Iginio (or Igino) Ugo Tarchetti (; 29 June 1839 – 25 March 1869) was an Italian author, poet, and journalist.

Life

Born in San Salvatore Monferrato, his military career was cut short by ill health, and in 1865 he settled in Milan. Here he entered literary study, becoming part of the

Scapigliatura ''Scapigliatura'' () is the name of an artistic movement that developed in Italy after the Risorgimento period (1815–71). The movement included poets, writers, musicians, painters and sculptors. The term Scapigliatura is the Italian equivalent of ...

, a literary movement animated by a spirit of rebellion against traditional culture. He worked on several newspapers and published a torrent of short stories, novels, and poems. He contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

and died in poverty at the age of 29. Tarchetti published his plagiarized translation of " The Mortal Immortal" (1833) by

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...

as "The Elixir of Immortality", with small but significant changes but without attribution. He also appropriated foreign texts in the Gothic tradition, such as works by E. T. A. Hoffmann,

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

and

Theophile Gautier Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (God) and φιλία (love or affection) can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend of God", i.e., it is a theoph ...

Lawrence Venuti Lawrence Venuti (born 1953) is an American translation theorist, translation historian, and a translator from Italian, French, and Catalan. Career Born in Philadelphia, Venuti graduated from Temple University. In 1980 he completed a Ph.D. in ...

, who discovered the antecedents of "Mortal Immortal" while translating Tarchetti's ''Fantastic Tales'', considers his appropriation as serving the social agenda of Scapigliatura. ''Fantastic Tales'' was the first ever translation of Tarchetti into English.

Works

*''Opere'', Cappelli, Bologna, 1967. *''Paolina'', Mursia, Milano, 1994. *''L'Amore Nell'Arte'', Passigli, Firenze, 1992. *''Racconti Fantastici + Racconti Vari'', Bompiani, Milano, 1993. Translated by

as ''Fantastic Tales'', Mercury House, San Francisco, 1992, , winner of

Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection The Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicat ...

. *''Una Nobile Follia'', Mondadori, Milano, 2004. *'' Fosca'', Mondadori, Milano, 1981. Translated by Lawrence Venuti as '' Passion: A Novel'' (Mercury House, 1994). at

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

Adaptations

''Fosca'', written in 1869, was the basis for Ettore Scola's 1981 film, '' Passione d'amore'', which in turn served as the basis for

James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', '' Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ...

and Stephen Sondheim's 1994 musical '' Passion''.

References

* Pireddu, Nicoletta. “Poe spoetizzato: l’esotismo tarchettiano,” in _Fantastico Poe_, ed. by R. Cagliero (Ombre Corte, 2004): 157-176.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarchetti, Iginio People from the Province of Alessandria 1839 births 1869 deaths Italian poets Italian male poets Italian journalists Italian male journalists Scapigliatura Movement 19th-century journalists 19th-century Italian poets 19th-century Italian male writers