Alberto Arbasino


Nino Alberto Arbasino was an Italian writer, essayist, and politician.
Among the protagonists of Group 63, his literary production has ranged from novels to essay. He considered himself an expressionist writer, and he considered Super Eliogabalo his most surrealist and also his most expressionist book: "Especially for the descriptions of the places, which are always dreamlike and delusional".

Biography

Arbasino was born in Voghera, southwestern Lombardy. He studied at the University of Milan where he graduated in law. Later he worked as a journalist for magazines such as Il Mondo and the newspaper La Repubblica. From 1983 to 1987, he was a deputy in the Italian Parliament for the Italian Republican Party.
His work includes novels and essays. Arbasino was a member of the Gruppo 63.
He described himself as an expressionist writer and considered his novel Super Eliogabalo as his most surreal and most expressionist book. He edited and rewrote his various works, which were reprinted in updated versions.
Arbasino literary approach to homosexuality broke the Italian stereotype of the "guilty" gay character, particularly in his 1963 novel Fratelli d'Italia. Arbasino was openly gay in his personal life.
In the 1970s he was the host of the TV debate show Match. In December 1977 it hosted a famous debate between directors Mario Monicelli and Nanni Moretti. Moretti said that Monicelli's An Average Little Man was a reactionary film.
In 2004 he won the Premio Chiara for his career.
Arbasino died on 22 March 2020, at the age of 90, after a long illness.

Works

  • Le piccole vacanze, Einaudi, 1957
  • Le piccole vacanze, Einaudi, 1971,
  • Le piccole vacanze, Adelphi, 2007,
  • L'Anonimo lombardo, 1959, Einaudi
  • Fratelli d'Italia, 1963, 1967, 1976, Einaudi
  • Certi romanzi, 1964
  • Super Eliogabalo, 1969, 1978, Einaudi
  • Certi romanzi – La Belle Epoque per le scuole, 1977, Einaudi
  • La narcisata, 1975, Einaudi
  • Il principe costante, 2 ed., 1972, Einaudi
  • La bella di Lodi, 1972, Einaudi
  • In questo Stato, 1978, Garzanti Libri
  • Un paese senza, 1980, Garzanti Libri
  • Trans – Pacific Express, 1981, Garzanti Libri
  • Matine, 1983, Garzanti Libri
  • Il meraviglioso, anzi, 1985, Garzanti Libri
  • La caduta dei tiranni, 1990, Sellerio di Giorgianni
  • Un paese senza, 2 ed., 1990, Garzanti Libri
  • Fratelli d'Italia, réédition de 1993, Adelphi
  • Mekong, 1994, Adelphi
  • Specchio delle mie brame, 1995, Adelphi
  • Parigi o cara, 2 ed., 1996, Adelphi
  • Lettere da Londra, 1997, Adelphi
  • Passeggiando tra i draghi addormentati, 1997, Adelphi
  • Paesaggi italiani con zombi, 1998, Adelphi
  • Le muse a Los Angeles, 2000, Adelphi
  • Rap!, 2001, Feltrinelli
  • Dall'Ellade a Bisanzio, 2006, Adelphi
  • La Vita bassa, 2009, Adelphi

    Honour

  • : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic