Ignazio Buttitta (19 September 1899 – 5 April 1997) was an Italian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

who wrote predominantly in Sicilian.

Biography

Born in Bagheria,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

into a merchant's family, after having taken part in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Buttitta joined 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 ...

and around this time started to write poetry in Sicilian. His first volume of poetry published was ''Sintimintali'' (Sentimental), followed in 1928 by ''Marabedda''. Soon after, Buttitta relocated to

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 ...

, where he achieved some success in the commercial world while continuing to pursue his passion for literature. Due to his political leanings, he had to leave Milan during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

; after which he joined the Resistance, was jailed by the fascists, and narrowly avoided the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

, before returning to Milan, where he spent time with Sicilian intellectuals such as

Elio Vittorini Elio Vittorini (; 23 July 1908 – 12 February 1966) was an Italian writer and novelist. He was a contemporary of Cesare Pavese and an influential voice in the modernist school of novel writing. His best-known work, in English speaking countries ...

, Salvatore Quasimodo and

Renato Guttuso Aldo Renato Guttuso (26 December 1911 – 18 January 1987) was an Italian painter and politician. He is considered to be among the most important Italian artists of the 20th century and is among the key figures of Italian expressionism. His art i ...

. In 1954 he published his new book of poetry, ''Lu pani si chiama pani'' (The bread is called bread), financed by the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...

. In this volume he defined himself as ''Pueta e latru'' (Poet and thief), an allusion to the manner in which he would pass among the people like a thief, appropriating their feelings, and leaving behind a sentimental thread. This was especially the case with his nostalgia for his homeland, but there are also more socially-oriented themes, in particular, protests against the social situation of Italy and Sicily, such as ''A stragi di Purtedda'' (1947, about Salvatore Giuliano and the Portella della Ginestra massacre), and ''Lamentu per la morte di Turiddu Carnevale'' (1956, about Salvatore Carnevale - a Sicilian

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ist from Sciara who was killed by

the Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other organized crime groups from Italy. The central ...

on 16 May 1955 - and his mother Francesca Serio). In 1964 cantastorie and folk singer-songwriter Otello Profazio set to music several Buttitta's poems in the album ''Il treno del sole'' (also known as ''Profazio Canta Buttitta''). In 1972 Buttitta 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 the volume ''Io faccio il poeta'' (I am a poet). His works have been translated into French,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. Buttitta, during his career as a poet, has never hidden his pride in being Sicilian, and his love for the language of the island. In one of his most famous poems, ''Lingua e dialettu'' (Language and dialect), he explicitly talks about language as a key issue for his people, and implores his fellows Sicilians to preserve their language: A contemporary Berlin-based Sicilian folk singer, Etta Scollo, celebrates the work of Sicilian folk singer and Buttitta associate,

Rosa Balistreri Rosa Balistreri (21 March 1927 – 20 September 1990) was an Italian singer and musician. Her hoarse voice charged with melancholy and strong personality made her a Sicilian icon of the twentieth century, much like the writer Leonardo Sciascia ...

, including rendering a version of Buttitta's ''The Pirates of Palermo'':

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttitta, Ignazio 1899 births 1997 deaths Italian male poets Italian resistance movement members People from Bagheria Writers from the Metropolitan City of Palermo 20th-century Italian poets Sicilian-language poets 20th-century Italian male writers

Biography

See also

References