecchi Editore, Florence, 1996 * ''Poesie 1956-1988'' edited by Niva Lorenzini,

Oscar Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...

, Milan, 1998 * ''Yellow'', unedited poems, edited by Niva Lorenzini, Mondadori, Milan, 2002 * ''Tutte le poesie'', edited by Niva Lorenzini, Garzanti, Milan, 2009 * ''La scomparsa del corpo'', collection of all his short novels, Manni Editori, Lecce, 2010 * ''Piercing the Page: Selected Poems 1958-1989", Edited with an introduction by Gian Maria Annovi and an essay by

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of th ...

, Otis - Seismicity, Los Angeles, 2012''

External links

* Comune (municipality) of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, 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 1 ...

information for a convention on Antonio Port
Video clip of the poem ''Devo finire un sogno'' su videopoesia - http://vimeo.com/1143854
*Piercing the Pag

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porta, Antonio 1935 births 1989 deaths Italian dramatists and playwrights Italian male poets People from Vicenza Gruppo 63 20th-century Italian poets 20th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights Italian male dramatists and playwrights Academic staff of the D'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara Yale University faculty Academic staff of the University of Pavia Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome Academic staff of the University of Bologna 20th-century Italian male writers