Pavese, Cesare

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).

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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).

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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