University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2014 A Flower with Many Stems: Tradition and Innovation: The esW t and the East in the Poetry of Sandro Penna Livio Loi University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Loi, Livio, A Flower with Many Stems: Tradition and Innovation: The eW st and the East in the Poetry of Sandro Penna, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of English Literatures and Philosophy, University of Wollongong, 2014. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/4292 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] A FLOWER WITH MANY STEMS TRADITION AND INNOVATION: THE WEST AND THE EAST IN THE POETRY OF SANDRO PENNA Livio Loi Course: 201 Doctor of Philosophy Principal supervisor A/PR Anne Collett Co-supervisor A/PR Gaetano Rando Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of English Literatures and Philosophy (SELP) Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts University of Wollongong July 2014 2 DECLARATION I, Livio Loi, declare that this report submitted in partial fulfilment of therequirements for the conferral of the degree Doctor of Philosophy, from the University ofWollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged.This document has not been submitted for qualifications atany other academic institution. Wollongong, July 2014 3 4 ABSTRACT Italian poet Sandro Penna (1906-1977) has been considered one of the twentieth century’s finest poets on the subject of homosexual love and has been compared to Alexandrian poet Constantine Cavafy and the Greek lyrical poets, notably Sappho. Penna’s unique literary code is a peculiar combination of melancholy and exhilaration, in the manner of the Italian lyrical tradition from Petrarch’s Canzoniere to Leopardi’s Romanticism, but also with the clarity, the precision and the musicality of an Imagist. Piero Bigongiari, whose long career in Italian poetry and literary criticism has been characterized by a strong commitment to innovation, poetically defined Penna “un fiore senza stelo apparente” ‘a flower with no visible stem’which suggested the title for this study. Penna himself created his myth of isolation and loneliness, writing – as most critics define it – a timeless lyrical poetry, with no apparent external influences. Nevertheless in the diaries, letters and notes found in his archives, Penna reveals himself as a reader of contemporary literature and poetry, familiar with modern Italian, European and American literature and modern visual arts. In recent times, awareness and appreciation of Penna’s poetry in Italy and abroad have grown, mainly focusing upon his lyric treatment of homoerotic love. Few critics so far have identified connections between Penna’s poetics and the idea and practice of modernity in the European and international poetry of the twentieth century. In the literature review of this study I consider different points of view by critics, scholars and writers such as Roberto Deidier, Giulio di Fonzo, Peter Robb, William Riviere, Giorgio Luti and Pierfranco Bruni who acknowledged modernity and innovation in Penna’s oeuvre. Also, an in depth study over the European literary movements and authors who affected Penna’s poetic work and his life are still lacking and long overdue, as pointed 5 out by literary critic Roberto Deidier. This study aims to give its contribution to remedy this lack of investigation, but will also try to understand why Penna denied his influences and concealed his readings. Another purpose of this dissertation is to object to the critical “stereotype” of Penna as a purely lyric poet (for it limits and narrows the greatness and depth of his literary corpus) and to rescue him from the position of an isolated poet, relegated to a representative of the lyric tradition insisting on a mere Italian context. Following T.S. Eliot’s belief that “[h]onest criticism and sensitive appreciation is directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry”, I demonstrate that part of the greatness of Penna’s poetry lies in its unique synthesis of “Tradition” - as defined by Eliot in“Tradition and the Individual Talent” - and “innovation” as the artist’s desire to reinterpret tradition in a personal, original tone. By investigating notes and letters from Penna’s archives, connections to the twentieth century literary and cultural movements such as French Symbolism, Modernism and Imagism are investigated. Through the analysis of Penna’s corpus, Ishow similarities and connections to the works of the major personalities of the twentieth century literary scene such as T.S.Eliot, T.E.Hulme and Ezra Pound, as well as representatives of the ancient lyric tradition such as Greek poetess Sappho and modern Alexandrian poet Constantine Cavafy. This work, written in the English language, is an invitation to consider and view Penna’s work beyond its national boundaries addressedtoreaders who do notwish tothink ofItalian poetryas‘provincial’, readers who manage tofindand enjoyin Penna’s versesuggestions and echoes ofaninternational poetry. Sandro Penna’s poetry may be challenging as it offers an unusual insight into the complex world of feelings and emotional experience of the poet, but with its freshness, its modern format and its suggestive imageryit has the quality of imperishable art. 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My special thanks go to my supervisors Professor Anne Collett and Professor Gaetano Rando. They have constantly provided constructive criticism and encouragement while directing the writing of this thesis. My gratitude also goes to my partner Daz who supported me along the way. 7 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS 9 INTRODUCTION 11 Part One: Sandro Penna Chapter 1: Life and literary Fame 21 Chapter 2: Penna and the Critics. A Literature Review 53 Chapter 3: Penna’s Myth and “The Anxiety of Influence” 87 Part Two: The Flower’s stems Chapter 4: Penna’s influences: the West 103 Chapter 5: Modernism(s): an alternative view 141 Chapter 6: An “Imagist sans le savoir” 179 Chapter 7: East of Penna: the Haiku style 199 CONCLUSION 259 BIBLIOGRAPHY 263 9 10 INTRODUCTION Amavo ogni cosa nel mondo. E non avevo che il mio bianco taccuino sotto il sole. I loved everything in this world. And all I had was my blank notebook under the sun. (Sandro Penna)1 A poet, they say, for the very few Who see, through the murk of the twentieth century, The universal, the sun coming through . (Harry Clifton,“The Poet Sandro Penna, in Old Age”) If a man loses pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away. (Henry David Thoreau) I became aware of Sandro Penna’s poetry not by reading in an Anthology or a literary magazine, but it happened,strangely enough, by watching a popular talk show on Italian national television where,between a commercial and a chat, Italian poet Dario Bellezza, managed to read Penna’s poem “Nuotatore” ‘Swimmer’2, urging the audience 1“And then I am alone. Only/ the gentle company/ of luminous ingenuous lies remains.” Appunti (1938- 1949). NOTE: All translations of Italiancriticism are mine. In-text quotations of Italian criticism are given translated into the English language in order not to interrupt the English text when reading. Original quotations in Italian are provided in the footnotes. I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Gaetano Rando who assisted and advised with his expertise. All translations of Penna’s poems are mine, unless otherwise stated. 2 “Dormiva…?/Poi si tolse e si stirò./ Guardò con occhi lenti l’acqua.Un guizzo/ il suo corpo./ Così lasciò la terra.” ‘Was he sleeping?/ Then he stood up and stretched./ He watched the water, slowly. His body/ wriggling./ That was how he left the earth.’Poesie (1939). 11 not to overlook and forget his late friend Penna: a great poet. I was so impressed by those captivating verses that I decided to look for more poetry by Penna.That was in the eighties, about ten years after Penna’s death and, despite the interest and recognition of readers and critics, Penna was still “a poet for the very few”, who stepped to his own music. Italian critic and essayist Alfonso Berardinelli wrote that Sandro Penna is one of the Italian poets of the twentieth century who seems to require little explanationand thus makes you feel that any criticism is quite pointless, and yet Penna will remain, probably“an unfathomable mystery”.3We might agreewith the criticwhen he saysthat Penna’s poetrydoes not need tobe“studied” in order tobe read,andyet that Penna is so unique that he seems to be “unapproachable”. Nevertheless,thesame critic admitsthat “the critical bibliographyon himisstillsmall”(19). The purpose of thisstudy thenis notan additional or -according to Berardinelli -pointlessattempt to“explain”Penna, ratherit is an invitation to read his oeuvre from a different point of view, to consider Penna’s work from beyond its national boundaries. It isaddressedtoreaders who do notwish tothink ofItalian poetryas‘provincial’, readerswho also manage tofind,and enjoy, suggestions and echoes ofaninternational poetryin Penna’s verse. Sandro Penna (1906-1977) isconsidered unanimously by Italian and international critics to be one of the twentieth century's finest poets on the subject of homoerotic love. The dreamy and delicate quality of his versehas been comparedto Alexandrian poet Costantine Cavafy, the Greek lyrics and Sappho. Penna’s poems succeed in combining classical lyricism with modern directness and economy of words. Lacking any vulgaritythey appear suspended between real experience and the poetically 3“Sandro Penna è uno dei poeti italiani del Novecento che meno sembrano richiedere spiegazioni e che quindi fanno sentire inutile o quasi l’attività del commento .