Franco Fortini was the pseudonym of Franco Lattes (10 September 1917 – 28 November 1994), an Italian poet, writer, translator, essayist,

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

and

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

intellectual.

Life

Franco Fortini was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, the son of a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

lawyer, Dino Lattes, and a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

mother, Emma Fortini Del Giglio. He studied law and

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

at the university. In 1939 he joined the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church, but in his late years he described himself as an atheist. In 1940 he adopted his mother's last name to avoid racial persecution. In 1941 he joined the Italian army as an officer. After September 8, 1943, he sought refuge in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

(where he met European intellectuals, politicians and critics), then in 1944 he returned to fight with the partisans in Valdossola. When the war was over he settled in Milan, working as journalist,

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...

and translator. He was one of the editorial board members of the magazine ''

Il Politecnico ''Il Politecnico'' () was a Communist cultural and literary magazine published in Milan, Italy, between 1945 and 1947. In the debut editorial it was stated that the magazine was inspired by the homonymous journal which had been founded by Carlo ...

''. Soon after the

Russian invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

in 1956, Fortini left the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...

which he had joined in 1944. From 1964 to 1972 he taught in secondary schools, and from 1976 occupied the Chair of Literary Criticism at the

University of Siena The University of Siena (, abbreviation: UNISI), located in Siena, Tuscany, holds the distinction of being Italy's first publicly funded university as well as one of the oldest, originally established as ''Studium Senese'' in 1240. As of 2022, it ...

. During this period he had considerable influence on younger generations in search of social and intellectual change. He was considered one of the most important intellectuals of the Italian New Left. He died in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. He was associated with some of the most important European writers and intellectuals, such as

Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French ph ...

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 25 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popular ...

and

Lukács Lukács () is a Hungarian surname, derived from the given name Lukács, which is the Hungarian equivalent of Lucas. Alternative spellings and derivative forms in neighboring languages include Lukacs, Lukáč, Lukač, Lukach, Lucaci and Lukači� ...

. Fortini translated works by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( ; ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic and political activist. Despite her short life, her ideas concerning religion, spirituality, and politics have remained widely influential in cont ...

, Milton,

Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French language, French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Pas ...

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...

, Éluard, Frénaud,

Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

, Gide and many others.

Bibliography (in English)

* ''Poems'' (parallel text, in Italian & English. Translated by Michael Hamburger) Arc Publications, Todmorden 1978. . * ''Summer is not all. Selected poems'' (in Italian and English. Translated by Paul Lawton), Carcanet, Manchester 1992. . * ''The Dogs of the Sinai'' (Translated by Alberto Toscana), Seagull Books, London 2013. . * ''A Test of Powers: Writings on Criticism and Literary Institutions'' (Translated by Alberto Toscano), Seagull Books, London 2016. .

Bibliography (in Italian)

*''Fogli di via e altri versi'' (Marching Orders and other poems), Einaudi, Torino, 1946. *''Agonia di Natale'' (Christmas agony), Einaudi, Torino, 1948. *''Sei poesie per Ruth e una per me'', tipografia Lucini, Milano, 1953. *''Una facile allegoria'' (A simple allegory), Edizioni della Meridiana, Milano, 1954. *''In una strada di Firenze'' (On a Florentine street), Edizioni Linea grafiche, Milano, 1955. *''Asia maggiore. Viaggio nella Cina'' (Asia major. A journey in China), Einaudi, Torino, 1956. *''I destini generali'' (General destinies), S. Sciascia, Caltanissetta-Roma, 1956. *''Dieci inverni (1947–1957) Contributi ad un discorso socialista'' (Ten winters 1947–1957. Contributions to a socialist discours), Feltrinelli, Milano, 1957. *''Sestina a Firenze'', Schwarz, Milano, 1959. *''Il movimento surrealista'' (The surrealist movement), Garzanti, Milano, 1959. *''Poesia e errore'' (Poetry and error), Mondadori, Milano, 1969. *''Poesia delle rose'' (The poems of the roses), Libreria Antiquaria Palmaverde, Bologna, 1962. *''Sere in Valdossola'' (Evenings in Valdossola), Mondadori, Milano, 1963. *''Tre testi per film'' (Three texts for films), Edizioni Avanti!, Milano, 1963. *''Una volta per sempre'' (Once and for all), Mondadori, Milano, 1963. *''Profezie e realtà del nostro secolo. Testi e documenti per la storia di domani'' (Prophecies and realities of our century. Texts and documents for tomorrow's history), Laterza, Bari, 1965. *''Verifica dei poteri. Scritti di critica e di istituzioni letterarie'' (Verifications of the powers), Il Saggiatore, Milano, 1965. *''L'ospite ingrato. Testi e note per versi ironici'' (The ungrateful guest. Texts and notes towards ironic verse), De Donato, Bari, 1966. *''I cani del Sinai'' (The dogs of Sinai), De Donato, Bari, 1967. *''Ventiquattro voci per un dizionario di lettere. Breve guida a un buon uso dell'alfabeto'' (Twenty-four entries for a dictionary of letters), Il Saggiatore, Milano, 1968. *''Ventiquattro poesie 1961–1968'' (Twenty-four poems 1961–1968), S.I.E. (1969). *''Questo muro'' (This wall), Mondadori, Milano, 1973. *''Saggi italiani'' (Italian essays), De Donato, Bari, 1974. *''La poesia di Scotellaro'' (Scotellaro's poetry), Basilicata, Roma, 1974. *''Poesie scelte (1938–1973)'' (Selected poems) ed. Pier Vincenzo Mangaldo,

Oscar Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 19 ...

, Milano, 1974. *''I poeti del Novecento'' (The poets of Twentieth century), Laterza, Bari, 1977. *''Questioni di frontiera. Scritti di politica e di letteratura 1965– 1977'' (Lines of demarcation), Einaudi, Torino, 1977. *''Una volta per sempre (Foglio di via – Poesia e errore – Una volta per sempre – Questo muro'') ''Poesie 1938–1973'', Einaudi, Torino, 1978. *''Una obbedienza'' (An obedience), introd. by Andrea Zanzotto, S.Marco dei Giustiniani, Genova, 1980. *''Il ladro di ciliegie e altre versioni di poesia'', Einaudi, Torino, 1982. *''Memorie per dopodomani. Tre scritti 1945 1967 e 1980''(Memories for beyond tomorrow), ed. Carlo Fini, Quaderni di Barbablù, Siena, 1984. *''Paesaggio con serpente. Versi 19783-1983'' (Landscape with serpent), Einaudi, Torino, 1984. *''Inesistenze.Cinquanta scritti 1976–1984'' (Insistences), Garzanti, Milano, 1985. *''Dei confini della poesia'' (On the boundaries of poetry), Edizioni l'Obliquo, Brescia, 1986. *''La poesia ad alta voce'' (Poetry out loud), ed. Carlo Fini, Taccuini di Barbablù, Siena, 1986. *''Note su Giacomo Noventa'' (Notes on Giacomo Noventa), Marsilio, Venezia, 1986. *''Nuovi Saggi italiani 2'' (New Italian essays 2), Garzanti, Milano, 1987. *''Versi primi e distanti 1937–1957'', All'insegna del pesce d'oro, Milano, 1987. *''La cena delle ceneri & Racconto fiorentino'' (Ash-Wednesday supper & Florentine story), pref. by Mario Spinella, Claudio Lombardi Editore, Milano, 1988. *''La morte del cherubino. Racconto 1938'', ed. Carlo Fini, Taccuini di Barbablù, Siena, 1988. *''Extrema ratio. Note per un buon uso delle rovine'' (Extreme reason. Notes for a good use of the ruins), Garzanti, Milano, 1990. *''Versi scelti 1939–1989'' (Selected verse 1939–1989), Einaudi, Torino, 1990. *''Diario tedesco 1949'' (Germany diary), Piero Manni, Lecce, 1991. *''Non solo oggi. Cinquantanove voci'' (Not just today), ed. Paolo Jachia,

Editori Riuniti Editori Riuniti is an Italian publishing house based in Rome that publishes books and magazines on the history of socialism, socialist thought, physics and mathematics theory, and the history of Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. History ...

, Roma, 1991. *''Attraverso Pasolini'' (Through Pasolini), Einaudi, Torino, 1993. *''Composita solvantur'' (Loose works), Einaudi, Torino, 1994.

Posthumous

*''Poesie inedite'' (Unpublished poems), ed. P.V. Mengaldo, Einaudi, Torino, 1995. *''Trentasei moderni. Breve secondo Novecento'', pref. by Romano Luperini, Manni, Lecce, 1996. *''Disobbedienze 1. Gli anni della sconfitta. Scritti sul Manifesto 1985–1994'', pref. by Rossanna Rossanda, manifestolibri, Roma, 1997. *''Dialoghi con Tasso'', ed. Pier Vincenzo Mengaldo and Donatello Santarone, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 1998. *''Dissobedienze II. Gli anni dei movimenti. Scritti sul Manifesto 1972–1985'', manifestolibri, Roma, 1988. *''Franchi dialoghi'', F. Fortini – F. Loi, Manni, Lecce, 1998. *''Il dolore della verità: Maggiani incontra Fortini'', ed. Erminio Risso, Manni, Lecce, 2000. *''Le rose dell'abisso'', ed. Donatello Santarone, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 2000. *''Disegni Incisioni Dipinti. Catalogo ragionato della produzione pittorica e grafica di Franco Fortini'', ed. Enrico Crispolti, Quodlibet, Macerata, 2001. *''I cani del Sinai'', Quodlibet, Macerata, 2002. *''Saggi ed epigrammi'', ed. Luca Lenzini pref. by Rossana Rossanda, Mondadori, Milano, 2003. *''Un dialogo ininterrotto. Interviste 1952–1994'', ed. Velio Abati, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 2003. *''Un giorno o l'altro'', Quodlibet, Macerata, 2006. *''La guerra a Milano. Estate 1943''. Edizione critica e commento a cura di Alessandro La Monica, Pisa, Pacini Editore, 2017.

Secondary literature (in English)

* *

Secondary literature (in Italian)

*A Berardinelli, ''Franco Fortini'', La Nuova Italia, Firenze, 1973. *P. Sabbatino, ''Gli inverni di Fortini. Il rischio dell'errore nella cultura e nella poesia'', Bastogni, Foggia, 1982. *R. Luperini, ''La lotta mentale. Per un profilo di Franco Fortini''. Editori Riuniti, Roma, 1986. *R. Pagnanelli, ''Fortini'', Transeuropa, Ancona, 1988 *Paolo Jachia – Luca Lenzini – Pia Mondelli (a c. di), ''Bibliografia degli scritti di Franco Fortini (1935–1991)'', Firenze, Le Monnier, 1989. * T.E. Peterson, ''The Ethical Muse of Franco Fortini'', University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 1997. *L. Lenzini, ''Il poeta di nome Fortini. Saggi e proposte di lettura'', Manni, Lecce, 1999. *Elisabetta Nencini, "L'Archivio Franco Fortini della Facoltà di Lettere dell'Università di Siena", in Raffaella Castagnola (a c. di),'' Archivi letterari del '900'', Firenze, Franco Cesati, 2000, pp. 13–116. * E. Passannanti (a cura di), "Realtà e paradosso della traduzione poetica, Istituto di Studi Filosofici, 2004. * E. Passannanti, ''Scrittura saggistica, linguaggio lirico e traduzione poetica nell'opera di Franco Fortini'' (Tesi di PhD), Brindin Press, Salisbury, 2004. * E. Passannanti, ''Poem of the Roses. Linguistic Expressionism in the Poetry of Franco Fortini'', Series Transference, Troubador, Leicester, 2004. * D. Balicco, ''Non parlo a tutti. Franco Fortini intellettuale e politico'', Manifestolibri, Roma, 2006. * D. Dalmas, ''La protesta di Fortini'', Stylos, Aosta, 2006. * E. Passannanti, "Senso e semiotica in Paesaggio con serpente di Franco Fortini", Brindin Press, Salisbury, 2011. * Luca Lenzini,Elisabetta Nencini, Felice Rappazzo, ''Dieci inverni senza Fortini. Poeti e critici a confronto'', Siena 14–16 ottobre 2004, Atti delle giornate di studio nel decennale della scomparsa, Quodlibet 2006.Con contributi di Giuseppe Nava, Mario Luzi, Franco Loi, Andrea Zanzotto, Jean-Charles Vegliante, Stefano Dal Bianco, Massimo Raffaeli, Gianni D'Elia, Pietro Cataldi, Andrea Inglese, Davide Dalmas, Thomas Peterson, Giovanni La Guardia Ausgrenzung, Guido Mazzoni, Mario Benedetti, Emanuele Zinato, Valentina Tinacci, Giacomo Magrini, Andrea Cortellessa, Gabriele Frasca, Riccardo Bonavita, Cristina Alziati, Erminia Passannanti, Fabrizio Podda, Enrica Zanin, Giovanni Solinas. * E. Passannanti, ''Commentario a Realtà e paradosso della traduzione poetica di Franco Fortini. Excursus sulle teorie della traduzione del testo poetico'', Brindin Press, 2004, sec, ed. 2008. * E. Passannanti, ''La partenza. Saggio di analisi testuale'', Premio Franco Fortini per la Saggistica, Sondrio: CFR Edizioni, 2011. * L. Tommasini, ''Educazione e utopia: Franco Fortini docente a scuola e all'università'', Quodlibet, 2023.

References

External links

L'ospite ingrato. Rivista on line del Centro Studi Franco Fortini
* * * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortini, Franco Italian male poets 1917 births 1994 deaths Italian socialists Writers from Florence 20th-century Italian translators 20th-century Italian poets 20th-century Italian male writers