- Home address:
Via Marco Atilio 22 int. 3
00136 Rome, Italy
E-mail addresses:
mario_faraone@libero.it
- Women's travel narratives, Diaspora, Indian Writing in English, Post colonial Theory, Cultural Studies, Travel Literature, Edward Upward, Christopher Isherwood, and 31 moreInternational Brigades, Literature of the 1930s, English Literature, Oriental influence in English Literature, Spanish Civil War, William Shakespeare, Indian Diaspora (Migration and Ethnicity), Thomas Wolfe, Experience of WW1 for artists and intellectuals, Italy - World War 1, World War 1, First World War, Indian Writing in English, Diasporic Cultural Fiction, American Literature, Mysticism, Autobiography, Samuel Beckett, Victorian Literature, Children's Literature, New literatures in English, Postcolonial Studies, Postcolonial Literature, Shakespeare, Shakespeare and film, Orientalism, Sherlock Holmes, InterCultural Studies, Thomas Pynchon, Diaspora Studies, Arturo Pérez-Reverte, and Vedantaedit
Un volume multidisciplinare di saggi, racconti e riflessioni su uno degli aspetti più rappresentativi del pensiero e del comportamento umano, che Mark Twain ha argutamente definito “la più nobile delle arti”. I saggi esplorano varie... more
Un volume multidisciplinare di saggi, racconti e riflessioni su uno degli aspetti più rappresentativi del pensiero e del comportamento umano, che Mark Twain ha argutamente definito “la più nobile delle arti”. I saggi esplorano varie tipologie del falso e dell’inganno in alcuni ambiti delle scienze umane, quali la letteratura, la storia, le arti, il teatro, molto diversi tra loro, ma anche molto affini per modalità espressive. I saggi condividono un tessuto comune, il “testo” attraverso il quale falso e inganno vengono veicolati. Romanzi, graphic novels, eventi storici, drammi teatrali, biografie, critiche letterarie: lo studio è incentrato su un “testo” che presenta occorrenze del falso e dell’inganno come struttura, temi trattati, terminologie impiegate o racconti, storie e leggende evocate. Il testo è il contesto stesso della eterna partita giocata dal falso, che per poter essere creduto deve contare su rapidità nell’esecuzione, fascino nell’esposizione, verosimiglianza nell’argomentazione. Una partita che il falso gioca in ogni momento della vita dell’essere umano, e che (per fortuna?) non sempre vince! Anche i racconti sono eterogenei per ambientazione, tecnica narrativa e storie narrate. Microstorie della durata di una pagina si alternano a narrazioni più articolate e a racconti di ampio e lungo respiro: modalità diverse di penetrazione del falso, dell’inganno, dell’equivoco, del fraintendimento nelle vicende vissute dai personaggi, mettendo al contempo in luce situazioni realistiche o grottesche, assurde o paradossali, comiche o tragiche, effettivamente esperite o soltanto immaginate nella mente fervida (e qualche volta sconvolta) di personaggi che si muovono in un territorio assai poco definito e comunque sfuggente, e che, alla resa dei conti, si rivela quasi sempre diverso da quello che appare.
Research Interests:
Questo libro contiene la prima traduzione integrale con edizione critica dell’opera Sherlock Holmes. Dramma in quattro atti e l’edizione critica a Il doloroso dilemma di Sherlock Holmes. Divertissment in un decimo di atto, entrambe di... more
Questo libro contiene la prima traduzione integrale con edizione critica dell’opera Sherlock Holmes. Dramma in quattro atti e l’edizione critica a Il doloroso dilemma di Sherlock Holmes. Divertissment in un decimo di atto, entrambe di William Gillette; vi sono, poi, il poco noto Il diamante della corona: una sera con SherlockHolmes, uno dei pochi testi teatrali di Arthur Conan Doyle e Passi sulle scale, dramma in un atto di Anthony
Nathan O’Malley, finora inedito anche in originale.
Quando nel 1899 l’attore americano William Gillette iniziò a portare sulle scene l’opera teatrale da lui scritta con l’approvazione di Arthur Conan Doyle, creatore del grande investigatore, forse non si rendeva conto della qualità rivoluzionaria della sua azione. Infatti, è grazie al testo di Gillette, e alla sua instancabile attività di attore, se oggi uno dei personaggi più celebri e più amati dai lettori e dagli spettatori di tutto il mondo ha le caratteristiche che ben conosciamo. Gillette ha codificato l’immagine dell’investigatore e ha creato le basi dalle quali in poco più di un secolo sono apparsi oltre duecento adattamenti e trasposizioni teatrali, cinematografiche e televisive e oltre duemila apocrifi e riscritture, conferendo a Sherlock Holmes la palma di personaggio più rappresentato e interpretato della storia.
Nell’anno che celebra il 125° dalla creazione del personaggio e il 75° dalla scomparsa del grande attore e drammaturgo Gillette, il libro vuole offrire al pubblico italiano la possibilità di conoscere questi testi teatrali di grande spessore e di indubbia rilevanza culturale. Accanto ai testi in traduzione, il volume comprende un corposo apparato di note critiche e di riferimenti culturali e un’analisi introduttiva a opera del curatore.
La prefazione del libro è a cura di ALBERTO CRESPI, conduttore radiofonico della trasmissione di Radio 3 “Hollywood Party”. Crespi è stato anche selezionatore della Mostra Internazionale del Cinema di Venezia, direttore di Festival, docente di storia del cinema e critico cinematografico del quotidiano “L’Unità”.
Nathan O’Malley, finora inedito anche in originale.
Quando nel 1899 l’attore americano William Gillette iniziò a portare sulle scene l’opera teatrale da lui scritta con l’approvazione di Arthur Conan Doyle, creatore del grande investigatore, forse non si rendeva conto della qualità rivoluzionaria della sua azione. Infatti, è grazie al testo di Gillette, e alla sua instancabile attività di attore, se oggi uno dei personaggi più celebri e più amati dai lettori e dagli spettatori di tutto il mondo ha le caratteristiche che ben conosciamo. Gillette ha codificato l’immagine dell’investigatore e ha creato le basi dalle quali in poco più di un secolo sono apparsi oltre duecento adattamenti e trasposizioni teatrali, cinematografiche e televisive e oltre duemila apocrifi e riscritture, conferendo a Sherlock Holmes la palma di personaggio più rappresentato e interpretato della storia.
Nell’anno che celebra il 125° dalla creazione del personaggio e il 75° dalla scomparsa del grande attore e drammaturgo Gillette, il libro vuole offrire al pubblico italiano la possibilità di conoscere questi testi teatrali di grande spessore e di indubbia rilevanza culturale. Accanto ai testi in traduzione, il volume comprende un corposo apparato di note critiche e di riferimenti culturali e un’analisi introduttiva a opera del curatore.
La prefazione del libro è a cura di ALBERTO CRESPI, conduttore radiofonico della trasmissione di Radio 3 “Hollywood Party”. Crespi è stato anche selezionatore della Mostra Internazionale del Cinema di Venezia, direttore di Festival, docente di storia del cinema e critico cinematografico del quotidiano “L’Unità”.
Research Interests: Arthur Conan Doyle, Late 19th/Early 20th Century American Theatre & Drama, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, Italian translation, and 6 moreTwentieth Century and Contemporary British Theatre, British and American Drama and Theatre, William Gillette, Sherlock Holmes Scholar Criticism, Anthony Nathan O'Malley, and William Hooker Gillette
Il Novecento è stato un secolo di conflitti militari e ideologici. Gli anni Trenta, in particolar modo, hanno visto un aspro contrasto tra opposti schieramenti politici, poi sfociato nel Secondo conflitto mondiale. In questa situazione di... more
Il Novecento è stato un secolo di conflitti militari e ideologici. Gli anni Trenta, in particolar modo, hanno visto un aspro contrasto tra opposti schieramenti politici, poi sfociato nel Secondo conflitto mondiale. In questa situazione di forte tensione l’Arte si è messa in discussione, chiedendosi la legittimità di perseguire finalità meramente artistiche e avulse dalla realtà contingente, o se fosse piuttosto il caso di impegnarsi per fini politici immediati. Il panorama delle lettere inglesi ha offerto un grande numero di autori la cui opera testimonia questo dubbio: da W.H. Auden a George Orwell, da Rex Warner a Christopher Caudwell. Nelle retrovie di questo esercito letterario si trova forse l’esempio più eclatante di scrittore che ha affrontato questa empasse nel disperato tentativo di risolverla: Edward Upward (1903-2009), romanziere e intellettuale di notevole caratura artistica e ideologica, non sembra avere ancora ricevuto l’attenzione che merita e una piena giustizia interpretativa. I suoi scritti sono un prodotto del periodo storico, culturale e ideologico nel quale sono nati, e illustrano la continuità intellettuale e l’impegno politico dell’autore. Tra i primi ad aderire al partito comunista inglese nel 1932, uno degli ultimi ad abbandonarlo nel 1948, Upward ha condotto una vita di lotta in prima linea, per la causa Marxista prima e per le grandi cause umani e sociale poi, come la Campagna per il Disarmo Nucleare. La sua integrità politica, artistica e umana lo ha spinto a cercare una via narrativa per risolvere il conflitto apparentemente insanabile tra un’arte esteticamente bella ma fine a se stessa, e un’arte ancella della politica e trasformata in mera propaganda. E, dopo una strenua battaglia condotta sino alla fine, gli ha permesso di trovare una via narrativa particolarissima per garantire un equilibrio tra impegno politico e creatività artistica.
Approfondimenti nel file allegato.
Approfondimenti nel file allegato.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
“‘The Path that Leads to Safety’: Autobiographical Narrative as Spiritual Renewal in the Narrative of Christopher Isherwood”, pp. 247-258 in James Berg and Christopher Freeman, (Eds.), The Isherwood Century: essays on the Life and Work of Christopher Isherwood (Michigan: University of Wisconsin P...more
Research Interests:
Throughout his life, Christopher Isherwood explored his sense of himself through a range of different genres of writing: autobiography, letters and journals, and fiction. The polysemic image of the mirror plays a major role in the... more
Throughout his life, Christopher Isherwood explored his sense of himself through a range of different genres of writing: autobiography, letters and journals, and fiction. The polysemic image of the mirror plays a major role in the structuring of his novels and other writings. Through the figure of the mirror, the writer signals many nearly imperceptible yet significant changes over time. This article explores this image in a range of Isherwood’s writings, and argues that, through its deployment, the artist very often questions himself about the dichotomy between appearance and reality. The presence of the mirror in the early writings assumes modalities which are distinct from those belonging to the conversion period to Vedanta, the Hindu-oriented philosophy and religion.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
An analysis of some Sherlock Holmes “apocrypha” as intercultural examples of the presence of Oriental philosophy influences in Sherlock Holmes Canon: Richard Wincor, Sherlock Holmes in Tibet (1968); “Hapi” (pseudonym of Alexander Jack),... more
An analysis of some Sherlock Holmes “apocrypha” as intercultural examples of the presence of Oriental philosophy influences in Sherlock Holmes Canon: Richard Wincor, Sherlock Holmes in Tibet (1968); “Hapi” (pseudonym of Alexander Jack), The Adamantine Sherlock Holmes (1974); Jamyang Norbu, The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes (1999).
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Autobiography, Literature of the 1930s, Travel Literature, Vedanta, Uffizi, and 8 moreChristopher Isherwood, Literature in the 1920s and 1930s, Thomas Wolfe, Galleria Degli Uffizi, Florence, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, American Literature and Culture of the 1930s, Christopher Isherwood Studies, and British 1930s
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
"My paper addresses the concept of Diaspora of the South East Asian communities in London, and it is focused on both its central areas and its peripheries as they are portrayed in the literary and essayist texts of Indian, Bangladeshi,... more
"My paper addresses the concept of Diaspora of the South East Asian communities in London, and it is focused on both its central areas and its peripheries as they are portrayed in the literary and essayist texts of Indian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani writers. The common thread linking writers of such different cultures seems to me the attempt to search for, find and produce different modalities of what Homi Bhabha calls “The third space of enunciation,” that is a brand new possibility of integration and co-existence between the former imperial subject and the people coming from its colonies and territories.
The paper researches both the literary and the sociological fields. Starting from writers such as Sam Selvon, Kamala Markandaya, Ravinder Randhawa, V. S. Naipaul, Salman Rushde and Hanif Kureishi (to quote just the outstanding names), I am analysing the artistic renderings of the concepts of “hybridisation” and “multi-culturalism” as they appear to emerge from the writings of first, second and third generation diasporic writers. In this sense, observing London from the early fifties till the end of the century, the writers of the Diaspora seem to have codified different reactions of the city and of British culture to the progressive penetration of alien and heterogeneous cultures.
Historically examined, these texts show more than one connection with the social context which contributed to their creation. And the life and interaction of different communities emerge as deeply linked with the urban structure of the city and with the political and administrative establishment which run it."
The paper researches both the literary and the sociological fields. Starting from writers such as Sam Selvon, Kamala Markandaya, Ravinder Randhawa, V. S. Naipaul, Salman Rushde and Hanif Kureishi (to quote just the outstanding names), I am analysing the artistic renderings of the concepts of “hybridisation” and “multi-culturalism” as they appear to emerge from the writings of first, second and third generation diasporic writers. In this sense, observing London from the early fifties till the end of the century, the writers of the Diaspora seem to have codified different reactions of the city and of British culture to the progressive penetration of alien and heterogeneous cultures.
Historically examined, these texts show more than one connection with the social context which contributed to their creation. And the life and interaction of different communities emerge as deeply linked with the urban structure of the city and with the political and administrative establishment which run it."
Research Interests: Postcolonial Studies, Hybridity, Indian Diaspora (Migration and Ethnicity), Diaspora, Indian Writing in English, Post colonial Theory, V.S. Naipaul, The Mimic Men, and 10 moreSalman Rushdie, Imaginary Homelands, Sam Selvon, Lonely Londoners, Kamala Markandaya, Ravinder Randhawa, A Wicked Old Woman, Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureishi, “We Are not Jews”, Hanif Kureishi, The Sign of the Rainbow, Hanif Kureishi, Dreaming and Scheaming, Hanif Kureishi, “With your tongue down my throat”, and Hanif Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time
""The first attempts to apply Buddhist and Zen systems of thought as critical methodologies in the examination of Beckett’s canon can be traced back to the first half of the Sixties. Richard Coes, in his Beckett (1964) infers it with... more
""The first attempts to apply Buddhist and Zen systems of thought as critical methodologies in the examination of Beckett’s canon can be traced back to the first half of the Sixties. Richard Coes, in his Beckett (1964) infers it with authority, offering several relevant examples of a possible comparative reading. Steven Rosen, in Samuel Beckett and the Pessimistic Tradition (1976), moves further, by analyzing Beckett’s works and stating that they reproduce a great variety of Buddhist conceptual elements.
Applying Buddhism as a critical approach to Beckett’s works doesn’t mean neither assuming a Beckettian in-depth knowledge of the Buddhist issue, nor stating his precise intention to diffuse Buddhist doctrine in his own works, though there are several instances of Beckett’s explicit statement of the importance of Buddhist principles. For instance, in the scarcely known essay Henry Heyden, homme paintre, the author underlines Siddharta Gautama’s declaration of the simultaneous existence and non-existence of the “I”. Besides the frequent appearance of images and symbol in Beckett’s plays and novels, images and symbols that due to their polysemic nature can easily be ascribed to philosophical, religious and psychoanalytical systems belonging to the western tradition as well, in my opinion it is important to realize that very often Beckett’s thought covers individual paths that are its own, though to some extent similar to those belonging to the Buddhist Zen tradition.
The main topic of my paper consists in the analysis of some fundamental Buddhist concepts hosted, so to speak, in the playwrights’ art, concepts that can consequently be employed as helpful tools in order to reach a better understanding of several of Beckett’s artistic issues. For instance, one of the most frequent topics in both Beckett’s plays and novels is the examination of the human condition and the perception of the suffering “I” in the daily experience of living and dying, that is the Buddhist samsara.""
Applying Buddhism as a critical approach to Beckett’s works doesn’t mean neither assuming a Beckettian in-depth knowledge of the Buddhist issue, nor stating his precise intention to diffuse Buddhist doctrine in his own works, though there are several instances of Beckett’s explicit statement of the importance of Buddhist principles. For instance, in the scarcely known essay Henry Heyden, homme paintre, the author underlines Siddharta Gautama’s declaration of the simultaneous existence and non-existence of the “I”. Besides the frequent appearance of images and symbol in Beckett’s plays and novels, images and symbols that due to their polysemic nature can easily be ascribed to philosophical, religious and psychoanalytical systems belonging to the western tradition as well, in my opinion it is important to realize that very often Beckett’s thought covers individual paths that are its own, though to some extent similar to those belonging to the Buddhist Zen tradition.
The main topic of my paper consists in the analysis of some fundamental Buddhist concepts hosted, so to speak, in the playwrights’ art, concepts that can consequently be employed as helpful tools in order to reach a better understanding of several of Beckett’s artistic issues. For instance, one of the most frequent topics in both Beckett’s plays and novels is the examination of the human condition and the perception of the suffering “I” in the daily experience of living and dying, that is the Buddhist samsara.""
Research Interests:
"Taken as a whole, Isherwood’s narrative proves to be a complex and harmonic, literary and psychological tool by means of which the author succeeds, throughout his life, in examining himself, jotting down his experiences, observing the... more
"Taken as a whole, Isherwood’s narrative proves to be a complex and harmonic, literary and psychological tool by means of which the author succeeds, throughout his life, in examining himself, jotting down his experiences, observing the changes, analysing his own choice and meditating on his own personality and individuality.
In this sense, the polisemic image of the mirror, besides being a symbol, plays a major role in the structure of the narrative. In fact it recurs ― practically in almost all his novels ― as both an effective and recalled evocative, and is subjected to imperceptible yet deep-rooted changes, as are several other aspects in the author’s life and work.
The final aim of this autobiographical survey is to discover “Christopher Isherwood the Individual.” The internal dynamic of his complexity as well as psychological and spiritual maturity makes use of the journal technique which very often forms the backbone of his narrative but the study of images, as icons of the persona to be examined, is evident right from his early efforts and it is obviously linked to Isherwood’s growing fondness for the world of entertainment in general and for the cinema in particular. In fact, Isherwood, from boyhood was fascinated by the cinema and, from an early age, began going to movies, especially during his university years at Cambridge, and later in Berlin, in the period 1929-1933, when the cinema formed a vital part of the contemporary European culture.
The image as a mirror of reality is a theme which underlines the entire western culture and which plays a fundamental role in the 20th century. In fact, it is evident that one of the strongest motivations for the frequent recurrence of this iconographic symbol is the fact that the artist very often questions himself about the dichotomy between appearance and reality: “[...] mirrors have been much used in literary works as a means of raising questions about the objects they reflect, conceal, or unmask, as well as about the universal theme of literature - the disparity between reality and appearance” (Weidhorn 1988, 50).
In this sense, it’s possible to detect in Isherwood’s narrative two precise moments when the literary figure of the mirror and of its reflections are expressed through two different stages of development, which are both linked and consecutive. In Isherwood’s so-called “first narrative stage”, that stretches from All the Conspirators (1928) to Lions and Shadows (1938) and Journey to a War (1939), the presence of the mirror assumes modalities which are distinct from those belonging to the conversion period to Vedanta, the Hindu-oriented philosophy and religion, when a shift in his deployment of the image reflects the shift in his ontology."
In this sense, the polisemic image of the mirror, besides being a symbol, plays a major role in the structure of the narrative. In fact it recurs ― practically in almost all his novels ― as both an effective and recalled evocative, and is subjected to imperceptible yet deep-rooted changes, as are several other aspects in the author’s life and work.
The final aim of this autobiographical survey is to discover “Christopher Isherwood the Individual.” The internal dynamic of his complexity as well as psychological and spiritual maturity makes use of the journal technique which very often forms the backbone of his narrative but the study of images, as icons of the persona to be examined, is evident right from his early efforts and it is obviously linked to Isherwood’s growing fondness for the world of entertainment in general and for the cinema in particular. In fact, Isherwood, from boyhood was fascinated by the cinema and, from an early age, began going to movies, especially during his university years at Cambridge, and later in Berlin, in the period 1929-1933, when the cinema formed a vital part of the contemporary European culture.
The image as a mirror of reality is a theme which underlines the entire western culture and which plays a fundamental role in the 20th century. In fact, it is evident that one of the strongest motivations for the frequent recurrence of this iconographic symbol is the fact that the artist very often questions himself about the dichotomy between appearance and reality: “[...] mirrors have been much used in literary works as a means of raising questions about the objects they reflect, conceal, or unmask, as well as about the universal theme of literature - the disparity between reality and appearance” (Weidhorn 1988, 50).
In this sense, it’s possible to detect in Isherwood’s narrative two precise moments when the literary figure of the mirror and of its reflections are expressed through two different stages of development, which are both linked and consecutive. In Isherwood’s so-called “first narrative stage”, that stretches from All the Conspirators (1928) to Lions and Shadows (1938) and Journey to a War (1939), the presence of the mirror assumes modalities which are distinct from those belonging to the conversion period to Vedanta, the Hindu-oriented philosophy and religion, when a shift in his deployment of the image reflects the shift in his ontology."
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Una bibliografia di queste dimensioni, condotta per un lungo periodo (dal 1985 al 2007) su un’attività scientifica durata per un arco temporale che oltrepassa il mezzo secolo (ben 55 sono gli anni, infatti, che hanno visto Agostino... more
Una bibliografia di queste dimensioni, condotta per un lungo periodo (dal 1985 al 2007) su un’attività scientifica durata per un arco temporale che oltrepassa il mezzo secolo (ben 55 sono gli anni, infatti, che hanno visto Agostino Lombardo ricercare, scrivere, pubblicare), è per forza di cose destinata a essere continuamente “ripensata” e sistematizzata, sulla base di nuove scoperte e di nuove metodologie di ricerca.
Iniziata come un “gioco a due” tra il Maestro e un suo allievo, motivata dalla fascinazione che gli scritti di Agostino Lombardo erano e sono in grado di esercitare su studiosi e studenti, la mia ricerca bibliografica ha mosso i suoi primi passi nel modo più ovvio: nei cassetti metallici delle biblioteche; sugli scaffali a disposizione del pubblico; chiedendo consigli e indicazioni a colleghi studenti e docenti universitari che, dapprima professori dei miei corsi, sono poi divenuti amici e colleghi. E la bibliografia si è andata piano piano ingrandendo, con soddisfazione e apprezzamento di Agostino Lombardo il quale, spesso tramite le pagine e le voci della bibliografia, “ritrovava” egli stesso articoli e scritti di un tempo che, curiosamente, aveva dimenticato!
In seguito, però, la ricerca si è raffinata sia nel metodo che nelle finalità, avvalendosi di banche dati e risorse venute a disposizione soprattutto nella seconda metà degli anni ’90, strumenti impensabili nel panorama bibliotecario e accademico italiano solo fino al decennio precedente. La presente bibliografia è stata compilata facendo ricorso ad alcuni degli strumenti di ricerca più accreditati e più efficaci nel campo dell’anglistica. Sono stati consultati tre tra i repertori bibliografici più noti nel campo anglosassone, repertori che indicizzano annualmente migliaia di riviste scientifiche e accademiche e che effettuano lo spoglio degli indici in maniera sistematica, redigendo una bibliografia annuale che tiene conto dei moderni criteri di catalogazione e sistematizzazione degli argomenti così come sono attualmente addottati alla British Library di Londra e alla National Congress Library di New York.
Questi repertori sono:
• ABELL. Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature. Cambridge, 1923 -; ISSN: 0066-3786.
• MLA. Modern Language Association. international bibliography of books and articles on the modern languages and literatures. New York, 1957 -; ISSN: 0024-8215.
• YWES. Year’s Work in English Studies. London, 1919 -; ISSN: 0084-4144.
La cospicua attività svolta da Agostino Lombardo nel campo degli studi sul teatro Elisabettiano e Giacomiano, e sul Rinascimento inglese in genere, mi ha spinto a consultare repertori e riviste specializzate proprio in questo settore. Alcune riviste pubblicano regolarmente studi critici sul dramma di questo periodo, e aggiornamenti bibliografici, spesso di carattere tematico e monografico, che passano in rassegna la produzione mondiale più recente, ma che indicizzano anche testi classici e altri meno noti pubblicati nel passato. Tra queste riviste, le più note sono:
• English Literary Renaissance. Amherst, MA; 1971 - ; ISSN: 0013-8312.
• Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England. AMS Press. New York; 1984 - ; ISSN: 0731-3403.
• Renaissance Drama. Northwestern University. Evanston, IL; 1964 - ; ISSN: 0486-3739.
• Shakespeare Quarterly. Shakespeare Association of America, Folger Shakespeare Library, NY; 1950 - ; ISSN: 0037-3222.
• Shakespeare Survey. An annual survey of shakespearian study and production. Cambridge; 1948 -; ISSN: 0080-9152.
• Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. Houston Rice University; 1961 - ; ISSN: 0039-3657.
Infine, i moderni strumenti di ricerca informatica forniti dal World Wide Web e da Internet in particolare hanno reso possibile approfondire ulteriormente l’aggiornamento, sino a giungere in pratica agli anni contemporanei alla redazione finale e alla successiva pubblicazione di questa bibliografia, superando così l’annoso problema del ritardo a volte consistente tra la pubblicazione effettiva dei materiali di ricerca e la conoscenza degli stessi nel mondo scientifico e accademico, ritardo dovuto ai talvolta lunghi processi di stampa delle tradizionali bibliografie cartacee. La ricerca su Internet ha inoltre prodotto risultati importanti, soprattutto permettendo la consultazione dei moderni Opac bibliografici, aggiornati in tempo “approssimativamente reale”, Opac che negli ultimi anni sono dediti al recupero del “pregresso cartaceo” e che rendono fruibile una cospicua quantità di documenti bibliografici finora consultabili solo attraverso la visita alle singole biblioteche. Purtroppo, la sostanziale assenza di una bibliografia complessiva di “spoglio” delle riviste, ha reso necessario in questo caso la tradizionale consultazione “in loco”, numero per numero e annata per annata. Ad ogni modo, utilissimi sono stati in questo senso:
• ICCU. Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico
• URL: http://opac.sbn.it/
• L’istituto ha di recente inaugurato un nuovo portale di ricerca, Internet Culturale, che contiene l’intero patrimonio del sito precedente, viene aggiornato con frequenza, e, nel medio termine, sostituirà definitivamente l’attuale Opac SBN. URL: http://www.internetculturale.it/
• ACNP. Archivio Collettivo Nazionale dei Periodici.
• URL: http://acnp.cib.unibo.it/cgi-ser/start/it/cnr/fp.html
Altre risorse informatiche rivelatesi molto utili sono state i portali di ricerca di articoli Full-text, non già per la presenza in essi di scritti di Agostino Lombardo, ma per la possibilità di consultare testi critici che nel passato hanno citato o hanno fatto riferimento a testi dell’Autore, in questo modo permettendo riscontri incrociati e l’individuazione di voci bibliografiche che altrimenti sarebbero sfuggite alla mia ricerca. In particolar modo, due risorse si sono rivelate preziose:
• LION. Literature on Line.
• URL: http://lion.chadwyck.co.uk/
• JSTOR. Journals Storage Archivi.
• URL: http://www.jstor.org/
Infine, si è rivelato indispensabile il sostegno morale e spesso pratico di numerosi colleghi, amici e conoscenti nel modo accademico italiano e straniero, che hanno generosamente fornito suggerimenti, integrazioni e “ricordi” di voci bibliografiche viste in testi impensabili; un elenco talmente lungo che sarebbe impossibile ricordare con esattezza e completezza in questa sede, se non scrivendo un’altra bibliografia! Un grazie con sincero affetto e riconoscenza va a tutti loro, che sanno di avermi aiutato. Un grazie particolare, tuttavia, va a chi ha molto insistito, molto contribuito e molto aiutato perché questa bibliografia trovasse la sua veste definitiva e la via della pubblicazione. Senza nulla togliere agli altri, mi riferisco in particolare a Giorgio Melchiori, Francesco Marroni, Rosamaria Colombo, Richard Ambrosini, Guido Bulla, Leo Marchetti, Igina Tattoni, Alessandro Gebbia, Ugo Rubeo, Carla Gabrieli, Riccardo Duranti e Natalia Lombardo. Grazie davvero di cuore.
E un grazie speciale ai miei genitori, mia mamma Eva e mio papà Felice, di recente scomparso, che ha avuto il piacere di conoscere, apprezzare e stimare Agostino Lombardo, seguendo alcune delle sue lezioni. Un grazie a mio fratello Maurizio, insostituibile “sostegno informatico”, e mia moglie Paola, che è sempre accanto a me e il cui aiuto a correggere e controllare le “bozze” di questa bibliografia è stato, come sempre, preziosissimo. A loro quattro, la bibliografia del mio Maestro è idealmente dedicata.
Iniziata come un “gioco a due” tra il Maestro e un suo allievo, motivata dalla fascinazione che gli scritti di Agostino Lombardo erano e sono in grado di esercitare su studiosi e studenti, la mia ricerca bibliografica ha mosso i suoi primi passi nel modo più ovvio: nei cassetti metallici delle biblioteche; sugli scaffali a disposizione del pubblico; chiedendo consigli e indicazioni a colleghi studenti e docenti universitari che, dapprima professori dei miei corsi, sono poi divenuti amici e colleghi. E la bibliografia si è andata piano piano ingrandendo, con soddisfazione e apprezzamento di Agostino Lombardo il quale, spesso tramite le pagine e le voci della bibliografia, “ritrovava” egli stesso articoli e scritti di un tempo che, curiosamente, aveva dimenticato!
In seguito, però, la ricerca si è raffinata sia nel metodo che nelle finalità, avvalendosi di banche dati e risorse venute a disposizione soprattutto nella seconda metà degli anni ’90, strumenti impensabili nel panorama bibliotecario e accademico italiano solo fino al decennio precedente. La presente bibliografia è stata compilata facendo ricorso ad alcuni degli strumenti di ricerca più accreditati e più efficaci nel campo dell’anglistica. Sono stati consultati tre tra i repertori bibliografici più noti nel campo anglosassone, repertori che indicizzano annualmente migliaia di riviste scientifiche e accademiche e che effettuano lo spoglio degli indici in maniera sistematica, redigendo una bibliografia annuale che tiene conto dei moderni criteri di catalogazione e sistematizzazione degli argomenti così come sono attualmente addottati alla British Library di Londra e alla National Congress Library di New York.
Questi repertori sono:
• ABELL. Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature. Cambridge, 1923 -; ISSN: 0066-3786.
• MLA. Modern Language Association. international bibliography of books and articles on the modern languages and literatures. New York, 1957 -; ISSN: 0024-8215.
• YWES. Year’s Work in English Studies. London, 1919 -; ISSN: 0084-4144.
La cospicua attività svolta da Agostino Lombardo nel campo degli studi sul teatro Elisabettiano e Giacomiano, e sul Rinascimento inglese in genere, mi ha spinto a consultare repertori e riviste specializzate proprio in questo settore. Alcune riviste pubblicano regolarmente studi critici sul dramma di questo periodo, e aggiornamenti bibliografici, spesso di carattere tematico e monografico, che passano in rassegna la produzione mondiale più recente, ma che indicizzano anche testi classici e altri meno noti pubblicati nel passato. Tra queste riviste, le più note sono:
• English Literary Renaissance. Amherst, MA; 1971 - ; ISSN: 0013-8312.
• Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England. AMS Press. New York; 1984 - ; ISSN: 0731-3403.
• Renaissance Drama. Northwestern University. Evanston, IL; 1964 - ; ISSN: 0486-3739.
• Shakespeare Quarterly. Shakespeare Association of America, Folger Shakespeare Library, NY; 1950 - ; ISSN: 0037-3222.
• Shakespeare Survey. An annual survey of shakespearian study and production. Cambridge; 1948 -; ISSN: 0080-9152.
• Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. Houston Rice University; 1961 - ; ISSN: 0039-3657.
Infine, i moderni strumenti di ricerca informatica forniti dal World Wide Web e da Internet in particolare hanno reso possibile approfondire ulteriormente l’aggiornamento, sino a giungere in pratica agli anni contemporanei alla redazione finale e alla successiva pubblicazione di questa bibliografia, superando così l’annoso problema del ritardo a volte consistente tra la pubblicazione effettiva dei materiali di ricerca e la conoscenza degli stessi nel mondo scientifico e accademico, ritardo dovuto ai talvolta lunghi processi di stampa delle tradizionali bibliografie cartacee. La ricerca su Internet ha inoltre prodotto risultati importanti, soprattutto permettendo la consultazione dei moderni Opac bibliografici, aggiornati in tempo “approssimativamente reale”, Opac che negli ultimi anni sono dediti al recupero del “pregresso cartaceo” e che rendono fruibile una cospicua quantità di documenti bibliografici finora consultabili solo attraverso la visita alle singole biblioteche. Purtroppo, la sostanziale assenza di una bibliografia complessiva di “spoglio” delle riviste, ha reso necessario in questo caso la tradizionale consultazione “in loco”, numero per numero e annata per annata. Ad ogni modo, utilissimi sono stati in questo senso:
• ICCU. Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico
• URL: http://opac.sbn.it/
• L’istituto ha di recente inaugurato un nuovo portale di ricerca, Internet Culturale, che contiene l’intero patrimonio del sito precedente, viene aggiornato con frequenza, e, nel medio termine, sostituirà definitivamente l’attuale Opac SBN. URL: http://www.internetculturale.it/
• ACNP. Archivio Collettivo Nazionale dei Periodici.
• URL: http://acnp.cib.unibo.it/cgi-ser/start/it/cnr/fp.html
Altre risorse informatiche rivelatesi molto utili sono state i portali di ricerca di articoli Full-text, non già per la presenza in essi di scritti di Agostino Lombardo, ma per la possibilità di consultare testi critici che nel passato hanno citato o hanno fatto riferimento a testi dell’Autore, in questo modo permettendo riscontri incrociati e l’individuazione di voci bibliografiche che altrimenti sarebbero sfuggite alla mia ricerca. In particolar modo, due risorse si sono rivelate preziose:
• LION. Literature on Line.
• URL: http://lion.chadwyck.co.uk/
• JSTOR. Journals Storage Archivi.
• URL: http://www.jstor.org/
Infine, si è rivelato indispensabile il sostegno morale e spesso pratico di numerosi colleghi, amici e conoscenti nel modo accademico italiano e straniero, che hanno generosamente fornito suggerimenti, integrazioni e “ricordi” di voci bibliografiche viste in testi impensabili; un elenco talmente lungo che sarebbe impossibile ricordare con esattezza e completezza in questa sede, se non scrivendo un’altra bibliografia! Un grazie con sincero affetto e riconoscenza va a tutti loro, che sanno di avermi aiutato. Un grazie particolare, tuttavia, va a chi ha molto insistito, molto contribuito e molto aiutato perché questa bibliografia trovasse la sua veste definitiva e la via della pubblicazione. Senza nulla togliere agli altri, mi riferisco in particolare a Giorgio Melchiori, Francesco Marroni, Rosamaria Colombo, Richard Ambrosini, Guido Bulla, Leo Marchetti, Igina Tattoni, Alessandro Gebbia, Ugo Rubeo, Carla Gabrieli, Riccardo Duranti e Natalia Lombardo. Grazie davvero di cuore.
E un grazie speciale ai miei genitori, mia mamma Eva e mio papà Felice, di recente scomparso, che ha avuto il piacere di conoscere, apprezzare e stimare Agostino Lombardo, seguendo alcune delle sue lezioni. Un grazie a mio fratello Maurizio, insostituibile “sostegno informatico”, e mia moglie Paola, che è sempre accanto a me e il cui aiuto a correggere e controllare le “bozze” di questa bibliografia è stato, come sempre, preziosissimo. A loro quattro, la bibliografia del mio Maestro è idealmente dedicata.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
“‘You saw, but you did not observe!’: Sherlock Holmes, il buddismo e l’indipendenza del Tibet”, Merope. Rivista semestrale degli Istituti di lingue e letterature germaniche e di lingue e letterature romanze della Facoltà di lingue e letterature straniere di Pescara (Pescara; ISSN: 1121-0613), XVIII: 48: Maggio 2006: pp. 55-87.more
Research Interests:
“‘When You Have Excluded the Impossible’: Sherlock Holmes e il pensiero orientale, tra investigazioni, deduzioni e illuminazioni”, in J.M. Ivo Klaver (ed.), Sherlock Holmes e il giallo inglese, numero monografico di Linguae &. Rivista di lingue e culture moderne (Milano; ISSN: 1724-8698), 1: 2006: 35-51.more
Research Interests:
“‘Dust hides a Mirror’: Intercultural Treatment of Images and Reflections in Christopher Isherwood’s Narrative”, Alice e Sheherazade (rivista Quaderni del Dipartimento del Mediterraneo, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Trieste), 1: 1: Febbraio 2005: 152-168. Online “*.pdf” publication available at the URL: <http://www.ilbolerodiravel.org/vetriolo/alice-01.pdf>.more
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The article deals with the images and representations of Fascism and the Fascist ideology in some narrative and political writings of the 1920s and 1930s in England. The issue is one of major importance within the political and literary... more
The article deals with the images and representations of Fascism and the Fascist ideology in some narrative and political writings of the 1920s and 1930s in England. The issue is one of major importance within the political and literary debate of the period. After a first phase in the Twenties when several British middle-class intellectuals regarded Fascism with a mildly optimistic perspective, in the Thirties a full perception of the true nature of Fascism and Nazism was acquired thanks to a deeper economic and political analysis and to a first hand knowledge of the historical events which would lead to the outburst of WWII. The gradual changes in the representation of Fascism as the British public perceived it in the 1920s and 1930s lead to a better understanding of the socio-political debates between writers and intellectuals of different and often opposite ideologies.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
""Transcendentalist thought, an element at the very core of the so called “American Renaissance” and one of the basis of American religious and philosophical tradition, only too naturally becomes involved in the curiosity towards other... more
""Transcendentalist thought, an element at the very core of the so called “American Renaissance” and one of the basis of American religious and philosophical tradition, only too naturally becomes involved in the curiosity towards other forms of thought and culture.
Religious thinkers, intellectuals and essayists read extensively the most outstanding evidence of the Oriental religious canon such as the Upanishads, the Vedas, the Mahbarata. And, each one alone or as a group, they work on those contents capable of bringing new light to the faith and knowledge of their own culture. The writings of the transcendentalist minister and Orientalist Samuel Johnson, although soon outdated due to rapid advances in Western acquaintance with the cultures and sacred literatures of Asia, are nonetheless important, because the essence of their lesson lies in the synthetizing approach.
Paul Carus, Alan Watts, J.F. Clarke and Moncure Conway, religious ministers as well as learned and skilful researcher in far and distant cultures, are but a natural complement to the Transcendentalist quest for communion between East and West first articulated by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, a quest aimed at exploring the different and sometimes difficult ways in which the religions of the East, above all Hinduism and Buddhism, may speak to the spiritual condition of the West.""
Religious thinkers, intellectuals and essayists read extensively the most outstanding evidence of the Oriental religious canon such as the Upanishads, the Vedas, the Mahbarata. And, each one alone or as a group, they work on those contents capable of bringing new light to the faith and knowledge of their own culture. The writings of the transcendentalist minister and Orientalist Samuel Johnson, although soon outdated due to rapid advances in Western acquaintance with the cultures and sacred literatures of Asia, are nonetheless important, because the essence of their lesson lies in the synthetizing approach.
Paul Carus, Alan Watts, J.F. Clarke and Moncure Conway, religious ministers as well as learned and skilful researcher in far and distant cultures, are but a natural complement to the Transcendentalist quest for communion between East and West first articulated by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, a quest aimed at exploring the different and sometimes difficult ways in which the religions of the East, above all Hinduism and Buddhism, may speak to the spiritual condition of the West.""
Research Interests:
“I know nothing about Wheissu”: (re)living and (re)telling The Great Game, political tourism and other Victorian Intelligence Activities in Thomas Pynchon’s V. The Late Victorian and fin de siècle setting of the wide majority of Thomas... more
“I know nothing about Wheissu”: (re)living and (re)telling The Great Game, political tourism and other Victorian Intelligence Activities in Thomas Pynchon’s V.
The Late Victorian and fin de siècle setting of the wide majority of Thomas Pynchon’s V., above all the chapters belonging to the so called “Stencil’s sub-plot” represent a brilliant innovation for the treatment of time past, a narrative issue of the utmost significance in 20th century novel writing ever since early Modernism. History itself plays a significant role in the novel, waving from the 1956 contemporary events, to the late 19th century Egypt at the time of the British protectorate; to Florence in the early years of the new born Italian kingdom, to West Africa at the time of the German colony in 1904; to Europe during WW1. The present proposal aims at investigating the structural and narrative functions of Sidney Stencil’s character and relate plot, above all in the light of an evident debt of Pynchon towards both the late 19th and early 20th century detective and spy story genres. Issues such as conspiracy and reason of state, espionage and exotic travelling run through the pages of the novel, representing a series of hints, continuously echoing one another, trying to weave a complex web of connections between time present and the various time pasts. One of such connections is certainly embodied by the search for the nature and identity of “V.”, a search which represents both a structural and a thematic frame in the almost Joycean interactions between characters and time periods, in an intertextual and intercultural context. On Pynchon’s narrative stage, the Great Tour and the Great Game seem to interact, with the help of diplomacy and intelligence, in order not only to “bring light into darkness”, but also to bring light into a dark story of mysteries and ambiguities, symbols and allegories, which lies at the very root of contemporary culture.
The Late Victorian and fin de siècle setting of the wide majority of Thomas Pynchon’s V., above all the chapters belonging to the so called “Stencil’s sub-plot” represent a brilliant innovation for the treatment of time past, a narrative issue of the utmost significance in 20th century novel writing ever since early Modernism. History itself plays a significant role in the novel, waving from the 1956 contemporary events, to the late 19th century Egypt at the time of the British protectorate; to Florence in the early years of the new born Italian kingdom, to West Africa at the time of the German colony in 1904; to Europe during WW1. The present proposal aims at investigating the structural and narrative functions of Sidney Stencil’s character and relate plot, above all in the light of an evident debt of Pynchon towards both the late 19th and early 20th century detective and spy story genres. Issues such as conspiracy and reason of state, espionage and exotic travelling run through the pages of the novel, representing a series of hints, continuously echoing one another, trying to weave a complex web of connections between time present and the various time pasts. One of such connections is certainly embodied by the search for the nature and identity of “V.”, a search which represents both a structural and a thematic frame in the almost Joycean interactions between characters and time periods, in an intertextual and intercultural context. On Pynchon’s narrative stage, the Great Tour and the Great Game seem to interact, with the help of diplomacy and intelligence, in order not only to “bring light into darkness”, but also to bring light into a dark story of mysteries and ambiguities, symbols and allegories, which lies at the very root of contemporary culture.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In the general public knowledge and experience, Victorian Age usually represents an age of prosperity and of political stability, due both to a sound and steady leading by the Queen and her governments, and to a conspicuous wealth coming... more
In the general public knowledge and experience, Victorian Age usually represents an age of prosperity and of political stability, due both to a sound and steady leading by the Queen and her governments, and to a conspicuous wealth coming from the ever enlarging number of colonies and protectorates all over the world. British Empire above all means territorial occupation and trade commerce, and the amount of British subjects directly (or indirectly) involved in the web of activities and operations connected to it is enormous, ranging from the military ranks to the religious organizations, to the import and export companies, to those individuals simply looking for a great opportunity to change life and improve one’s own life standard. And generally succeeding.
After nearly a century of Film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes canon stories, and more than half of that time of Television renderings, the perception of the British empire emerging from such a bewildering amount of films and TV series greatly varies from extremely meticulous reproduction of “the real thing” to ingenuous (and sometimes, unbelievable) representations of the lands and the people portrayed in the stories.
Starting from a quick outlining of the “Orientalism” present in the canon, my contribute aims at offering in-depth perception of selected film and TV adaptations, focusing above all on some adaptations of the novel The Sign of Four and of the short story The Adventure of the Speckled Band. In my opinion, the India emerging from these media renderings of Conan Doyle’s writings is anyway strictly linked to his various and multifaceted descriptions of the “Jewel of the Empire”, and both are a further demonstration of Edward Said’s famous statement in Orientalism, where he presents the reader with a possible double simultaneous perception of the Orient. In fact, by stating the impossibility for the Western travellers and writers to objectively perceive the Orient, due to the stratification of previous tales, relations and inventions concerning Eastern lands, populations and cultures, Said seems to stress that any appropriation and representation of the East presents both expectations and fears: expectations based on a mixture of hopes for a better civilization and a fairyland where people dwell in a sort of Golden age; fears rooted in the distaste for the “Otherness”, generally perceived as an anonymous mob which lives a completely different life, has completely different habits and manners, and may be considered uncivilized and therefore inferior.
Expectations and fears both simultaneously present in Sherlock Holmes’ adventures.
The presentation will be published in the symposium's proceedings.
After nearly a century of Film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes canon stories, and more than half of that time of Television renderings, the perception of the British empire emerging from such a bewildering amount of films and TV series greatly varies from extremely meticulous reproduction of “the real thing” to ingenuous (and sometimes, unbelievable) representations of the lands and the people portrayed in the stories.
Starting from a quick outlining of the “Orientalism” present in the canon, my contribute aims at offering in-depth perception of selected film and TV adaptations, focusing above all on some adaptations of the novel The Sign of Four and of the short story The Adventure of the Speckled Band. In my opinion, the India emerging from these media renderings of Conan Doyle’s writings is anyway strictly linked to his various and multifaceted descriptions of the “Jewel of the Empire”, and both are a further demonstration of Edward Said’s famous statement in Orientalism, where he presents the reader with a possible double simultaneous perception of the Orient. In fact, by stating the impossibility for the Western travellers and writers to objectively perceive the Orient, due to the stratification of previous tales, relations and inventions concerning Eastern lands, populations and cultures, Said seems to stress that any appropriation and representation of the East presents both expectations and fears: expectations based on a mixture of hopes for a better civilization and a fairyland where people dwell in a sort of Golden age; fears rooted in the distaste for the “Otherness”, generally perceived as an anonymous mob which lives a completely different life, has completely different habits and manners, and may be considered uncivilized and therefore inferior.
Expectations and fears both simultaneously present in Sherlock Holmes’ adventures.
The presentation will be published in the symposium's proceedings.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
My paper addresses the concept of Diaspora of the South East Asian communities in London, and it is focused on both its central areas and its peripheries as they are portrayed in the literary and essayist texts of Indian, Bangladeshi, and... more
My paper addresses the concept of Diaspora of the South East Asian communities in London, and it is focused on both its central areas and its peripheries as they are portrayed in the literary and essayist texts of Indian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani writers. The common thread linking writers of such different cultures seems to me the attempt to search for, find and produce different modalities of what Homi Bhabha calls “The third space of enunciation,” that is a brand new possibility of integration and co-existence between the former imperial subject and the people coming from its colonies and territories.
The paper researches both the literary and the sociological fields. Starting from writers such as Sam Selvon, Kamala Markandaya, Ravinder Randhawa, V. S. Naipaul, Salman Rushde and Hanif Kureishi (to quote just the outstanding names), I am analysing the artistic renderings of the concepts of “hybridisation” and “multi-culturalism” as they appear to emerge from the writings of first, second and third generation diasporic writers. In this sense, observing London from the early fifties till the end of the century, the writers of the Diaspora seem to have codified different reactions of the city and of British culture to the progressive penetration of alien and heterogeneous cultures.
Historically examined, these texts show more than one connection with the social context which contributed to their creation. And the life and interaction of different communities emerge as deeply linked with the urban structure of the city and with the political and administrative establishment which run it.
The paper was published in the proceedings. See my "Papers section".
The paper researches both the literary and the sociological fields. Starting from writers such as Sam Selvon, Kamala Markandaya, Ravinder Randhawa, V. S. Naipaul, Salman Rushde and Hanif Kureishi (to quote just the outstanding names), I am analysing the artistic renderings of the concepts of “hybridisation” and “multi-culturalism” as they appear to emerge from the writings of first, second and third generation diasporic writers. In this sense, observing London from the early fifties till the end of the century, the writers of the Diaspora seem to have codified different reactions of the city and of British culture to the progressive penetration of alien and heterogeneous cultures.
Historically examined, these texts show more than one connection with the social context which contributed to their creation. And the life and interaction of different communities emerge as deeply linked with the urban structure of the city and with the political and administrative establishment which run it.
The paper was published in the proceedings. See my "Papers section".
Research Interests:
Integration, Multiculturalism, Interculturality: Travelling in the intercultural studies terminology jungle, focusing on the UK experience in the second half of the 20th century.
Research Interests:
"The main issues of my paper deals with the reception of Ezra Pound's political writings and activities in British Working class and Middle Class newspapers, and Left oriented literary magazines such as Left Review, New Writing, New Verse... more
"The main issues of my paper deals with the reception of Ezra Pound's political writings and activities in British Working class and Middle Class newspapers, and Left oriented literary magazines such as Left Review, New Writing, New Verse and many others. In my opinion, the polemics aroused by Pound's open supporting of Fascism and its political and economical theories are of the utmost importance in order to achieve a better understanding of the so called "flight from involvement" of the Modernist generation of writers. A debate aroused on left wing and right wing political magazines, but also on the pages of the Criterion, edited by T.S. Eliot, an author deeply connected to Pound's literary theories: the debate involved several aspect of the 1930s culture, from political to economical, sociological and historical issues. Pound's political statements, his well known involvement with Mussolini's political theories, the reception and reaction of the British left wing intelligentsia represent a still scarcely researched area of great interest to literary, political and cultural studies.
The paper has not yet been published."
The paper has not yet been published."
Research Interests:
Taken as a whole, Isherwood’s narrative proves to be a complex and harmonic, literary and psychological tool by means of which the author succeeds, throughout his life, in examining himself, jotting down his experiences, observing the... more
Taken as a whole, Isherwood’s narrative proves to be a complex and harmonic, literary and psychological tool by means of which the author succeeds, throughout his life, in examining himself, jotting down his experiences, observing the changes, analysing his own choice and meditating on his own personality and individuality. In this sense, the polysemic image of the mirror, besides being a symbol, plays a major role in the structure of the narrative, because it recurs, practically in almost all his novels, as both an effective and recalled evocative and is subjected to imperceptible yet deep-rooted changes, as are several other aspects in the author’s life and work.
The final aim of this autobiographical survey is to discover “Christopher Isherwood the Individual.” The internal dynamic of his complexity as well as psychological and spiritual maturity makes use of the journal technique which very often forms the backbone of his narrative but the study of images, as icons of the persona to be examined, is evident right from his early efforts and it is obviously linked to Isherwood’s growing fondness for the world of entertainment in general and for the cinema in particular. In fact, Isherwood, from boyhood was fascinated by the cinema and, from an early age, began going to movies, especially during his university years at Cambridge, and later in Berlin, in the period 1929-1933.
The image as a mirror of reality is a theme which underlines the entire western culture and which plays a fundamental role in the 20th century. In fact, it is evident that one of the strongest motivations for the frequent recurrence of this iconographic symbol is the fact that the artist very often questions himself about the dichotomy between appearance and reality. In this sense, it’s possible to detect in Isherwood’s narrative two precise moments when the literary figure of the mirror and of its reflections are expressed through two different stages of development, which are both linked and consecutive. In Isherwood’s so-called “first narrative stage”, that stretches from All the Conspirators (1928) to Lions and Shadows (1938) and Journey to a War (1939), the presence of the mirror assumes modalities which are distinct from those belonging to the conversion period to Vedanta, the Hindu-oriented philosophy and religion.
The final aim of this autobiographical survey is to discover “Christopher Isherwood the Individual.” The internal dynamic of his complexity as well as psychological and spiritual maturity makes use of the journal technique which very often forms the backbone of his narrative but the study of images, as icons of the persona to be examined, is evident right from his early efforts and it is obviously linked to Isherwood’s growing fondness for the world of entertainment in general and for the cinema in particular. In fact, Isherwood, from boyhood was fascinated by the cinema and, from an early age, began going to movies, especially during his university years at Cambridge, and later in Berlin, in the period 1929-1933.
The image as a mirror of reality is a theme which underlines the entire western culture and which plays a fundamental role in the 20th century. In fact, it is evident that one of the strongest motivations for the frequent recurrence of this iconographic symbol is the fact that the artist very often questions himself about the dichotomy between appearance and reality. In this sense, it’s possible to detect in Isherwood’s narrative two precise moments when the literary figure of the mirror and of its reflections are expressed through two different stages of development, which are both linked and consecutive. In Isherwood’s so-called “first narrative stage”, that stretches from All the Conspirators (1928) to Lions and Shadows (1938) and Journey to a War (1939), the presence of the mirror assumes modalities which are distinct from those belonging to the conversion period to Vedanta, the Hindu-oriented philosophy and religion.
Research Interests:
The first attempts to apply Buddhist and Zen systems of thought as critical methodologies in the examination of Beckett’s canon can be traced back to the first half of the Sixties. Richard Coes, in his "Beckett" (1964) infers it with... more
The first attempts to apply Buddhist and Zen systems of thought as critical methodologies in the examination of Beckett’s canon can be traced back to the first half of the Sixties. Richard Coes, in his "Beckett" (1964) infers it with authority, offering several relevant examples of a possible comparative reading. Steven Rosen, in "Samuel Beckett and the Pessimistic Tradition" (1976), moves further, by analyzing Beckett’s works and stating that they reproduce a great variety of Buddhist conceptual elements . Applying Buddhism as a critical approach to Beckett’s works doesn’t mean neither assuming a Beckettian in-depth knowledge of the Buddhist issue, nor stating his precise intention to diffuse Buddhist doctrine in his own works, though there are several instances of Beckett’s explicit statement of the importance of Buddhist principles. For instance, in the scarcely known essay "Henry Heyden, homme paintre", the author underlines Siddharta Gautama’s declaration of the simultaneous existence and non-existence of the “I”. Besides the frequent appearance of images and symbol in Beckett’s plays and novels, images and symbols that due to their polysemic nature can easily be ascribed to philosophical, religious and psychoanalytical systems belonging to the western tradition as well, in my opinion it is important to realize that very often Beckett’s thought covers individual paths that are its own, though to some extent similar to those belonging to the Buddhist Zen tradition.
The main topic of my paper consists in the analysis of some fundamental Buddhist concepts "hosted", so to speak, in the playwrights’ art, concepts that can consequently be employed as helpful tools in order to reach a better understanding of several of Beckett’s artistic issues. For instance, one of the most frequent topics in both Beckett’s plays and novels is the examination of the human condition and the perception of the suffering “I” in the daily experience of living and dying, that is the Buddhist samsara.
The main topic of my paper consists in the analysis of some fundamental Buddhist concepts "hosted", so to speak, in the playwrights’ art, concepts that can consequently be employed as helpful tools in order to reach a better understanding of several of Beckett’s artistic issues. For instance, one of the most frequent topics in both Beckett’s plays and novels is the examination of the human condition and the perception of the suffering “I” in the daily experience of living and dying, that is the Buddhist samsara.
My paper mainly deals with the reception of the Spanish cause in British Working class newspapers, and Left oriented literary magazines such as Left Review, New Writing, New Verse; and with the representations of the Spanish civil... more
My paper mainly deals with the reception of the Spanish cause in British Working class newspapers, and Left oriented literary magazines such as Left Review, New Writing, New Verse; and with the representations of the Spanish civil conflict in a number of British writers both belonging to the British Left Intelligentsia and to the volunteers who took part in the conflict and then wrote memoirs. Amongst these writers are Julian Bell, Christopher Caudwell, Ralph Fox, John Cornford and the relatively little known Esmond Romilly, who wrote an interesting memoir titled Boadilla (1937). Romilly belongs to a generation of young Britons mostly unsatisfied by the political and social atmosphere of their periods: with the so called "Auden Generation" authors, these writers of the working class shared a sense of "unfitness" in the politics of the 1930s, the necessity to "do something" in order to escape the void they felt, the "will to believe", to quote a well known statement by Richard Johnstone. On the contrary, Bell, Caudwell, Fox and Cornford come from the middle and upper middle-class, with a better knowledge of history and politics, and an already formed "political conscience": their commitment is less dependent on "the spur of the moment", and more on the acknowledgement that the International Front can, and must, stop the rise of Nazi-Fascism in Europe. Bell and Cornford's letters, Fox's diaries, Caudwell's political essays and journalism, and Romilly's personal recollections give a fairly good idea of the continuous floating movement of this generation between the "illusion" of the Last Great Cause, and the "reality" of the international political and warfare situation.
The paper has not been published, yet.
The paper has not been published, yet.
Research Interests: Literature of the 1930s, Spanish Civil War, Inrernational Brigades - Spanish Civil War, Literature of the Spanish Civil War, Spanish Civil war writing, and 7 moreJulian Bell, International Brigades Spanish Civil War, Ralph Fox, John Cornford, Christopher Caudwell, Esmond Romilly, and 1930s British Commitment Literature
Research Interests:
I am currently working on the concept of Diaspora of the South East Asian communities in London, both its central areas and its peripheries as they are portrayed in the literary and essayist texts of Indian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani... more
I am currently working on the concept of Diaspora of the South East Asian communities in London, both its central areas and its peripheries as they are portrayed in the literary and essayist texts of Indian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani writers. The common thread linking writers of such different cultures seems to me the attempt to search for, find and produce different modalities of what Homi Bhabha calls “The third space of enunciation.” I am researching both in the literary and in the sociological fields. Starting from writers such as Sam Selvon, Kamala Markandaya, Ravinder Randhawa, V. S. Naipaul, Salman Rushde and Hanif Kureishi (to quote just the outstanding names), I am analysing the artistic renderings of the concepts of “hybridisation” and “multi-culturalism” as they appear to emerge from the writings of first, second and third generation diasporic writers. In this sense, observing London from the early fifties till the end of the century, the writers of the Diaspora seem to have codified different reactions of the city and of British culture to the progressive penetration of alien and heterogeneous cultures. Historically examined, these texts show more than one connection with the social context which contributed to their creation. And the life and interaction of different communities emerge as deeply linked with the urban structure of the city and with the political and administrative establishment which run it.
A further developed study of mine on these issue was later presented a the 2011 Bruxelles 2nd International Research Centre for Intercultural Studies, CIRSI, Diversity, Gender and Discrimination in Spaces, and then published in its proceedings. See relevant sections.
A further developed study of mine on these issue was later presented a the 2011 Bruxelles 2nd International Research Centre for Intercultural Studies, CIRSI, Diversity, Gender and Discrimination in Spaces, and then published in its proceedings. See relevant sections.
Research Interests:
An analysis of some Sherlock Holmes “apocrypha” as intercultural examples of the presence of Oriental philosophy influences in Sherlock Holmes Canon: Richard Wincor, Sherlock Holmes in Tibet (1968); “Hapi” (pseudonym of Alexander Jack),... more
An analysis of some Sherlock Holmes “apocrypha” as intercultural examples of the presence of Oriental philosophy influences in Sherlock Holmes Canon: Richard Wincor, Sherlock Holmes in Tibet (1968); “Hapi” (pseudonym of Alexander Jack), The Adamantine Sherlock Holmes (1974); Jamyang Norbu, The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes (1999).
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Transcendentalist thought, an element at the very core of the so called “American Renaissance” and one of the basis of American religious and philosophical tradition, only too naturally becomes involved in and curious of other forms of... more
Transcendentalist thought, an element at the very core of the so called “American Renaissance” and one of the basis of American religious and philosophical tradition, only too naturally becomes involved in and curious of other forms of thought and culture.
Religious thinkers, intellectuals and essayists read extensively the most outstanding evidence of the Oriental religious canon such as the Upanishads, the Vedas, the Mahbarata. And, each one alone or as a group, they work on those contents capable of bringing new light to the faith and knowledge of their own culture. The writings of the transcendentalist minister and Orientalist Samuel Johnson, although soon outdated due to the rapid advances in Western acquaintance with the Asian cultures and sacred literatures, are nonetheless important, because the essence of their lesson lies in the synthetizing approach. Paul Carus, Alan Watts, J.F. Clarke and Moncure Conway, religious ministers as well as learned and skilful researcher in far and distant cultures, are but a natural complement to the Transcendentalist quest for communion between East and West first articulated by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, a quest aimed at exploring the different and sometimes difficult ways in which the religions of the East, above all Hinduism and Buddhism, may speak to the spiritual condition of the West.
Religious thinkers, intellectuals and essayists read extensively the most outstanding evidence of the Oriental religious canon such as the Upanishads, the Vedas, the Mahbarata. And, each one alone or as a group, they work on those contents capable of bringing new light to the faith and knowledge of their own culture. The writings of the transcendentalist minister and Orientalist Samuel Johnson, although soon outdated due to the rapid advances in Western acquaintance with the Asian cultures and sacred literatures, are nonetheless important, because the essence of their lesson lies in the synthetizing approach. Paul Carus, Alan Watts, J.F. Clarke and Moncure Conway, religious ministers as well as learned and skilful researcher in far and distant cultures, are but a natural complement to the Transcendentalist quest for communion between East and West first articulated by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, a quest aimed at exploring the different and sometimes difficult ways in which the religions of the East, above all Hinduism and Buddhism, may speak to the spiritual condition of the West.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
An 1 hr. overview lesson aimed at a University Course of Post-Colonial studies. "He gave to all the busy scenes of the play the greatest animation and effect. He filled every part of the stage. The concluding scene, in which he is... more
An 1 hr. overview lesson aimed at a University Course of Post-Colonial studies.
"He gave to all the busy scenes of the play the greatest animation and effect. He filled every part of the stage. The concluding scene, in which he is killed by Richmond, was the most brilliant. He fought like one drunk with wounds: and the attitude in which he stands with his hands stretched out, afetr his sword his taken from him, had a preternatural and terrific grandeur, as if his will could not be disarmed, and the very phantoms of his despair had awithering power." (William Hazlitt on Ewdmund Kean as Richard III at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 15 february 1814).
"He gave to all the busy scenes of the play the greatest animation and effect. He filled every part of the stage. The concluding scene, in which he is killed by Richmond, was the most brilliant. He fought like one drunk with wounds: and the attitude in which he stands with his hands stretched out, afetr his sword his taken from him, had a preternatural and terrific grandeur, as if his will could not be disarmed, and the very phantoms of his despair had awithering power." (William Hazlitt on Ewdmund Kean as Richard III at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 15 february 1814).
Research Interests:
An 1 hr. overview lesson aimed at a University Course of Post-Colonial studies. “How can the mind take hold of such a country? Generations of invaders have tried, but they remain in exile. The important towns they build are only... more
An 1 hr. overview lesson aimed at a University Course of Post-Colonial studies.
“How can the mind take hold of such a country? Generations of invaders have tried, but they remain in exile. The important towns they build are only retreats, their quarrels the malaise of men who cannot find their way home. India knows of their trouble. She knows of the whole world’s trouble, to its uttermost depth. She call ‘Come’ through her hundred mouths, through objects ridiculous and august. But come to what? She has never defined. She is not a promise, only an appeal.” (Cap. 14, pp. 120-1)."
“How can the mind take hold of such a country? Generations of invaders have tried, but they remain in exile. The important towns they build are only retreats, their quarrels the malaise of men who cannot find their way home. India knows of their trouble. She knows of the whole world’s trouble, to its uttermost depth. She call ‘Come’ through her hundred mouths, through objects ridiculous and august. But come to what? She has never defined. She is not a promise, only an appeal.” (Cap. 14, pp. 120-1)."
Research Interests:
A 2 hrs. frontal communication to a course in Postcolonial studies.
Research Interests:
An 1hr. communication to a course on British Modernist Studies.