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Literary Criticism Italian

The New Avant-Garde in Italy

Theoretical Debate and Poetic Practices

by (author) John Picchione

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Jul 2004
Category
Italian, Semiotics & Theory
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802089946
    Publish Date
    Jul 2004
    List Price
    $81.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442681835
    Publish Date
    Jul 2004
    List Price
    $80.00

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Description

The debate on literature and the arts provoked by the Italian neoavant-garde (neoavanguardia) is undoubtedly one of the most animated and controversial the country has witnessed from World War II to the present. Comprising the period between the late 1950s and the late 1960s, the phenomenon of the neoavanguardia involved key writers, critics, and artists, both as insiders – Sanguineti, Balestrini, Guglielmi, Eco, and others – and adversaries such as Pasolini, Calvino, and Moravia.

In The New Avant-Garde in Italy – the first book in English to document the movement – John Picchione's objective is twofold: to provide a comprehensive analysis of the theoretical tenets that inform the works of the neoavanguardia and to show how they are applied to the poetic practices of its authors. The neoavanguardia cannot, Picchione argues, be defined as a movement with a unified program expressed in the form of manifestos or shared theoretical principles. It experiences irreconcilable internal conflicts that are explored as a split between two main blocs – one that is tied to the project of modernity, the other to post-modern aesthetic postures. This study suggests that some of the contentious views proposed by the neoavanguardia anticipated a wide range of issues that continue to be significant and pressing to this day.

About the author

John Picchione is an associate professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at York University.

John Picchione's profile page

Awards

  • Winner, American Association of Italian Studies Book Award