Attilio Bertolucci (18 November 1911 – 14 June 2000) was an Italian poet and writer. He was father to film directors

Bernardo Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard". Given name People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Franc ...

and Giuseppe Bertolucci.

Biography

Bertolucci was born at San Lazzaro (

province of Parma The Province of Parma ( it, Provincia di Parma) is a province in the Emilia–Romagna region of Italy. Its largest town and capital is the city of Parma. It is made up of 47 ''comuni''. It has an area of and a total population of around 450,000 ...

), to a family of agricultural bourgeoisie. He began to write poems very early. In 1928 he collaborated with the ''Gazzetta di Parma'', where his friend Cesare Zavattini was editor-in-chief. The following year Bertolucci published his first poetical collection, ''Sirio''. In 1931 he started studying law at the University of Parma, which however he left soon afterwards in favour of artistic and literary studies. In the following year his work ''Fuochi di Novembre'' gained him the praise of Italian poets such as Eugenio Montale. In 1951 he moved to Rome. His marriage to Ninetta Giovanardi had given him two sons,

(1941–2018) and Giuseppe (1947–2012), both future film directors. In 1951 he also published ''La capanna indiana'' and won the Viareggio Prize for literature. In this period he cemented a friendship with Pier Paolo Pasolini. ''Viaggio d'inverno'' ("Winter Voyage") of

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

is one of Bertolucci's finest works. This work saw a noteworthy change of style in Bertolucci's poetry: while the first works were, according to

Franco Fortini Franco Fortini was the pseudonym of Franco Lattes (10 September 1917 – 28 November 1994), an Italian poet, writer, translator, essayist, literary critic and Marxist intellectual. Life Franco Fortini was born in Florence, the son of a Jewish ...

, characterized by "the choice of a humble language for pastoral situations", ''Viaggio d'inverno'' was more complex and was marked by an unsureness of feelings. From 1975, together with Enzo Siciliano and Alberto Moravia, he directed the literary review '' Nuovi Argomenti''. He won another Viareggio Prize for the narrative poem ''Camera da letto'' (1984–1988). His last work was ''La lucertola di Casarola'' (1997), a collection of works from his youth and other unpublished poems. Bertolucci died in Rome in 2000. Selections of his poetry has been translated into English by Charles Tomlinson and Allen Prowle.

Bibliography

*''Sirio'' (1929) *''Fuochi di novembre'' (1932) *''La capanna indiana'' (1951) *''The bedroom'' (''La camera da letto'', 1988, English translation by Luigi Bonaffini); *''Viaggio d'inverno'' (1971) *''La camera da letto'' (2 vols., 1984–1988, poem-novel) *''Aritmie'' (1991, essays) *''Verso le sorgenti del cinghio'' (1993) *''Una lunga amicizia'' (1994, letters) *''La lucertola di Casarola'' (1997) *"Sunshine and Shadows" (2010, English translations by Allen Prowle)

Honour

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (2 may 1996)

References

External links

Two poems by Attilio Bertolucci
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertolucci, Attilio 1911 births 2000 deaths University of Parma alumni Writers from the Province of Parma Italian male poets 20th-century Italian poets 20th-century Italian male writers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic