Salvatore Quasimodo (1901-1968) was born of Sicilian
parents in Syracuse. Desiring to become an engineer, he attended technical schools
in Palermo and later enrolled at the Politecnico in Rome. In addition, he studied
Latin and Greek at the University there. However, for economic reasons he was
unable to complete his studies. He obtained a position with the Italian government's
civil engineering corps and was sent to various parts of Italy. In 1930 he had
three poems published in the avant-garde review, Solaria, and later that same
year appeared his first book of verse, Acque e terre (Waters and Lands).
Two years later he published Òboe sommerso (Sunken Oboe), in which
he proves a more mature poet. The "poetica della parole", the poetics of the word,
which is, for Quasimodo, the fundamental and virtually limitless connotative unit,
pervades his first book. While this concept still serves as the basis for Òboe
sommerso, the main interest of this collection lies in the rhythmical arrangement
of words around a lyrical nucleus. In both these and his later works Sicily is
the constant, ever-present factor.
Between 1930 and 1938, the year
he left his government position, he made the acquaintance of many prominent Italian
authors and painters. In 1938 he became editor of the weekly magazine, Tempo,
and three years later was appointed to the chair of Italian Literature at the
Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan.
During the 1930's Quasimodo
was a leader of the "Hermetic" school of poetry; however, with the appearance
of his translations Lirici Greci (Greek Lyrics), 1940, it was obvious that
his direction was no longer entirely along the lines of that group. In Nuove
Poesie (New Poems), 1942, Quasimodo reveals both the influence of classical
stylistics and a greater understanding of life in general. His subsequent translations,
which range from the Greek and Latin poets (Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, Ovid,
Vergil, etc.) to Shakespeare and Molière and twentieth-century writers
(Neruda, e.e. cummings, Aiken, etc.), reflect his full appreciation of the original
works as well as his modern taste and sensibility.
During the Second
World War Quasimodo experienced the need of the poet to feel one with the people
and to declare himself as such in his poems. To him the role of the poet in society
is a neccessarily active one; he should commit himself and his talents to contemporary
struggles. Such views were first expressed in Giorno dopogiorno (Day after
Day), 1946, and La vita non è sogno (Life Is Not a Dream), 1949.
Quasimodo's later works show this change from individualism toward sociality,
and moreover affirm the positive characteristics of life even in a world where
death is an omnipresent fear. In La terra impareggiabile (The Incomparable
Earth), 1958, Quasimodo has eloquently attempted to fuse life andliterature; he
has developed a new language which coincides with man's new activities and ever-expanding
investigations. Some of his poetry and two of his critical essays have appeared
in English translation in The SelectedWritings of Salvatore Quasimodo (1960);
his Selected Poems were published in 1965.
The recipient of
many literary prizes - in 1953, for instance, together with Dylan Thomas, he was
awarded the Etna-Taormina International Prize in Poetry -, Quasimodo died in Naples
on June I4, 1968.
From Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-1967, Editor Horst Frenz, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1969
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and later published in the book series Les Prix Nobel/Nobel Lectures. The information is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the Laureate. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.