Luciano Bianciardi (; 14 December 1922 – 14 November 1971) was an Italian journalist, translator and writer of short stories and novels. He contributed significantly to the cultural ferment in post-war Italy, working actively with various publishing houses, magazines and newspapers. His work is characterized by periods of rebellion against the cultural establishment, to which he also belonged, and by a careful analysis of social habits during

Italian economic miracle The Italian economic miracle or Italian economic boom ( it, il miracolo economico italiano) is the term used by historians, economists, and the mass media to designate the prolonged period of strong economic growth in Italy after the Second Worl ...

. He was the first Italian translator of

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

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Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only wr ...

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Henderson the Rain King ''Henderson the Rain King'' is a 1959 novel by Saul Bellow. The book's blend of philosophical discourse and comic adventure has helped make it one of his more popular works. The novel is said to be Bellow's favorite among his books. It was ranke ...

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John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

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Travels with Charley ''Travels with Charley: In Search of America'' is a 1962 travelogue written by American author John Steinbeck. It depicts a 1960 road trip around the United States made by Steinbeck, in the company of his standard poodle Charley. Steinbeck wrote ...

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Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

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The Ginger Man ''The Ginger Man'' is a novel, first published in Paris in 1955, by J. P. Donleavy. The story is set in Dublin, Ireland, in post-war 1947. Upon its publication, it was banned both in Ireland and the United States of America by reason of obsce ...

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'' and '' The Mansion''. Among the others, he also translated:

Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...

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The Red Badge of Courage ''The Red Badge of Courage'' is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Ove ...

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The Black Cloud ''The Black Cloud'' is a 1957 science fiction novel by British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle. It details the arrival of an enormous cloud of gas that enters the solar system and appears about to destroy most of the life on Earth by blocking the Sun ...

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The King Must Die ''The King Must Die'' is a 1958 bildungsroman and historical novel by Mary Renault that traces the early life and adventures of Theseus, a hero in Greek mythology. It is set in locations throughout Ancient Greece: Troizen, Corinth, Eleusis, A ...

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Irwin Shaw Irwin Shaw (February 27, 1913 – May 16, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: '' The Young Lions'' ...

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Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxley ...

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Richard Brautigan Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935 – c. September 16, 1984) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. A prolific writer, he wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four bo ...

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'' and ''Killing Time''.

Works

Novels

*'' Il lavoro culturale'' (Cultural Work), 1957. *'' L'integrazione'' (Integration), 1960. *''Da Quarto a Torino'' (From Quarto to Turin), 1960. *''

La vita agra ''La vita agra'', known in English-speaking countries as ''It's a Hard Life'', is a novel by Luciano Bianciardi published in 1962 by Rizzoli. It became a best-seller in Italy and it is considered one of the most important novels in contemporary ...

'' (It's a Hard Life), 1962. *''La battaglia soda'' (The Firm Battle), 1964. *''Dághela avanti un passo!'' (Come on, a Step Forward!), 1969. *''Aprire il fuoco'' (Open Fire), 1969. *''Garibaldi'' (Garibaldi), 1972.

English editions

*''La vita agra: or, It's a Hard Life'',

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...

, London, 1965; translation by

Eric Mosbacher Eric Mosbacher (22 December 1903 – 2 July 1998) was an English journalist and translator from Italian, French, German and Spanish. He translated work by Ignazio Silone and Sigmund Freud.'Eric Mosbacher', ''The Times'', 10 July 1998, p.25 Life ...

. *''La vita agra. It's a Hard Life'',

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

, New York, 1965; translation by Eric Mosbacher.

Essays

*''I minatori della Maremma'' (The Miners of the Maremma), with

Carlo Cassola Carlo Cassola (17 March 1917 – 29 January 1987) was an influential Italian novelist and essayist. His novel ''La Ragazza di Bube'' (1960), which received the Strega Prize, was adapted into a film of the same name by Luigi Comencini in 1963. ...

, 1956. *''Viaggio in Barberia'' (A Trip to Barbary), 1969.

Latter collections

Short stories

*''Il Peripatetico e altre storie'' (The Peripatetic and other stories), Rizzoli, 1976. *''La solita zuppa e altre storie'' (The Same Old Soup and other stories),

Bompiani Bompiani is an Italian publishing house based in Milan. It was founded in 1929 by Valentino Bompiani. In 1990, Bompiani became part of the RCS MediaGroup. It was sold in 2015 to the Giunti Group. It is widely regarded as one of the leading literar ...

, 1994.

Journalistic collections

*''Chiese escatollo e nessuno raddoppiò'', Baldini&Castoldi, 1995. *''L'alibi del progresso'', ExCogita, 2000. *''Un volo e una canzone'', ExCogita, 2002. *''Il fuorigioco mi sta antipatico'', Stampa Alternativa, 2006. *''Il convitato di vetro - "Telebianciardi"'', ExCogita, 2007. *''Non leggete i libri, fateveli raccontare. Sei lezioni per diventare un intellettuale dedicate in particolare ai giovani privi di talento'', Stampa Alternativa, 2008.

Complete works

* ''L'antimeridiano. Opere complete. Volume primo'', Isbn edizioni & exCogita, 2005. . * ''L'antimeridiano. Opere complete. Volume secondo'', Isbn edizioni & exCogita, 2007. .

Filmography

* ''

'' (1964) by

Carlo Lizzani Carlo Lizzani (3 April 1922 – 5 October 2013) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and critic. Biography Born in Rome, before World War II Lizzani worked as a scenarist on such films as Roberto Rossellini's '' Germany Year Zero' ...

, with

Ugo Tognazzi Ugo Tognazzi (23 March 1922 – 27 October 1990) was an Italian actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Tognazzi was born in Cremona, in northern Italy but spent his youth in various localities as his father was a travelling clerk fo ...

and

Giovanna Ralli Giovanna Ralli, (born 2 January 1935), is an Italian stage, film and television actress. Life and career Born in Rome, Ralli debuted as a child actress at 7; at 13 she made her theatrical debut, entering the stage company of Peppino De Filip ...

. * ''

Il merlo maschio ''Il merlo maschio'' (''The Male Blackbird''), known in the United Kingdom as ''The Naked Cello'' or ''Secret Fantasy'' in the United States, is an Italian film in the ''commedia sexy all'italiana'' style, and presents a theme of candaulism, th ...

'' (1971) by

Pasquale Festa Campanile Pasquale Festa Campanile (28 July 1927 – 25 February 1986) was an Italian screenwriter, film director and novelist, best known as a prominent exponent of the commedia all'italiana genre. Life and career Born at Melfi, in the province o ...

, with

Lando Buzzanca Gerlando "Lando" Buzzanca (24 August 1935 – 18 December 2022) was an Italian stage, film, and television actor whose career spanned 65 years. Life and career Early years Born in Palermo the son of a cinema projectionist, at 16 years old Buz ...

and

Laura Antonelli Laura Antonelli ( Antonaz; 28 November 1941 – 22 June 2015) was an Italian film actress who appeared in 45 films between 1964 and 1991. Early years Antonelli was born Laura Antonaz in Pola, Kingdom of Italy (in Croatian, Pula), former cap ...

Bibliography

*Irene Gambacorti, ''Luciano Bianciardi. Bibliografia (1948-1998)'', "Quaderni della Fondazione Luciano Bianciardi" 8, Florence, Studio Editoriale Fiorentino, 2001.

External links

Luciano Bianciardi's Translations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bianciardi, Luciano 1922 births 1971 deaths University of Pisa alumni People from Grosseto Italian librarians Italian male journalists Italian male short story writers 20th-century Italian translators 20th-century Italian novelists 20th-century Italian male writers Italian male novelists 20th-century Italian short story writers 20th-century Italian journalists