Poetry
Within the Sweet Noise of Life
Tutte le poesie
Sandro Penna · 1970
Synopsis
Poems that are often very short, sometimes of two lines, in a language that looks simple, close to popular songs, yet shows great formal mastery. They speak of desire for young boys glimpsed in cafés, in stations or near cemeteries, of the light and warmth of Italy, and sometimes of the violence suffered by those who love in this way. The volume gathers, ordering them and adding unpublished pieces, the collections of a whole lifetime.
Context
The volume was published by Garzanti in 1970. It took up, in an ordered arrangement, the author's earlier collections, part of which had already been brought together by the same publisher in 1957, and added unpublished poems; it won him the Fiuggi prize, and a new critical recognition dates from it. In English, several selections of his poems have appeared, from “This Strange Joy” in 1982 to “Within the Sweet Noise of Life”, translated by Alexander Booth, in 2021.
Who it is for
A thick volume made up of texts of a few lines, which can be opened at any page.
Prizes and reception
According to the European Literature Network, Natalia Ginzburg predicted that his greatness would one day be recognised by all.
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