Description
Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE 2018 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARD FOR POETRY TRANSLATIONIn this first US publication of celebrated Italian poet Bianca Tarozzi, narrative poems (presented bilingually in both English and the original Italian) carry us through the poet's childhood memories of World War II under Mussolini, harsh post-war conditions, and mid-century changes that transformed Italian life, specifically for women. A unique figure in contemporary Italian poetry, Tarozzi draws significant influence from acclaimed American poetsRobert Lowell, Elizabeth Bishop, and James Merrillinterweaving powerful subjects with humor and heart. After: you have packed the suitcase, shut off the gas, turned all the lights out, locked the window and the big outside door, when you lean against a wall, afraid of falling, and wait, expecting the vehicle, the means that will transport you far away, when the sky sails clear, blue, and annihilating above the overpass, and you have no past or future, in that empty moment poetry pitches its tent. Bianca Tarozzi was born in Bologna in 1941. Her father was a political prisoner under Mussolini, and then a Senator after the war. She received a degree from Ca' Foscari University of Venice, and taught English and American Literature for many years at the University of Verona. The recipient of numerous literary honors, she has translated into Italian the works of Elizabeth Bishop, Emily Dickinson, James Merrill, Richard Wilbur, A. E. Housman, Denise Levertov, and Louise Gluck. Also the author of many books of poetry, she began writing poems in 1947, and continues to this day. She currently splits her time between Venice and Milan, Italy.
Trade Review“This introduction to Bianca Tarozzi’s always beautifully crafted lyrics—sometimes enigmatic narratives, sometimes mystical apercus—is a real gift to American readers who don’t already know the writer’s work. Her
Selected Poems have been elegantly translated by Jeanne Foster and Alan Williamson, who also provide illuminating introductions. The ‘living theatre’ of Tarozzi’s art (to use a phrase of her own) will engage and even enthrall those new to it while delighting those long hoping to see the original Italian texts in English.” —Sandra M. Gilbert
“How satisfying at long last to have this collection in English of selected poems by one of my long-standing favorite Italian poets! Due to Jeanne Foster’s and Alan Williamson’s thoughtful and heartfelt Introduction, and especially to their finely wrought versions of Tarozzi’s ‘poem-stories,’ a whole new readership will be able to discover a voice that resonates with memories, inquiries, emotions, and deep poetic intelligence.” —Rebecca West
Table of ContentsTable of Contents Introduction From La Buranella (1997) Pian del Voglio (1943-1993) Doubles The Castle The Shepherdess Rossana The Miracle From Prima e Dopo (2000) The Fall My Mother A Face After Check to the Queen The Poet Sisters A Friend From Il Teatro Vivente (2007) The Living Theater Limits The Jacket The Villas From La signora di Porcellana (2012) The Hidden River The Red Curtain Winter 1946 Garibaldi Tesserae
