Programme

A phenomenon that has been largely overlooked in academic literary studies as well as in current historical accounts of contemporary Italian literature is that of so-called Beat literature. While the national reception of the poetry and fiction of the American Beat Generation has sparked critical interest, the Italian phase of the movement represented by authors who were inspired by Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac has yet to be situated within the context of Italian literature. Dismissed as a phenomenon of purely sociological interest—a view that was, incidentally, also held in the United States at the time of the Beat writers’ initial emergence—the rise in Italy, albeit almost exclusively within an underground circuit, of a handful of authors who did not fit into the national literary landscape risks leaving no tangible trace. Yet this was a movement that soon transcended the boundaries of literature—moving toward Pop Art, for example—to become a cultural phenomenon and the first manifestation of pop culture in our country. This course aims to

Core Documentation

Pop Beat Italia 1960-1979, editor Roberto Floreani, Silvana Editoriale, 2024
I figli delle stupore
Uccello nel guscio : la letteratura beat italiana : editor Alessandro Manca ; prefazione di Gianni Milano
[S.l.] : la nuova carne, 2024
A. Piromalli, Sono figlio di nebbie e di primi autotreni, Sensibili alle foglie, 2023

Reference Bibliography

the teacher will provide handouts during the course

Attendance

Attendance is free and will not be recorded by the lecturer. Attendance is necessary but not compulsory.

Type of evaluation

The final examination will be carried out through an individual oral interview.

Programme

A phenomenon that has been largely overlooked in academic literary studies as well as in current historical accounts of contemporary Italian literature is that of so-called Beat literature. While the national reception of the poetry and fiction of the American Beat Generation has sparked critical interest, the Italian phase of the movement represented by authors who were inspired by Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac has yet to be situated within the context of Italian literature. Dismissed as a phenomenon of purely sociological interest—a view that was, incidentally, also held in the United States at the time of the Beat writers’ initial emergence—the rise in Italy, albeit almost exclusively within an underground circuit, of a handful of authors who did not fit into the national literary landscape risks leaving no tangible trace. Yet this was a movement that soon transcended the boundaries of literature—moving toward Pop Art, for example—to become a cultural phenomenon and the first manifestation of pop culture in our country. This course aims to

Core Documentation

Pop Beat Italia 1960-1979, editor Roberto Floreani, Silvana Editoriale, 2024
I figli delle stupore
Uccello nel guscio : la letteratura beat italiana : editor Alessandro Manca ; prefazione di Gianni Milano
[S.l.] : la nuova carne, 2024
A. Piromalli, Sono figlio di nebbie e di primi autotreni, Sensibili alle foglie, 2023

Reference Bibliography

the teacher will provide handouts during the course

Attendance

Attendance is free and will not be recorded by the lecturer. Attendance is necessary but not compulsory.

Type of evaluation

The final examination will be carried out through an individual oral interview.