Programme

The course aims to explore the interview as a distinctive genre of twentieth-century cultural systems and as an inherently ambiguous device which, on the one hand, appears to guarantee the author’s direct presence within the public sphere, while, on the other, problematises the very status of authorship by situating it within a liminal space between literary work, performance, and document. Through the analysis of conversations, dialogues, and collections of interviews with some of the major figures of modern and contemporary Italian literature—from Pirandello and Ungaretti to Pasolini, Ginzburg, Rosselli, and Sanguineti—the course will examine the forms of self-representation and the authorial postures that emerge across different twentieth-century media contexts, including the press, radio, and television. Particular attention will be devoted to the role of the interview in the public circulation of literature, as well as to its contribution to the construction of literary memory and to processes of canon formation.

Core Documentation

Critical text:
F. Fastelli, L’intervista letteraria. Storia e teoria di un genere trascurato, Roma, Carocci, 2019.

Additional text for NON-attending students:
G.M. Gallerani, L’intervista immaginata. Da genere mediatico a invenzione letteraria, Firenze, Firenze University Press, 2022.

Book list:
1. G. Bassani, Interviste 1955-1983
2. A. de Cèspedes, Appendice, in E. de Pasquale, Scrittrici al microfono, Loffedo [in corso di stampa]
3. N. Ginzburg, È difficile parlare di sé
4. P.P. Pasolini, Pasolini su Pasolini
5. P.P. Pasolini, Il sogno del centauro
6. P. P. Pasolini, Pier Paolo Pasolini. L'uomo e l'intellettuale in 50 interviste, a cura di F. Grattarola
7. L. Pirandello, Interviste a Pirandello, a cura di I. Pupo
8. A. Rosselli, È vostra la vita che ho perso. Conversazioni e interviste (1964-1995), a cura di Venturini M. e De March S., Firenze, 2010 [nuova edizione in corso di stampa).
9. G. Ungaretti, Appendice, in M. Venturini, Il terzo tempo, Bulzoni, 2026
10. E. Sanguineti, Sanguineti/Novecento. Conversazioni sulla cultura del ventesimo secolo, il melangolo, 2005

Attendance

For attending students, the course includes a seminar part and the handing in of a written paper to be agreed with the lecturer on a work chosen from the list. For attending students, the oral exam will focus on the discussion of the written paper and the critical reference text.

Type of evaluation

The course will be developed in a seminar structure. The study and analysis of works will be an integral part of the lectures organised in such a way as to encourage debate and discussion.

Programme

The course aims to explore the interview as a distinctive genre of twentieth-century cultural systems and as an inherently ambiguous device which, on the one hand, appears to guarantee the author’s direct presence within the public sphere, while, on the other, problematises the very status of authorship by situating it within a liminal space between literary work, performance, and document. Through the analysis of conversations, dialogues, and collections of interviews with some of the major figures of modern and contemporary Italian literature—from Pirandello and Ungaretti to Pasolini, Ginzburg, Rosselli, and Sanguineti—the course will examine the forms of self-representation and the authorial postures that emerge across different twentieth-century media contexts, including the press, radio, and television. Particular attention will be devoted to the role of the interview in the public circulation of literature, as well as to its contribution to the construction of literary memory and to processes of canon formation.

Core Documentation

Critical text:
F. Fastelli, L’intervista letteraria. Storia e teoria di un genere trascurato, Roma, Carocci, 2019.

Additional text for NON-attending students:
G.M. Gallerani, L’intervista immaginata. Da genere mediatico a invenzione letteraria, Firenze, Firenze University Press, 2022.

Book list:
1. G. Bassani, Interviste 1955-1983
2. A. de Cèspedes, Appendice, in E. de Pasquale, Scrittrici al microfono, Loffedo [in corso di stampa]
3. N. Ginzburg, È difficile parlare di sé
4. P.P. Pasolini, Pasolini su Pasolini
5. P.P. Pasolini, Il sogno del centauro
6. P. P. Pasolini, Pier Paolo Pasolini. L'uomo e l'intellettuale in 50 interviste, a cura di F. Grattarola
7. L. Pirandello, Interviste a Pirandello, a cura di I. Pupo
8. A. Rosselli, È vostra la vita che ho perso. Conversazioni e interviste (1964-1995), a cura di Venturini M. e De March S., Firenze, 2010 [nuova edizione in corso di stampa).
9. G. Ungaretti, Appendice, in M. Venturini, Il terzo tempo, Bulzoni, 2026
10. E. Sanguineti, Sanguineti/Novecento. Conversazioni sulla cultura del ventesimo secolo, il melangolo, 2005

Attendance

For attending students, the course includes a seminar part and the handing in of a written paper to be agreed with the lecturer on a work chosen from the list. For attending students, the oral exam will focus on the discussion of the written paper and the critical reference text.

Type of evaluation

The course will be developed in a seminar structure. The study and analysis of works will be an integral part of the lectures organised in such a way as to encourage debate and discussion.