About
Salvatore Quasimodo (1901-1968) was an Italian poet and a leading figure of Hermeticism, along with Giuseppe Ungaretti and Eugenio Montale. Born in Sicily, he published his first collections in the 1930s, characterized by a dense and allusive language. After World War II, his poetry shifted toward social and political engagement, reflecting the traumas of the conflict. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1959. A prolific translator, he adapted works by Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Neruda, among others. His most famous collection, Ed è subito sera (1942), epitomizes the Hermetic aesthetic.
* 1901-08-20 — † 1968-06-14
Major works
- Acque e terre (1930)poetry
- Ed è subito sera (1942)poetry
- Giorno dopo giorno (1947)poetry
- La vita non è sogno (1949)poetry
- Dare e avere (1966)poetry
Key milestones
- 1959Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature
- 1945Joined the Italian Communist Party
- 1941Appointed to the Chair of Italian Literature at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan
Themes
HermeticismSocial engagementSicilian memory and identityWar and peaceTranslation and intercultural dialo
Sources: nobelprize.org · britannica.com · id.loc.gov
