Italo Calvino and the Compass of Literature PDF
Preview Italo Calvino and the Compass of Literature
ITALO CALVJNO AND THE COMPASS OF LITERATURE This page intentionally left blank ITALO CALVINO AND THE COMPASS OF LITERATURE Eugenio Bolongaro UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London www.utppublishing.com © University of Toronto Press Incorporated 20 Toronto Buffalo London Printed in Canada ISBN 0-8020-8763-9 Printed on acid-free paper Toronto Italian Studies National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Bolongaro, Eugenic, 1959- Italo Calvino and the compass of literature / Eugenic Bolongaro. (Toronto Italian studies) Includes bibliographic references and index. ISBN 0-8020-8763-9 1. Calvino, Italo - Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. II. Series. PQ4809.A45Z57 2003 853'.914 C2003-900839-8 This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support for its publishing activities of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP). To Dennis and Domenico This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments ix INTRODUCTION 3 Calvino and Post-war Italy 4 Calvino and Genre 8 1 ITALY AT THE CROSSROADS, 1943-1963 12 The Italian Resistance and the Shaping of the Post-war Italian Intellectual 13 II Politecnico 1945-1947: Culture vs Politics 18 Officina 1955-1959: The Poetical Potential of Politics 28 // Menabo 1959-1967: Commitment at Sunset 36 2 ITALO CALVINO: FROM NEO-REALISM TO THE FANTASTIC 47 Calvino and Neo-realism 47 I giovani and the Limits of Neo-realism 54 The Cloven Viscount and the Resources of the Fantastic 62 3 THE BARON IN THE TREES: THE UTOPIAN MOMENT IN CALVINO'S FANTASTIC TRILOGY 81 Cosimo's Utopia 83 A Finer Fantastic 95 Engaging the Socio-cultural Moment 109 viii Contents 4 THE NON-EXISTENT KNIGHT: OBSTINACY WITHOUT ILLUSIONS 131 Agilulfo and Ethical Subjectivity 133 Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will 148 5 THE WATCHER: THE INTELLECTUAL IN THE LABYRINTH 161 The Language of Paralysis 164 Hamlet and the Minotaur 171 Exorcizing the Labyrinth's Lure 181 CONCLUSION: LITERATURE AS AN ETHICAL PROJECT 191 What Is Literature Good For? 192 Calvino and the Parable of Contemporaneity 195 Notes 197 Bibliography 221 Index 235 Acknowledgments Among all those without whom this book would never have seen the light of day, Professor Darko Suvin has a very special place. It was Darko who first directed my attention to the works of Calvino and guided my research, shaping my understanding of literature in such profound ways that it is impossible for me to say where his teachings end and my own thoughts begin. Many are the colleagues with whom I spent long hours sharing ideas that have become essential to this book. Among them, I would like to mention in particular Catherine Graham, who never shied away from a good argument, as well as Kees Boterbloem, Joyce Goggin, Susan Mooney, and Andrew Wood. Over the years, I have also been fortunate to meet a group of friends whose intellectual rigour and commitment to social change has been a constant challenge and inspiration: Andrea Levy, Eric Darier, Steven Jordan, and Qussai Samak and Michael Temelini. The arguments which brought us together have been vehement, enriching, and as important to my work as the friendships that have grown out of them. Finally, I should briefly speak about the two men to whom this work is dedicated. Domenico Travaglini has been my closest friend for a quarter of a century, though we have spent most of those years on opposite sides of the Atlantic. His intellectual and moral presence has accompanied me through many difficult moments. Dennis McKearney has shared the last seven years of my life and helped me to grow not only in knowledge but also in love. I would like to acknowledge the financial support that the Social Sci- ences and Humanities Research Council of Canada provided for the first years of this research.
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