Albino Pierro (19 November 1916 in

Tursi Tursi (''Turse'' in Tursitano dialect; ; ) is an Italian ''comune'' of 4,712 inhabitants in the province of Matera in Basilicata, elevated to a city by decree of the President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi on May 4, 2006.D.P.R. May 4, 2006 ...

– 23 March 1995 in Rome) was an Italian poet. He was famous for his works in Lucan dialect, and being nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

Biography

Pierro was born in

in the

province of Matera The province of Matera (; Materano: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Matera. It has an area of and a total population of 201,133; the city of Matera has a population of 61,204. The province contains ...

. He had a very troubled childhood, his mother dying prematurely. As a teenager, after a period of frequent journeys to

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

Sulmona Sulmona (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of L'Aquila, in the Italy, Italian region of Abruzzo. It is located in the Valle Peligna, a plain once occupied by a lake that disappeared in prehistoric times. In the ancient era, it was ...

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

and

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

, Pierro settled in Rome in 1939. He graduated in 1944 in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, and in 1946 began his career as a letter published in various collections in the language, until in 1959 with ''A land we remember'' which began its production in

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

Tourist Office. Since then he pulled away from the

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

of his native land, where the militant criticism reflected the deepest impressions of the

Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

, thanks to phonic resources and symbolic idiom. In 1976, he won the award

Carducci Carducci is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bartolomeo Carducci (1560–1610), Florentine artist * Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907), Italian poet * Joe Carducci (born 1955), American writer and record producer * Marco ...

for poetry. In 1986 and 1988, he was close to winning the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

for Literature, was recognized as a great poet even abroad. In 1985 was invited by the

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

to a poetry reading. Received in 1992 honorary degree from

University of Basilicata The University of Basilicata (), colloquially known as ''Unibas'', is an Italian public research university located in Potenza, with a satellite campus in Matera. It was founded in 1982, and is organized in six faculties (two schools and four de ...

. In 1993 The Normale di Pisa school organized a meeting with the poet. On 23 March 1996, exactly one year after Pierro's death, the City Council, proclaimed Tursi "City of Pierro" and named the schools, including kindergarten, elementary and Media, after him. To the City of Tursi has donated his house and the library containing thousands of books.

English language translations

Italian language works

* ''Liriche'', Palatina, Roma 1946 * ''Nuove Liriche'', Danesi in via Margutta, Roma 1949 * ''Mia madre passava'', Fratelli Palombi, Roma 1956 * ''Il transito del vento'', Dell'Arco, Roma 1957 * ''Poesie'', Roma, 1958 * ''Il mio villaggio'', Cappelli, Bologna 1959 * ''Agavi e Sassi'', Dell'Arco, Roma 1960 * ''Appuntamento'', Editori Laterza, Bari 1967 * ''Incontro a Tursi'', Editori Laterza, Bari 1973

Works in the Lucan vernacular

* ''A terra d'u ricorde'', Il Nuovo Belli, Roma 1960 ** ''(FR) La terre du souvenir'', translation Madeleine Santschi, Scheiwiller, Milano 1972. * ''Metaponte'', Il Nuovo Cracas, Roma 1960 ** ''Metaponto'', Editori Laterza, Bari 1966 ** ''(FR) Metaponto'', translation M. Santschi, Milano 1972 ** ''Metaponto'', Garzanti, Milano 1982 ** ''(FR) Métaponte'', translation Philippe Guérin, note di Gina Labriola, La Différence, . l.1996 * ''I'nnammurète'', Editori Laterza, Bari 1963 ** ''(FR) Les amoreaux'', translation M. Sanschti, Milano 1971. * ''Nd'u piccicarelle di Turse'', Editori Laterza, Bari 1967 * ''Eccò 'a morte?'', Editori Laterza, Bari 1969 * ''Famme dorme'', Scheiwiller, Milano 1971 ** ''(FR) Laisse-moi dormir'', translation M. Sanschti e note d’Antonio Pizzuto, Milano 1977. * ''Curtelle a lu sòue'', Editori Laterza, Bari 1973 ** ''(FR) Couteaux au soleil'', translation M. Santschi, Milano 1977. * ''Nu belle fatte'', Mondadori, Milano 1975 ** ''(EN) A beautiful Story'', translation E. Farnsworth, introduzione di Gianfranco Folena, Milano 1976. ** ''(FR) Une belle histoire'', translation M. Santschi, Scheiwiller, Milano 1977. * ''Com'agghi'' 'a fe?, Edizioni 32, Milano 1977 ** ''(FR) Comm’agghì‘a fè'', translation M. Santschi, Milano 1975. * ''Sti mascre'', L'Arco Ed.d'Arte, Roma 1980 * ''Dieci poesie inedite in dialetto tursitano'', Pacini, Lucca 1981 * ''Poesie inedite in omaggio a Pierro'', Lacaita, Manduria 1982 * ''Ci uéra turnè'', Ed.del Girasole, Ravenna 1982 * ''Si pò nu jurne'', Gruppo Forma, Torino 1983 * ''Poesie tursitane'', Ed.del Leone, Venezia 1985 * ''Tante ca pàrete notte'', Manni, Galatina 1986 * ''Un pianto nascosto'', Einaudi, Torino 1986 * ''Nun c'è pizze di munne'', Mondadori, Milano 1992

Videography

* Documentary ''Albino Pierro. Investigation of a poet,'' created by Maria Luisa Forenza, which lasted 51 minutes, broadcast on

RAI1 RAI1 is a transcription factor associated with Smith–Magenis syndrome when individuals have deletions of the gene and Potocki–Lupski syndrome when individuals have a duplication. It is known as ''retinoic acid induced 1''. See also * Retinoi ...

on 22 January 2007.

Critical Studies

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Mariagrazia Palumbo, biography pierriana

told by Antonio Lotierzo {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierro, Albino 1916 births 1995 deaths People from the Province of Matera Italian male poets 20th-century Italian poets 20th-century Italian male writers