Dino Buzzati is one of the most fascinating twentieth century Italian writers. But for some reason, he’s never found an audience in the United States. Why is that? And will the publication this year, in English translation, of his highly innovative graphic novel,
Poem Strip, change all that? Seeking the answer to these questions, I spoke with Buzzati’s newest translator, Marina Harss. You’ll find our conversation
here.
…and so far so good; the critics are full of praise for my book,
Scrittori di fronte al male: Riflessioni su letteratura e politica. Writing in the popular political blog
Minitrue, Ottavina Reale applauds the book for its graceful writing and solid scholarship, while over at
Left Avventimenti, a weekly magazine with a circulation of well over 10,000, the cultural critic Filippo La Porta calls the collection “admirable” and singles out, in particular, my essay on Ignazio Silone for its “magisterial” character. You’ll find both reviews by clicking
here and
here.
The Wilson Quarterly was kind enough to ask me to review a major new biography of the Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun (1859–1952), which you will find
here. There is no question about Hamsun’s being a pivotal figure in modern literature; but given his odious political sympathies and his abysmal conduct during the Nazi occupation of Norway during the Second World War, it is troubling, to say the least, to see his reputation being rehabilitated on the grounds of his literary genius.
