37 poesie

by Giuseppe Ungaretti

Genres: Poetry, Italian Literature

66 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Giuseppe Ungaretti was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic and academic. A leading representative of the experimental trend known as ermetismo, he was one of the most prominent contributors to 20th century Italian literature. Influenced by symbolism, he was briefly aligned with futurism. Like many futurists, he took an irredentist position during World War I. Ungaretti debuted as a poet while fighting in the trenches, publishing one of his best-known pieces, L'allegria ("The Joy").

During the interwar period, Ungaretti was a collaborator of Benito Mussolini (whom he met during his socialist accession), as well as a foreign-based correspondent for Il Popolo d'Italia and La Gazzetta del Popolo. While briefly associated with the Dadaists, he developed ermetismo as a personal take on poetry. After spending several years in Brazil, he returned home during World War II, and was assigned a teaching post at the University of Rome, where he spent the final decades of his life and career. Ungaretti's Fascist past was the subject of controversy.

Reviews

[Carmilla Damnatio cam cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

...
con la congestione
delle sue mani
penetrata
nel mio silenzio
ho scritto
lettere piene d'amore

Non sono mai stato
tanto
attaccato alla vita

-Veglia

[Amaranta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Variazioni sul nulla

Quel nonnulla di sabbia che trascorre
Dalla clessidra muto e va posandosi,
E, fugaci, le impronte sul carnato,
Sul carnato che muore, d'una nube...
Poi mano che rovescia la clessidra,
Il ritorno per muoversi, di sabbia,
Il farsi argentea tacito di nube
Ai primi brevi lividi dell'alba...
La mano in ombra la clessidra volse,
E, di sabbia, il nonnulla che trascorre
Silente, è unica cosa che ormai s'oda
E, essendo udita, in buio non scompaia.

[Eleonora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non lo so... 2.5 (?)
Di poesia non ne leggo molta quindi non posso fare paragoni. Ennesima lacuna da colmare.

[Pierpaolo Sicolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Chiuso fra cose mortali
(Anche il cielo stellato finirà)
Perché bramo Dio?"

37 magnifiche poesie di Ungaretti, da leggere il tempo di sorseggiare una camomilla di sera. Un libro perfetto, niente di più.

[Amy]

37