Pavese, Cesare (chā`zärā pävĕ`sā), 1908–50, Italian novelist, poet, and translator. A major literary figure in postwar Italy, Pavese brought American influence to Italian literature through his translations. He himself was strongly influenced by Melville. Pavese's flight from the Fascists and subsequent imprisonment were reflected in his writings, which dealt with social struggle and revealed his sympathy for the oppressed. His major works include Il Compagno [the comrade] (1948), Tra Donne Sole (1948; tr. Among Women Only, 1953), and La luna e i falò (1950; tr. The Moon and the Bonfire, 1952). Pavese's recurrent theme in these novels is the search of urban man, who is caught in continually changing situations, for permanence and stability. In 1950, unhappy with both his personal life and the political climate of postwar Italy, he committed suicide.

Bibliography

See study by D. Thompson (1982).

Pavese, Cesare

(born Sept. 9, 1908, Santo Stefano Belbo, Italy—died Aug. 27, 1950, Turin) Italian poet, critic, novelist, and translator. Pavese founded, and was long an editor with, the publishing house of Einaudi. Denied a creative outlet by fascist control of literature, he did translations in the 1930s and '40s that introduced many modern U.S. and English writers to Italy. Much of his own work appeared between the end of World War II and his death by suicide at age 41; some was published posthumously. His best works include Dialogues with Leucò (1947), poetic conversations on the human condition; the novel The Moon and the Bonfire (1950); and the journal This Business of Living (1952).