Poetry
Nel magma
Not translated into English
Mario Luzi · 1963
Synopsis
Poems in which the lyric voice gives way to encounters and quarrels. The poet appears in person, under his first name, in ordinary urban settings: former rivals, companions and women approach him and take him to task over morality, ideas, faith. The replies cross as in the theatre, in a verse close to prose, and each encounter becomes a stage on a path towards a meaning that slips away.
Context
The collection appeared in 1963 and was expanded for the 1966 edition, which contains eighteen poems. It marks a turning point in the author's work: the poetry draws closer to prose, takes a narrative and theatrical form, with characters in conflict, and breaks with the hermetic lyricism of his early work. Seven of the poems rest on encounters that follow one another like stations, in the manner of Dante. The first edition appeared from Vanni Scheiwiller, under the Pesce d'oro imprint.
Who it is for
A short collection, in long lines close to conversation, which reads like a series of dialogued scenes.
Prizes and reception
According to the journal La letteratura e noi, the book is a powerful allegory of the need for meaning in the everyday senselessness.
Sources for this page 4
The pages consulted to check this page.