Cesare Pavese

Pavese, Cesare 

Born Sept. 9, 1908, in Santo Stefano Belbo, Piedmont; died Aug. 27, 1950, in Turin. Italian writer. Member of the Italian Communist Party from 1945.

Pavese graduated from the University of Turin in 1930. He worked for the Einaudi publishing house and translated works by contemporary American writers. In the 1930’s he was exiled for his anti-Fascist views. Themes in Pavese’s early works, which included the verse collection Lavorare stanca (Work Is Tiring, 1936) and the novella Paesi tuoi (1941; English translation The Harvesters, 1962), are a tragic alienation and the rejection of reality. Contrasting motifs—an overcoming of hopelessness and the discovery of meaning in life—are found in the collection of novellas Prima che il gallo canti (Before the Cock Crows, 1949) and in the novella La luna e i falò (1950; English translation The Moon and the Bonfires, 1952; Russian translation in the journal Novyi mir, 1969, no. 12). The young hero of the novel Il compagno (1947; Russian translation, 1960; English translation The Comrade, 1961) becomes a Communist and a member of the underground.

Pavese’s diary, Il mestiere di vivere (1952; English translation The Burning Brand, 1961), was published posthumously, as were collections of his verse, short stories, and critical articles. His literary style and ideological quest influenced the young writers of postwar Italy.

WORKS

Dialoghi con Leucò, 3rd ed. Turin, 1960.
In Russian translation:
Prekrasnoe leto. Moscow, 1974.

REFERENCES

Breitburd, G. “Goden k peru.” Inostrannaia literatura, 1973, no. 7.
Venturi, G. Pavese. Florence [1970].
Gioanola, E. C. Pavese. Milan [1971].

G. D. BOGEMSKII