Text

A Boy Asleep under the Sun: Versions of Sandro Penna

---

Peter Valente’s first encounter with Sandro Penna’s poetry was while translating Pier Paolo Pasolini. At the time, Valente was reading a biography on Pasolini and learned of his close friendship with Penna. Pasolini insisted that among serious readers of poetry, Penna could not be ignored. Born in Perugia on June 12, 1906, Sandro Penna lived most of his life in Rome (he died there on January 21, 1977), except for a brief period in Milan where he worked as a library clerk. When Pasolini arrived in Rome in 1950 he sought out Penna to “show him around.” He knew that Penna was in love with the same ragazzi who prowled the outskirts of Rome. In his poetry Penna clearly says who he is and how he feels. That is a rare enough quality these days. He moves away from the trappings of identity toward an honest expression of love. In Penna’s work the beautiful is not conscious of itself and is therefore erotic: “Is not the beauty of those who are unaware of their beauty / more beautiful than those who are aware?”

---

Availability

Detail Information

Series Title

-

Call Number

-

Publisher

Brooklyn, NY : Punctum Books., 2015

Collation

-

Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

9780692296936

Classification

NONE

Content Type

text

Media Type

computer

Carrier Type

online resource

Edition

-

Subject(s)

gay poetry; homosexuality; love; Sandro Penna

Specific Detail Info

-

Statement of Responsibility

Penna, Sandro

Other Information

Cataloger

Kholif Basri

Source

https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/33748

Validator

-

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.21983/P3.0080.1.00

Journal Volume

-

Journal Issue

-

Subtitle

-

Parallel Title

-

Other version/related

File Attachment

Comments

---

You must be logged in to post a comment