Nella Nobili (1926–1985) was an Italian poet and writer. She is considered a representative of

proletarian literature Proletarian literature refers here to the literature created by left-wing writers mainly for the class-conscious proletariat. Though the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' states that because it "is essentially an intended device of revolution", it is t ...

. She wrote in French and Italian, notably about factory work and

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

love.

Biography

Nella Nobili was born in 1926 in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. Coming from a modest background, she left school at the age of twelve to work in a factory, first in a ceramics workshop, then at fourteen as a glassblower. It was as a self-taught person that she began to develop a link with writing and poetry. During breaks after work, she wrote her first texts and avidly read everything she could find: Italian poetry, but also

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

and

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

. She met

Giorgio Morandi Giorgio Morandi (July 20, 1890 – June 18, 1964) was an Italian painter and printmaker widely known for his subtly muted still-life paintings of ceramic vessels, flowers, and landscapes—their quiet, meditative quality reflecting the artist's ...

, to whom she dedicated the poem ''Landscape'' in 1926. After the

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 ...

, she came into contact with the artistic and literary circles of Bologna in the immediate post-war period. She met the painter Aldo Borgonzoni (1913–2004): she assiduously frequented his studio in via Saragozza. She met the director of "Giornale della Sera"

Giuseppe Galasso Giuseppe Galasso (19 November 1929 – 12 February 2018) was an Italian historian and politician. He has been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1983 to 1994. She frequented the house of

Renata Viganò Renata Viganò (1900–1976) was an Italian writer best known for her neo-realist novel ''L'Agnese va a morire'', published in 1949. She was an active participant in the Italian Resistance movement during World War II and included fictionalized a ...

and in Via Mascarella, where intellectuals such as

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

and

Sibilla Aleramo Sibilla Aleramo (born Marta Felicina Faccio; 14 August 1876 – 13 January 1960) was an Italian feminist writer and poet known for her autobiographical depictions of life as a woman in late 19th century Italy. Life and career Aleramo was bor ...

, former partisans and students met. At the Caffé Zanarini in

Piazza Galvani Piazza Galvani is a square in the historic centre of Bologna named after the Italian physicist Luigi Galvani born in this city in 1737. A statue of the scientist adorns the centre of the squarewhich opens in the apse of the Basilica of San Petron ...

, then a meeting place for left-wing activists, she met

Enrico Berlinguer Enrico Berlinguer (; 25 May 1922 – 11 June 1984) was an Italian politician and statesman. Considered the most popular leader of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), he led the PCI as the national secretary from 1972 until his death during a te ...

, the future secretary of the Communist Party. In 1949, she moved to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. There she met

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

groups, artists and writers and she began to gain recognition and support, notably from

Elsa Morante Elsa Morante (; 18 August 1912 – 25 November 1985) was an Italian novelist, poet, translator and children's books author. Her novel '' La storia'' (''History'') is included in the Bokklubben World Library List of 100 Best Books of All Time. L ...

and

Michel Ragon Michel Ragon (24 June 1924 – 14 February 2020) was a French art and literature critic and writer. His primary focus was on anarchic and libertarian literature. Biography Ragon was born into a poor family on 24 June 1924 in Marseille, but spen ...

. Working in a workshop in her youth, as a nurse's aide during the war and later as the head of a cufflink company, Nella Nobili published poems related to the world of the factory (''La jeune fille à l'usine'', 1978), which earned her recognition as a representative of proletarian literature. But in Rome, she felt that she was being “paraded around like a little monster dressed as a worker-poet” and, disenchanted, she left for France. Nobili arrived in Paris in 1953, where she remained for the rest of her life. There she made handicrafts with miniature works of art using the self-invented cold-casting method. She began writing in French in the 1960s. She published collections of poems and books, including ''Les femmes et l'amour homosexuel'', with her co-author,

Édith Zha Édith Zha (born 1945) is a French author and scriptwriter of comics for adults and children. Biography Édith Zha was born in 1945. She studied philosophy. At the beginning of 1978, Edith Zha met Nella Nobili and they began to collect interviews ...

, in 1979, which brought together testimonies, reflections and documentation on female homosexual love. She published in magazines such as ''Sorcières'' and corresponded with figures such as Giorgio Morandi, Michel Ragon,

Bernard Noël Bernard Noël (19 November 1930 – 13 April 2021) was a French writer and poet. He received the ''Grand Prix national de la poésie'' (National Grand Prize of Poetry) in 1992, the ''Prix Robert Ganzo'' (Robert Ganzo Prize) in 2010, as well as t ...

Claire Etcherelli Claire Etcherelli (11 January 1934 – 5 March 2023) was a French novelist. She won the Prix Femina for her 1967 debut novel, ''Elise or the Real Life'', which was also adapted into a 1970 film. Her main characters are women and the plots take ...

and

Henri Thomas Henri Thomas (7 December 1912 – 3 November 1993) was a French writer and poet. Life Henri Thomas was born at Anglemont, Vosges, and grew up in the Alsace/Lorraine region of France. He moved to Paris to attend the prestigious Henri IV high sch ...

. In 1975,

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she ...

, one of her detractors, judged her writing to be clumsy, inexperienced and improvised, and this judgement was very painful for Nobili. She committed suicide at the age of 59, in 1985, in

Cachan Cachan () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The prestigious École Spéciale des Travaux Publics is located there. Name During the Middle Ages, Cachan was referred to in Medieval ...

Works

* ''I quaderni della fabbrica'' (The factory's notebooks), 1948. * * * * * *

Legacy

Her works have been partly translated by Marie-José Tramuta, professor at the

University of Caen Normandy The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...

. His archives are kept by the

Institut mémoires de l'édition contemporaine ' (IMEC) or The Institute for Contemporary Publishing Archives is a French institution created in 1988 at the initiative of researchers and professionals in French publishing to gather archives and studies related to the main French publishing ho ...

. In September 2018, her compositions were read and performed by

Drusilla Foer Gianluca Gori (born 1967), better known by the stage name Drusilla Foer, is an Italian drag queen and television personality. Early life Gianluca Gori was born in Florence. Before inventing the character of Drusilla Foer, he worked as an actor a ...

as part of ''Il Tempo delle Donne'', the event organised by

Corriere della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...

at the

Milan Triennale The ''Milan Triennial'' (Triennale di Milano) is an art and design exhibition that takes place every three years at the Triennale di Milano Museum in Milan, Italy. History The exhibition was originally established in 1923 as a biennial architect ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nobili, Nella 1926 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Italian women People from Bologna Italian women writers Italian women poets