Corrado Govoni (Tàmara,

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, 29 October 1884 – Lido dei Pini, 20 October 1965). was an Italian poet. His work dealt with modern urban representations, the states of memory, nostalgia, and longing, using an expressive and evocative style of writing.

Biography

Corrado Govoni was an Italian poet whose work emphasized "the minutiae of daily life". Prolific author, he can be considered as a member of both: the crepuscolari, or "twilight poets," and of the

futurist movement Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

. In Florence, as a young man, Govoni met the poet

Giovanni Papini Giovanni Papini (9 January 18818 July 1956) was an Italian journalist, essayist, novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and Italian philosophy, philosopher. A controversial literary figure of the early and mid-twentieth century, he ...

, who helped him to publish his first book of poems, ''Le fiale'', in 1903, a volume "full of exotic images, difficult and rare rhymes, and unusual lexicon interspersed with archaic vocabulary". Govoni’s works, during his long literary career, exhibits characteristics of many different literary currents and styles: while his early poems exhibited a ‘liberty-symbolism’, later in his career their style shifts towards crepuscolarsimo and

futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

. In 1944 he experienced the loss of his son, Aladino Govoni, killed by nazi-fascists. In 1950 Govoni won the

Viareggio Prize The Viareggio Prize ( or ) is an Italian literature, literary prize, first awarded in 1930. Named after the Tuscany, Tuscan city of Viareggio, it was conceived by three friends, , Carlo Salsa and Leonida Repaci, to rival the Milanese Bagutta Priz ...

for poetry.

Selected works

Poetry

* '' Le fiale'', Firenze, Lumachi, 1903 * ''Armonia in grigio et in silenzio'', Firenze, Lumachi, 1903 * ''Fuochi d'artifizio'', Palermo, Ganguzza-Lajosa, 1905 * ''Gli aborti'', Ferrara, Taddei, 1907 * ''Poesie elettriche'', Milano, Edizioni Futuriste di "Poesia", 1911 * ''Inaugurazione della primavera'', Ferrara, Taddei, 1915 * ''Rarefazioni'', Milano, Edizioni di "Poesia", 1915 * ''Poesie scelte'', edited by A. Neppi, Ferrara, Taddei, 1918 *''Poesie elettriche'', Ferrara, Taddei, 1920 * ''Tre grani da seminare'', Milano, Palmer, 1920 * ''Il quaderno dei sogni e delle stelle'', Milano,

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, 1924 * ''La Trombettina'', Milano,

, 1924 * ''Brindisi alla notte'', Milano, Bottega di Poesia, 1924 * ''Il flauto magico'', Roma, Al tempo della Fortuna, 1932 * ''Canzoni a bocca chiusa'', Firenze, Vallecchi, 1938 * ''Pellegrino d'amore'', Milano,

, 1941 * ''Govonigiotto'', Milano, Steli, 1943 * ''Aladino. Lamento su mio figlio morto'', Milano,

, 1946 * ''L'Italia odia i poeti'', Roma, Pagine Nuove, 1950 * ''Patria d'alto volo'', Siena, Maia, 1953 * ''Preghiera al trifoglio'', Roma, Casini, 1953 * ''Antologia poetica'', edited and prefaced by G. Spagnoletti, Firenze, Sansoni, 1953 * ''Manoscritto nella bottiglia'', with an essay of Giuseppe Ravegnani, Milano,

, 1954 * ''Stradario della primavera e altre poesie'', Venezia, Neri Pozza, 1958 * ''Poesie (1903-1959),'' edited by Giuseppe Ravegnani, Milano,

, 1961 * ''Il Vino degli anni '' edited by Tommaso Lisi, Roma, L'officina Libri, 1979 * ''Armonia in grigio et in silenzio,'' Bari, Palomar, 1992 *''Poesie, 1903 - 1958'',

, 2000 * ''Aladino,'' edited by Giuseppe Lasala, Bari, Palomar, 2006 * ''Poesie elettriche'', edited by Giuseppe Lasala, Macerata, Quodlibet, 2008 *''Gli Aborti'', edited by Francesco Targhetta, Genova, Edizioni San Marco dei Giustiniani, 2008 * ''Fuochi d'artifizio'', edited by Francesco Targhetta, Macerata, Quodlibet, 2013

Prose

* ''La neve'', Firenze, "

La Voce (magazine) ''La Voce'' (Italian: ''the Voice'') was an Italian weekly literary magazine which was published in Florence, Italy, between 1908 and 1916. The magazine is also one of the publications which contributed to the cultural basis of the early forms o ...

", 1915 * ''La caccia all'usignolo'', Milano, Istituto Editoriale Italiano, 1915 * ''La santa verde'', Ferrara, Taddei, 1919 * ''Anche l'ombra è sole'', Milano,

, 1920 * ''Piccolo veleno color di rosa'', Firenze, Bemporad, 1921 * ''La Terra contro il cielo'', Milano,

, 1921 * ''La strada sull'acqua'', Milano, Treves, 1923 * ''La cicala e la formica'', Milano, Bottega di poesia, 1925 * ''Il volo d'amore'', Milano,

, 1926 * ''Bomboniera'', Roma, Sapientia, 1929 * ''La maschera che piange'', L'Aquila, Vecchioni, 1930 * ''Misirizzi'', Firenze, Vallecchi, 1930 * ''I racconti della ghiandaia'', Lanciano, Carabba, 1932 * ''Arcobaleno'', Lanciano, Carabba, 1932 * ''Il Temporale'', Catanzaro, San Gennaro, 1934 * ''Splendore della poesia italiana'', Milano,

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, 1937, nuova ed. , Milano, Ceschina, 1958 * ''Le rovine del Paradiso'', Firenze, Vallecchi, 1940 * ''Il pane degli angeli'', Napoli, Clet, 1940 * ''Confessioni davanti allo specchio'', Brescia, Morceliana, 1942

Bibliography

; Pietro Pancrazi, Corrado Govoni, in ''Poeti d'oggi (1900-1920)'', Firenze, Vallecchi, 1920, pp. 160-170. *Fausto Curi, ''Corrado Govoni'', Milano, Mursia 1981. *Giuseppe Iannaccone, Suppliche al Duce: documentazione inedita sui rapporti tra il poeta Corrado Govoni e

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

, Milano, Terziaria, 2002. *Riccardo D'Anna, Govoni, Corrado, in

Dizionario biografico degli italiani The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' () is a biographical dictionary published in 100 volumes by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1960 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biographies of distinguished Italia ...

, vol. 58, Roma,

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, 2002. URL consultato il 21 maggio 2015. *Matteo Bianchi (edited by), ''Corrado Govoni. Il poeta a cui non bastava la realtà'', Ferrara, La Carmelina, 2016. *Paolo Maccari
The presence of a poet: Corrado Govoni in the 20th century anthologies and literary criticism

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Govoni, Corrado Italian male poets Italian fascists Italian anti-communists Italian Futurism 1884 births 1965 deaths Futurist writers 20th-century Italian poets 20th-century Italian male writers People from the Province of Ferrara Viareggio Prize winners