Luigi Malerba

Luigi Malerba
Born	Luigi Bonardi (1927-11-11)11 November 1927 Berceto
Died	8 May 2008(2008-05-08) (aged 80) Rome
Occupation	Novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, essayist
Nationality	Italian
Period	1950s–2000s
Genre	Historical novel
Literary movement	Neoavanguardia
Notable works	The Serpent, What Is This Buzzing? Do You Hear It Too?
Notable awards	Prix Médicis étranger 1970, Viareggio Prize 1992

Luigi Malerba (11 November 1927 – 8 May 2008), born Luigi Bonardi, was an Italian author who wrote short stories (often written with Tonino Guerra), historical novels, and screenplays, and who co-founded the Gruppo 63, based on Marxism and Structuralism. Umberto Eco said that "Malerba was defined post-modern, but that's not all true, because he is maliciously ironic, unpredictable, and ambiguous". He was one of the most important exponents of the Italian literary movement called Neoavanguardia, along with Balestrini, Sanguineti, and Manganelli.

He was the first writer to win the Prix Médicis étranger in 1970. He also won the Brancati Prize in 1979, the it:Premio Mondello in 1987, the Grinzane Cavour Prize in 1989 (with it:Stefano Jacomuzzi and Raffaele La Capria), the Viareggio Prize in 1992, the Flaiano Prize in 1990 and the it:Premio Feronia-Città di Fiano in 1992.

Bibliography

Stories and novels

• La scoperta dell'alfabeto (1963)
• Il serpente (1966)
• Salto mortale (1968, winner of Prix Médicis)
• Il protagonista (1973)
• Mozziconi (1975)
• Storiette (1977)
• Il pataffio (1978)
• Le galline pensierose (1980)
• Diario di un sognatore (1981)
• Storiette tascabili (1984)
• Il pianeta azzurro (1986, winner of the winner of the it:Premio Mondello)
• Testa d'argento (1988, winner of Grinzane Cavour Prize)
• Il fuoco greco (1990, set in the Byzantine Empire)
• Le pietre volanti (1992, winner of the Viareggio Prize and the it:Premio Feronia-Città di Fiano)
• Le maschere (1994)
• Itaca per sempre (1997)
• Pinocchio con gli stivali
• Città e dintorni (essays, 2001)
• Il circolo di Granada (2002)
• Fantasmi romani (2006)

English translations

Two of Malerba's books have been translated into English (as of July 2007). Both were translated by William Weaver and are currently out of print.

• Il serpente as The Serpent
• Salto mortale as What Is This Buzzing? Do You Hear It Too?

Scenarios

• The Overcoat (1952)
• Catch As Catch Can (1967)
• The Girl and the General (1967)
• Oh, Grandmother's Dead (1969)

External links

• Luigi Malerba at IMDb