Mario Stefani (1938 – 4 March 2001) was an Italian poet. Stefani was openly gay, and his poetry was some of the first Italian poetry to explore homosexuality. A selection of his poetry was translated into English by Anthony Reid and published in 1982 as ''No Other Gods''. Alongside his poetry, Stefani taught classes in literature and wrote literary and art reviews. He also presented a popular unscripted television show. In 2001,

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

began appearing around Venice, featuring a quote of Stefani's: "Loneliness is not being alone; it's loving others to no avail". A month later, Stefani hanged himself in his kitchen. His $1 million estate was left to a fruit vendor whose young daughter had inspired his work. Details of his life were retold in

John Berendt John Berendt (born December 5, 1939) is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'', which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. Biography Ber ...

's 2005 book '' The City of Falling Angels''.

References

1938 births 2001 deaths 2001 suicides Italian male poets Italian LGBT poets Italian gay writers 20th-century Italian poets 20th-century Italian male writers Suicides by hanging in Italy 20th-century Italian LGBT people Gay poets {{Italy-poet-stub