Carol Rifelj Faculty Lecture: Stefano Mula - Politics, Literature, and Translation: Ignazio Silone's Early Reception

Stefano Mula, Department of Italian, will give a talk as part of the 2020-21 Carol Rifelj Faculty Lecture Series. In exile for his opposition to Fascism, Ignazio Silone wrote his first literary works while abroad. His novel Fontamara was first published in German, while the Italian version was and still is almost impossible to find in Italy. The early novellas were also first published in German, and the Italian original was lost. Silone enjoyed great popularity abroad, also for his political positions, while being almost unknown in Italy. After the war, he rewrote his first novel, but his political positions (having left the Communist party, and being critical of the Catholic Church) limited his reception. In this talk, we will reassess how Silone was read and appreciated abroad, by going back to the first version of his works, with a particular focus on how translation and his political positions helped and hindered at the same time his reception both abroad and in Italy.

Please register in advance here.