Famous Like Me > Writer > B > Dino Buzzati
Profile of Dino Buzzati
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| Name: |
Dino Buzzati |
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| Date of Birth: |
16th October 1906 |
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| Place of Birth: |
San Pellegrino, near Belluno, Veneto, Italy |
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Writer |
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From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Dino Buzzati Traverso ( Belluno, October 16, 1906 - Milan, January 28, 1972) was an Italian novelist, short story writer, and poet as well as a journalist for Corriere della Sera. His worldwide fame is mostly due to his novel Il deserto dei Tartari, translated into English as The Tartar Steppe.
Life
Buzzati's mother was Venetian and his father, a professor of international law was from an ancient Bellunese family. After completing studies in law, he was hired, at the age of 22, by the Milanese newspaper Corriere della Sera, where he would remain until his death, beginning in the corrections department, and later as a reporter, special correspondent, essayist, editor and art critic. It is often said that his journalistic background informs his writing, lending even the most fantastic tales an aura of realism.
Buzzati himself comments on the connection (As cited by Lawrence Venuti):
It seems to me, fantasy should be as close as possible to journalism. The right word is not 'banalizing', although in fact a little of this is involved. Rather, I mean that the effectiveness of a fantastic story will depend on its being told in the most simple and practical terms1
During World War II, Buzzati served in Africa, as a journalist attached to the Italian Navy.
Work
Buzzati began writing fiction in 1933. His works of fiction include five novels, theatre and radio plays, librettos, numerous books of short stories and poetry.
Also an acclaimed and exhibited artist, Buzzati also combined his artistic and writerly exploits into making a comic book.
The Tartar Steppe, his most famous novel, tells the story of a military outpost that awaits a Tartar invasion. In its sentiment and its conclusions, it has been compared to existentialist works, notably Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus2.
His writing is sometimes cited as magical realism. Urban alienation, and the fate of the environment and of fantasy in the face of unbridled technological progress are recurring themes.
Quote
Hurry, fly away, superstitious fantasies. The civil world, eager to exterminate you, follows in hot pursuit. It will never let you rest (from The Bogeyman)
Works include
- Barnabo delle montagne (1933) (English Translation: Barnabo of the Mountains)
- Il segreto del Bosco Vecchio (1935)
- Il deserto dei Tartari (1940) (The Tartar Steppe)
- I Sette Messaggeri (1942) (The Seven Messengers - Short Stories)
- La famosa invasione degli orsi in Sicilia (1945)
- Il grande ritratto (1960)
- Un amore (1963) (A Love Affair)
- Il capitano Pic e altre poesie (1965)
Notes
1 Restless Nights - Selected Stories of Dino Buzzati (Introduction by L. Venuti) (North Point Press, 1983)
2 Sem' Gontsov (Introduction by E. Ambartsumov) (Izvestiya Press, 1985)
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