Reading List
Dacia Maraini
Italian Novelist and Playwright
Dacia Maraini is an Italian writer, born in Fiesole in 1936, whose work focuses on women’s issues. As a child she was interned with her family in a Japanese camp in Nagoya from 1943 to 1946. She helped found theatre companies, including the Teatro della Maddalena, run solely by women, and has written numerous plays and novels. Her awards include the Formentor Prize, the Premio Campiello for La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa (The Silent Duchess) and the Premio Strega for Buio in 1999. Her picks here are five Italian classics: Leopardi’s Canti, Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, De Roberto’s The Viceroys, Nievo’s Confessions of an Italian and Deledda’s Reeds in the Wind.
Confessions of an Italian
by Ippolito Nievo · 2014 · Classics
“He wrote a portrait of a girl called La Pisana, a famous figure in Italian literature, because it is such a beautiful portrait of this little girl, and the poor people, the peasants” — via Interview, June 2010
Reeds in the Wind
by Grazia Deledda · 1999 · Classics
“Yes, and it is beautifully written.” — via Interview, June 2010
Canti
by Giacomo Leopardi · 2010 · Classics
“I canti is a collection of poems with an idea that coincides with my idea of life.” — via Interview, June 2010
Orlando Furioso
by Ludovico Ariosto · 2008 · Classics
“It is a beautiful epic poem and the Italian language of Ludovico Ariosto is so inventive and vivid and light.” — via Interview, June 2010
The Viceroys
by Federico De Roberto · 2016 · Classics
“This is a big strong novel. He is sincerely interested in the destiny of women.” — via Interview, June 2010
