Giovanni Papini (9 January 18818 July 1956) was an Italian journalist, essayist, novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. A controversial literary figure of the early and mid-twentieth century, he was the earliest and most enthusiastic representative and promoter of Italian

pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. ...

. Papini was admired for his writing style and engaged in heated

polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

s. Involved with

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 ...

movements such as

futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...

and post-decadentism, he moved from one political and philosophical position to another, always dissatisfied and uneasy: he converted from

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

and

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and went from convinced interventionism – before 1915 – to an aversion to war. In the 1930s, after moving from

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...

conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, he finally became a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

, while maintaining an aversion to

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. As one of the founders of the journals ''

Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

'' (1903) and ''

Lacerba ''Lacerba'' was an Italian literary journal based in Florence closely associated with the Futurist movement. It published many Futurist manifestos by Filippo Marinetti, Antonio Sant'Elia, and others. The magazine was started as a fortnightly ...

'' (1913), he conceived literature as "action" and gave his writings an oratory and irreverent tone. Though self-educated, he was an influential iconoclastic editor and writer, with a leading role in

Italian futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...

and the early literary movements of youth. Working in Florence, he actively participated in foreign literary philosophical and political movements such as the French

intuitionism In the philosophy of mathematics, intuitionism, or neointuitionism (opposed to preintuitionism), is an approach where mathematics is considered to be purely the result of the constructive mental activity of humans rather than the discovery of fu ...

Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

and the

Anglo-America Anglo-America most often refers to a region in the Americas in which English is the main language and British culture and the British Empire have had significant historical, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural impact."Anglo-America", vol. 1, Micro ...

of Peirce and

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. Promoting the development of Italian culture and life with an individualistic and dreamy conception of life and art, he acted as a spokesman in

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

religious beliefs. Papini's literary success began with "''Il Crepuscolo dei Filosofi''" ("The Twilight of the Philosophers"), published in 1906, and his 1913 publication of his auto-biographical novel ''Un Uomo Finito'' ("A finished man"). Due to his ideological choices, Papini's work was almost forgotten after his death, although it was later re-evaluated and appreciated again: in 1975, the Argentine writer

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

called him an "undeservedly forgotten" author.

Early life

Born in

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 ...

as the son of a modest furniture retailer (and former member of

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

's Redshirts) from Borgo degli Albizi, Papini was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

in secret by his mother to avoid the aggressive anti-clericalism of his father. Almost entirely self-educated, he never received an official university degree, and his highest level of education was a teaching certificate. Papini had a rustic, lonesome childhood. He felt a strong aversion to all beliefs, to all churches, as well as to any form of servitude (which he saw as connected to

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

); he became enchanted with the idea of writing an

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

wherein all cultures would be summarized. Trained at the ''Istituto di Studi Superiori'' (1900–2), he taught for a year in the Anglo-Italian school and then was librarian at the Museum of Anthropology from 1902 to 1904. The literary life attracted Papini, who in 1903 founded the magazine ''Il Leonardo'', to which he contributed articles under the pseudonym of "Gian Falco." His collaborators included

Giuseppe Prezzolini Giuseppe Prezzolini (27 January 1882 – 16 July 1982) was an Italian literary critic, journalist, editor and writer. He later became an American citizen. Biography Prezzolini was born in Perugia in January 1882, to Tuscan parents from Siena, Luig ...

, Borgese, Vailati, Costetti and Calderoni. Through Leonardo's Papini and his contributors introduced in Italy important thinkers such as Kierkegaard, Peirce, Nietzsche, Santayana and Poincaré. He would later join the staff of ''Il Regno'', a nationalist publication directed by

Enrico Corradini Enrico Corradini (20 July 1865 – 10 December 1931) was an Italian novelist, essayist, journalist and nationalist political figure. Biography Corradini was born near Montelupo Fiorentino, Tuscany. A follower of Gabriele D'Annunzio, he founded ...

, who formed the ''Associazione Nazionalistica Italiana'', to support his country colonial expansionism. Papini met

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

and

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson

, who greatly influenced his early works. He started publishing short-stories and essays: in 1906, "''Il Tragico Quotidiano''" ("Everyday Tragic"), in 1907 "''Il Pilota Cieco''" ("The Blind Pilot") and "''Il Crepuscolo dei Filosofi''" ("The Twilight of the Philosophers"). The latter constituted a

with established and diverse intellectual figures, such as

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...

Auguste Comte Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense ...

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest" ...

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...

, and

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

. Papini proclaimed the death of philosophy and the demolition of thinking itself. He briefly flirted with

Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...

and other violent and liberating forms of

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

In 1907 Papini married Giacinta Giovagnoli; the couple had two daughters, Viola and Gioconda.

Before and during World War I

After leaving ''Il Leonardo'' in 1907, Giovanni Papini founded several other magazines. First he published ''La Voce'' in 1908, then ''L'Anima'' together with

Giovanni Amendola Giovanni Amendola (15 April 1882 – 7 April 1926) was an Italian journalist, professor and politician, noted as an opponent of Italian Fascism. Biography Early life and education Amendola was born in Naples on 15 April 1882. He moved to Rome, ...

and Prezzolini. In 1913 (right before Italy's entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

) he started ''Lacerba'' (1913–15). From three years Papini was correspondent for the ''Mercure de France'' and later literary critic for ''La Nazione''. About 1918 he created yet another review, ''La Vraie Italie'', with

Ardengo Soffici Ardengo Soffici (7 April 1879 – 19 August 1964) was an Italian writer, painter, poet, sculptor and intellectual. Early life Soffici was born in Rignano sull'Arno, near Florence. In 1893 his family moved to the latter city, where he stud ...

. Other books came from his pen. His ''Parole e Sangue'' ("Words and Blood") showed his fundamental atheism. Furthermore, Papini sought to create scandal by speculating that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and

John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee a ...

had a

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

relationship. In

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

he published his best-known work, the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

''Un Uomo Finito'' ("The Failure"). In his 1915 collection of poetic prose ''Cento Pagine di Poesia'' (followed by ''Buffonate'', ''Maschilità'', and ''Stroncature''), Papini placed himself face-to-face with

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

, but also contemporaries such as

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce (; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a lib ...

and

Giovanni Gentile Giovanni Gentile (; 30 May 1875 – 15 April 1944) was an Italian neo-Hegelian idealist philosopher, educator, and fascist politician. The self-styled "philosopher of Fascism", he was influential in providing an intellectual foundation for I ...

, and less prominent disciples of Gabriele D'Annunzio. A critic wrote of him:

Giovanni Papini ..is one of the finest minds in the Italy of today. He is an excellent representative of modernity's restless search for truth, and his work exhibits a refreshing independence founded, not like so much so-called independence, upon ignorance of the past, but upon a study and understanding of it.

He published verse in 1917, grouped under the title ''Opera Prima''. In

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

, Papini announced his newly found

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, publishing his '' Storia di Cristo'' ("The Story of Christ"), a book which has been translated into twenty-three languages and has had a worldwide success. After further verse works, he published the

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

'' Gog'' (

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

) and the essay ''Dante Vivo'' ("Living Dante", or "If Dante Were Alive"; 1933). Caricature of G

World War II and collaborations with Fascism

He became a teacher at 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 continuo ...

in 1935, when the Fascist authorities confirmed Papini's "''impeccable reputation''" through the appointment. In 1937, Papini published the only volume of his ''History of Italian Literature'', which he dedicated to

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

: "''to

Il Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 1925 ...

, friend of poetry and of the poets''", being awarded top positions in

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, especially in the study of

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

. In 1940 Papini's ''Storia della Letteratura Italiana'' was published in Nazi Germany with the title ''Eternal Italy: The Great in its Empire of Letters'' (in German: ''Ewiges Italien – Die Großen im Reich seiner Dichtung''). Papini was the vice president of the ''Europäische Schriftstellervereinigung'' (i.e. ''European Writers' League''), which was founded by

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

in 1941/42. When the Fascist regime crumbled in 1943, Papini entered a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

La Verna La Verna ( la, Alverna is a locality on Mount Penna ( it, Monte Penna), an isolated mountain of situated in the centre of the Tuscan Apennines, rising above the valley of the Casentino, central Italy. The place is known especially for its ass ...

, under the name "Fra' Bonaventura".

Final years

Largely discredited at the end of

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 ...

, Papini was defended by the Catholic

political right Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, auth ...

. His work concentrated on different subjects, including a biography of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, while he continued to publish dark and tragic essays. He collaborated with ''

Corriere della Sera The ''Corriere della Sera'' (; en, "Evening Courier") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average daily circulation of 410,242 copies in December 2015. First published on 5 March 1876, ''Corriere della Sera'' is one of It ...

'', contributing articles that were published as a volume after his death. Papini had been suffering from progressive paralysis (due by

motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

) and was blind during the last years of his life. He died at the age of 75. According to art historian Richard Dorment,

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

's regime and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

used Papini's series of imaginary interviews (''Il Libro Nero'', 1951) as propaganda against

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, to dramatically undercut his pro-Communist image. In 1962, the artist asked his biographer

Pierre Daix Pierre Georges Daix (24 May 1922, Ivry-sur-Seine – 2 November 2014, Paris) was a French journalist, writer and art historian. He was a friend and biographer of Pablo Picasso. As a young man, Daix was an ardent Stalinist. He joined the French Co ...

, to expose the pretend interview, which he did in ''

Les Lettres Françaises ''Les Lettres Françaises'' (French language, French for "The French Letters") is a French literary publication, founded in 1941 by writers Jacques Decour and Jean Paulhan. Originally a clandestine magazine of the French Resistance in German occup ...

''. He was admired by

Bruno de Finetti Bruno de Finetti (13 June 1906 – 20 July 1985) was an Italian probabilist statistician and actuary, noted for the "operational subjective" conception of probability. The classic exposition of his distinctive theory is the 1937 "La prévision: ...

, founder of a subjective theory of probability, and

, who remarked that Papini had been "unjustly forgotten" and included some of his stories in the Library of Babel.

In popular culture

*Papini appears as a character in several poems of the period written by Mina Loy, who had an affair with him. *

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

wrote poem called "Reply to Papini." *Papini is repeatedly mentioned in speeches made by Colombian writer

Gabriel García Marquez In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

Publications

* ''La Teoria Psicologica della Previsione'' (1902). * ''Sentire Senza Agire e Agire Senza Sentire'' (1905). * ''Il Crepuscolo dei Filosofi'' (1906). * ''Il Tragico Quotidiano'' (1906). * ''La Coltura Italiana'' (with

, 1906). * ''Il Pilota Cieco'' (1907). * ''Le Memorie d'Iddio'' (1911). * ''L'Altra Metà'' (1911). * ''La Vita di Nessuno'' (1912). * ''Parole e Sangue'' (1912). * ''Un Uomo Finito'' (1913). * ''Ventiquattro Cervelli'' (1913). * ''Sul Pragmatismo: Saggi e Ricerche, 1903–1911'' (1913). * ''Almanacco Purgativo 1914'' (with

''et al''., 1913). * ''Buffonate'' (1914). * ''Vecchio e Nuovo Nazionalismo'' (with

, 1914). * ''Cento Pagine di Poesia'' (1915). * ''Maschilità'' (1915). * ''La Paga del Sabato'' (1915). * ''Stroncature'' (1916). * ''Opera Prima'' (1917). * ''Polemiche Religiose'' (1917). * ''Testimonianze'' (1918). * ''L'Uomo Carducci'' (1918). * ''L'Europa Occidentale Contro la Mittel-Europa'' (1918). * ''Chiudiamo le Scuole'' (1918). * ''Giorni di Festa'' (1918). * ''L'Esperienza Futurista'' (1919). * ''Poeti d'Oggi'' (with Pietro Pancrazi, 1920). * ''Storia di Cristo'' (1921). * ''Antologia della Poesia Religiosa Italiana'' (1923). * ''Dizionario dell'Omo Salvatico'' (with Domenico Giuliotti, 1923). * ''L'Anno Santo e le Quattro Paci'' (1925). * ''Pane e Vino'' (1926). * ''Gli Operai della Vigna'' (1929). * ''Sant'Agostino'' (1931). * ''Gog'' (1931). * ''La Scala di Giacobbe'' (1932). * ''Firenze'' (1932). * ''Il Sacco dell'Orco'' (1933). * ''Dante Vivo'' (1933). * ''Ardengo Soffici'' (1933). * ''La Pietra Infernale'' (1934). * ''Grandezze di Carducci'' (1935). * ''I Testimoni della Passione'' (1937). * ''Storia della Letteratura Italiana'' (1937). * ''Italia Mia'' (1939). * ''Figure Umane'' (1940). * ''Medardo Rosso'' (1940). * ''La Corona d'Argento'' (1941). * ''Mostra Personale'' (1941). * ''Prose di Cattolici Italiani d'Ogni Secolo'' (with

Giuseppe De Luca Giuseppe De Luca (25 December 1876 – 26 August 1950), was an Italian baritone who achieved his greatest triumphs at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He notably created roles in the world premieres of two operas by Giacomo Puccini: Sha ...

, 1941). * ''L'Imitazione del Padre. Saggi sul Rinascimento'' (1942). * ''Racconti di Gioventù'' (1943). * ''Cielo e Terra'' (1943). * ''Foglie della Foresta'' (1946). * ''Lettere agli Uomini di Papa Celestino VI'' (1946). * ''Primo Conti'' (1947). * ''Santi e Poeti'' (1948). * ''Passato Remoto'' (1948). * ''Vita di Michelangiolo'' (1949). * ''Le Pazzie del Poeta'' (1950). * ''Firenze Fiore del Mondo'' (with

, Piero Bargellini and Spadolini, 1950). * ''Il Libro Nero'' (1951). * ''Il Diavolo'' (1953). * ''Il Bel Viaggio'' (with Enzo Palmeri, 1954). * ''Concerto Fantastico'' (1954). * ''Strane Storie'' (1954). * ''La Spia del Mondo'' (1955). * ''La Loggia dei Busti'' (1955). * ''Le Felicità dell'Infelice'' (1956). Posthumous * ''L'Aurora della Letteratura Italiana: Da Jacopone da Todi a Franco Sacchetti'' (1956). * ''Il Muro dei Gelsomini: Ricordi di Fanciullezza'' (1957). * ''Giudizio Universale'' (1957). * ''La Seconda Nascita'' (1958). * ''Dichiarazione al Tipografo'' (1958). * ''Città Felicità'' (1960). * ''Diario'' (1962). * ''Schegge'' (Articles published in ''Corriere della Sera'', 1971). * ''Rapporto sugli Uomini'' (1978).

Collected works

* ''Tutte le Opere di Giovanni Papini'', 11 vols. Milan: Mondadori (1958–66).

Works in English translation

''Four and Twenty Minds.''
New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1922.
''The Story of Christ.''
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1923 [Rep. a
''Life of Christ.''
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1923]. * ''The Failure''. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1924 [Rep. as ''A Man-Finished''. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1924]. * ''The Memoirs of God.'' Boston: The Ball Publishing Co., 1926. * ''A Hymn to Intelligence.'' Pittsburgh: The Laboratory Press, 1928.
''A Prayer for Fools, Particularly Those we See in Art Galleries, Drawing-rooms and Theatres.''
Pittsburgh: The Laboratory Press, 1929. * ''Laborers in the Vineyard.'' London: Sheed & Ward, 1930. * ''Life and Myself'', translated by Dorothy Emmrich. New York: Brentano's, 1930. * ''Saint Augustine''. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1930. * ''Gog,'' translated by Mary Prichard Agnetti. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1931.
''Dante Vivo.''
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1935.
''The Letters of Pope Celestine VI to All Mankind.''
New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1948. * ''Florence: Flower of the World''. Firenze: L'Arco, 1952 [with

and Piero Bargellini]. * ''Michelangelo, his Life and his Era''. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1952. * ''The Devil; Notes for Future Diabology.'' New York: E.P. Dutton, 1954 [London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1955]. * ''Nietzsche: An Essay.'' Mount Pleasant, Mich.: Enigma Press, 1966. * "The Circle is Closing." In: Lawrence Rainey (ed.), ''Futurism: An Anthology,'' Yale University Press, 2009.

Selected articles

"Philosophy in Italy,"
''The Monist'' 8 (4), July 1903, pp. 553–585.
"What Pragmatism is Like,"
''Popular Science Monthly,'' Vol. LXXI, October 1907, pp. 351–358.
"The Historical Play,"
''The Little Review'' 6 (2), pp. 49–51.
"Ignoto,"
''The New Age'' 26 (6), 1919, p. 95.
"Buddha,"
''The New Age'' 26 (13), 1920, pp. 200–201.
"Rudolph Eucken"
''The Open Court,'' 38 (5), May 1924, pp. 257–261.

Short stories

"The Debt of a Day,"
''The International'' 9 (4), 1915, pp. 105–107.
"The Substitute Suicide,"
''The International'' 10 (5), 1916, pp. 148–149.
"Four-Hundred and Fifty-Three Love Letters,"
''The Stratford Journal'' 3 (1), 1918, pp. 9–12.
"The Beggar of Souls"
''The Stratford Journal'' 4, 1919, p. 59–64.
"Life: The Vanishing Mirror,"
''Vanity Fair'' 13 (6), 1920, p. 53.
"Don Juan's Lament,"
''Vanity Fair'' 13 (10), 1920, p. 43.
"An Adventure in Introspection,"
''Vanity Fair'' 13 (10), 1920, p. 65.
"Having to do with Love – and Memory,"
''Vanity Fair'' 14 (2), 1920, p. 69.
"For no Reason,"
''Vanity Fair'' 14 (3), 1920, pp. 71, 116.
"The Prophetic Portrait,"
''Vanity Fair'' 14 (4), 1920, p. 73.
"The Man who Lost Himself,"
''Vanity Fair'' 14 (5), 1920, p. 35.
"Hope,"
''Vanity Fair'' 14 (6), 1920, p. 57.
"The Magnanimous Suicide,"
''Vanity Fair'' 15 (1), 1920, p. 73.
"The Lost Day,"
''Vanity Fair'' 15 (3), 1920, pp. 79, 106.Rep. in ''Italian Short Stories from the 13th to the 20th Centuries''. With an introduction by Decio Pettoello. London: J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1932; ''The Copeland Translations; Mainly in Prose from French, German, Italian and Russian''. Chosen and arranged with an introduction. New York-London: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934.
"Two Faces in the Well,"
''Vanity Fair'' 15 (4), 1920, p. 41.
"Two Interviews with the Devil,"
''Vanity Fair'' 15 (5), 1921, pp. 59, 94.
"The Bartered Souls,"
''Vanity Fair'' 15 (6), 1921, p. 57.
"The Man Who Could Not be Emperor,"
''Vanity Fair'' 16 (1), 1921, p. 41.
"A Man Among Men — No More,"
''Vanity Fair'' 16 (2), 1921, p.
"His Own Jailer,"
''The Living Age,'' December 9, 1922. * "Pallas and the Centaur," ''Italian Literary Digest'' 1 (1), April 1947.

References

Notes Bibliography * Arnone, Vincenzo (2005). ''Papini, un Uomo Infinito''. Padova: Messaggero. * Berghaus, Günter (2000). ''International Futurism in Arts and Literature''. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. * Castaldini, Alberto (2006). ''Giovanni Papini: la Reazione alla Modernità''. Firenze: Leo S. Olschki. * Castelli, Eugenio & Julio Chiappini (1971). ''Diez Ensayos sobre Giovanni Papini''. Santa Fe, Argentina: Ediciones Colmegna. * Colella, E. Paul (2005). "Reflex Action and the Pragmatism of Giovanni Papini," ''The Journal of Speculative Philosophy'' 19 (3), pp. 187–215. * De Paulis-Dalembert, Maria Pia (2007). ''Giovanni Papini: Culture et Identité''. Toulouse: Presses de l'Université du Mirail. * Di Biase, Carmine (1999). ''Giovanni Papini. L'Anima Intera''. Napoli: Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane. * Di Giovanni, Antonino (2009). ''Giovanni Papini. Dalla Filosofia Dilettante al Diletto della Filosofia''. Roma-Acireale: Bonanno. * Fantino, Giuseppe (1981). ''Saggio su Papini''. Milano: Italia Letteraria. * Filippis, M. de (1944). "Giovanni Papini," ''The Modern Language Journal'' 28 (4), pp. 352–364. * Frangini, Giovanni (1982). ''Papini Vivo''. Palermo: Thule. * Fuente, Jaime de la (1970). ''Papini: Una Vida en Busca de la Verdad''. Madrid: E.P.E.S.A. * Gironella, José María (1958). "The Death and Judgment of Giovanni Papini," ''Modern Age'' 2 (3), pp. 240–250. * Fondi, Renato (1922). ''Un costruttore: Giovanni Papini''. Firenze: Vallecchi. * Giuliano, William P. (1946). "Spiritual Evolution of Giovanni Papini," ''Italica'' 23 (4), pp. 304–311. * Golino, Carlo L. (1955). "Giovanni Papini and American Pragmatism," ''Italica'' 32 (1), pp. 38–48. * Horia, Vintilă (1963). ''Giovanni Papini''. Paris: Wesmael-Charlier. * Invitto, Giovanni (1984). ''Un Contrasto Novecentesco: Giovanni Papini e la Filosofia''. Lecce: Ed. Milella. * * Phelps, Ruth Shepard (1923). "The Poet in Papini," ''The North American Review'', Vol. CCXVII, No. 811, pp. 834–843. * Phillips, Charles (1921)
"A Prophet in Italy,"
''Catholic World'', Vol. CIV, pp. 210–219. * Prezzolini, Giuseppe (1922)
"Giovanni Papini,"
''Broom'' 1 (3), pp. 239–248. * Prezzolini, Giuseppe (1915)
''Discorso su Giovanni Papini''
Firenze: Libreria Della Voce. * Riccio, Peter M. (1938)
"Giovanni Papini."
In: ''Italian Authors of Today''. New York: S.F. Vanni, Inc., pp. 87–96. * Richter, Mario (2005). ''Papini e Soffici: Mezzo Secolo di Vita Italiana (1903–1956)''. Florence: Le Lettere. * Ridolfi, Roberto (1957). ''Vita di Giovanni Papini''. Milano: A. Mondadori, 1957 (Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 1996). * Righi, Lorenzo (1981). ''Giovanni Papini Imperatore del Nulla: 1881–1981''. Firenze: Tip. Sbolci. * Waterfield, Lina (1921). "Giovanni Papini," ''The Living Age,'' No. 4016, pp. 788–789. * James, William (1906)
"G. Papini and the Pragmatist Movement in Italy,"
''The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods'' 3 (13), pp. 337–341. * Wilson, Lawrence A. (1961). "A Possible Original of Papini's Dottor Alberto Rego," ''Italica'' 38 (4), pp. 296–301. * Wohl, Robert (2009). ''The Generation of 1914''. Harvard University Press.

External links

* *
**Almost There**

''L'Anima'' Magazine, May 1911
*
A website about Giovanni Papini in Italian

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papini, Giovanni 1881 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Italian poets 20th-century essayists 20th-century male writers Christian fascists Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism Neurological disease deaths in Tuscany Deaths from motor neuron disease Futurist writers Italian Franciscans Italian Futurism Italian Nationalist Association Italian Roman Catholics Italian biographers Italian essayists Male essayists Italian fascists Journalists from Florence Italian literary critics Italian magazine founders Italian male journalists Italian male poets Italian memoirists Male biographers Members of the Royal Academy of Italy Writers from Florence Roman Catholic conspiracy theorists Roman Catholic writers 20th-century Italian journalists 20th-century memoirists Italian male non-fiction writers Italian conspiracy theorists University of Bologna faculty Pragmatists