Maria Luisa Gabriella Epifani, better known as Muzi Epifani (March 18, 1935 – February 12, 1984), was an Italian writer and poet.

Biography

Muzi Epifani was born in Benghazi,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

. She studied literature and philosophy at the

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

and the University of Rome

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 ...

, where she obtained a degree in aesthetics under the supervision of Emilio Garroni. She was particularly influenced by the

Hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...

Hans-Georg Gadamer Hans-Georg Gadamer (; ; February 11, 1900 – March 13, 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition, best known for his 1960 ''magnum opus'', '' Truth and Method'' (''Wahrheit und Methode''), on hermeneutics. Life Family ...

and the anthropological thought of

Ernesto de Martino Ernesto de Martino (1 December 1908 – 9 May 1965) was an Italian anthropologist, philosopher and historian of religions. He studied with Benedetto Croce and Adolfo Omodeo, and did field research with Diego Carpitella into the funeral rituals o ...

, whose missions she worked on in

Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttiu ...

and

Salento Salento (Salentino: ''Salentu'', Salentino Griko: ''Σαλέντο'') is a cultural, historical and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apulia in Southern Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the Italian Peninsula, ...

. During her studies at La Sapienza, she met Alex Duran (to whom she dedicated her novel ''Pazzi & creature''), Gabriele Giannantoni,

Enzo Siciliano Enzo Siciliano (27 May 1934 – 9 June 2006) was an Italian writer, playwright, literary critic and intellectual. Siciliano was born in Rome. He was collaborator of Alberto Moravia, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Elsa Morante and many other famous w ...

, and Franco Voltaggio. Epifani was one of the first Italian writers to develop a distinctive style of female writings alongside Natalia Ginzburg,

Luce d'Eramo Luce d’Eramo (June 17, 1925 in Reims – March 6, 2001 in Rome) was an Italian writer and literary critic. She is best known for her autobiographical novel ''Deviazione'', which recounts her experiences in Germany during World War II. D’Era ...

, Dacia Maraini, Biancamaria Frabotta
Gabriella Sobrino
and Angiola Sacripante. She was a very attentive reader of English female writers such as

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer, essayist and journalist, widely considered one of the most influential and important authors of the modernist movement. Her works are celebra ...

and, above all,

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

. She collaborated with various newspapers, such as "

l'Unità ''l'Unità'' (, lit. 'the Unity') was an Italian language, Italian newspaper, founded as the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1924. It was supportive of that party's successor parties, the Democratic Party of the Left, ...

", "

l'Avanti! ''Avanti!'' is a 1972 American/Italian international co-production comedy film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills. The screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond is based on Samuel A. Taylor's play, ...

", "

Paese Sera Paese ( Venetian: ''Paexe'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about west of Treviso. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 19,898 and an area of ...

". She was considered an environmental activist and "Il Globo" published her own innovative column on the protection of the Italian landscape and environment entitled "Article 9", in reference to the Constitution of the Republic of Italy ("The Republic promotes the development of culture and scientific and technological research, providing safeguard of the landscape and historical and artistic heritage on the Nation"). Epifani also worked as a journalist for

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

, Italy's national public broadcasting company, in the fields of theatre and literature. In her “Il Premio Viareggio? La mia vita”, Gabriella Sobrino described Muzi Epifani as always "surrounded by her children". They would work during the nights together "when we had finally managed to put to bed the children who would gather around us like puppies in their multi-coloured pyjamas". In 1976, her comedy "La fuga" (The escape) won the "Young Theatre" Prize. In this satirical play, Epifani intertwined a personal affair with a current political debate concerning the

abortion law Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances ...

in Italy. The writer exposed the Italian hypocrisy of people who would permit abortion in the private sphere whilst at the same time criticising it in public. The play has been republished in 2015. Th
new edition
introduced by the Italian writer and film-director

Cristina Comencini Cristina Comencini (; born 8 May 1956) is an Italian film director, screenwriter and novelist. Biography She is one of four daughters of Italian film director Luigi Comencini. She attended with her sisters the Lycée français Chateaubriand (Rom ...

, has been presented at th
Casa delle letterature
in Rome (29 May 2015) by

, Biancamaria Frabotta, Lucianna Di Lello and Franco Voltaggio, with readings made by the Italian actress Piera degli Esposti. Epifani is the mother of the film director

Francesca Archibugi Francesca Archibugi (; born 16 May 1960) is an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Life and career Born and raised in Rome in an intellectual family (her elder brother is the political and economic theorist Daniele Archibugi), she started t ...

, of the dramatist Luca Archibugi and of the economist

Daniele Archibugi Daniele Archibugi (born 17 July 1958 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian economic and political theorist. He works on the economics and policy of innovation and technological change, on the political theory of international relations and on political ...

, a professor at

Birkbeck College, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £109 ...

. She died in Rome.

Works

Novels and poetry collections

* Muzi Epifani, ''Cloto. Poesia'',

Clotho Clotho (; el, Κλωθώ) is a mythological figure. She is the youngest of the Three Fates or Moirai who spins the thread of human life; the other two draw out ( Lachesis) and cut (Atropos) in ancient Greek mythology. Her Roman equivalent is ...

is the youngest of the Three Fates. Epifani had herself two elder sisters (see Angiola Sacripante, Prefazione, ''Cloto''). Antonio Lalli Editore, Poggibonsi. * Muzi Epifani, ''Infanzia di una casalinga emancipata'', ''Prospetti'', XII/48, December 1977. * Muzi Epifani, ''Pazzi & creature'', Rebellato, Venice 1982. * Muzi Epifani, ''L'adulterio. (Il lato comico)'', ''Nuovi Argomenti'', n. 16, October–December 1985.

Plays

* Muzi Epifani
''La fuga''
Rome 1976. Republished b
La Mongolfiera Editrice e Spettacoli
Doria di Cassano Jonio, 2015 . * Muzi Epifani and Francesca Pansa, ''Di madre in madre'', Teatro della Maddalena, Rome 1979. * Muzi Epifani and Gabriella Sobrino, ''Flou'', Rome. * Muzi Epifani and Gabriella Sobrino, ''Contrada lunare'', Rome.

Translations into Italian

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...

, ''Maschio e femmina'', Il Saggiatore, Milan 1962. * James H. Leuba, ''La psicologia del misticismo religioso'', Feltrinelli, Milan 1960.

References

External links

* Muzi Epifani
Risveglio
From ''Europa in versi. La poesia femminile del '900'', edited by Luce d'Eramo and Gabriella Sobrino, Il Ventaglio, Roma, 1989.
Website of La Mongolfiera edizioni e spettacoli
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epifani, Muzi 1935 births 1984 deaths Italian women novelists Italian women poets Italian feminists 20th-century Italian women writers 20th-century Italian novelists 20th-century Italian poets