What do you think?
Rate this book
Of Clouds and Mists: The Collected Poems
37 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2024
1 person want to read
About the author
Pascal D'Angelo
4 books3 followersPasquale D’Angelo was born into a peasant family in a hamlet near Introdacqua, a town in the Abruzzi, provincia L’Aquila, in 1894. His family lived in extreme poverty and he went to school intermittently from the age of seven until twelve.
Trying to better the family’s conditions, he and his father sail from Naples—this is the first time Pasquale has seen the sea—and come in through Ellis Island, New York in 1910.
While still confused by the big city he came in touch with other immigrants, suffering racism, and working hard, miserably paid and under dangerous working conditions (he was one of the characters of the shocking first chapter of Pietro Di Donato Christ in Concrete). Disillusioned, his father returned to Italy but Pascal decided to stay. He learned english language and became fascinated by Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats and other writers he discovered at New York Public Library. In 1920 he start writing poems and was published in numerous reviews and newspapers of the time. He was scouted by Carl Van Doren who published his autobiography Son of Italy in 1924 which achieved extraordinary success.
Little is know about is later life, it is still debated why Pascal D'Angelo never published any other book as planned but is sure that he kept writing prolifically. By 1932 D’Angelo had pawned his typewriter and could not even afford paper. He continued to write, however, scrawling his poems in the margins of old newspapers, on the backs of calendars, and eventually on the walls of his apartment. He died in poverty and alone in 1932 in Brooklyn, all his later work went lost and probably destroyed.
Trying to better the family’s conditions, he and his father sail from Naples—this is the first time Pasquale has seen the sea—and come in through Ellis Island, New York in 1910.
While still confused by the big city he came in touch with other immigrants, suffering racism, and working hard, miserably paid and under dangerous working conditions (he was one of the characters of the shocking first chapter of Pietro Di Donato Christ in Concrete). Disillusioned, his father returned to Italy but Pascal decided to stay. He learned english language and became fascinated by Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats and other writers he discovered at New York Public Library. In 1920 he start writing poems and was published in numerous reviews and newspapers of the time. He was scouted by Carl Van Doren who published his autobiography Son of Italy in 1924 which achieved extraordinary success.
Little is know about is later life, it is still debated why Pascal D'Angelo never published any other book as planned but is sure that he kept writing prolifically. By 1932 D’Angelo had pawned his typewriter and could not even afford paper. He continued to write, however, scrawling his poems in the margins of old newspapers, on the backs of calendars, and eventually on the walls of his apartment. He died in poverty and alone in 1932 in Brooklyn, all his later work went lost and probably destroyed.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
No one has reviewed this book yet.