Irony: metafiction in Luigi Malerba’s works. In this thesis I examine irony and metafiction in some novels by Italian writer Luigi Malerba (1927-2008). Metafiction characterizes all of Malerba’s works; this dissertation shows how Malerba’s works constantly draw attention to themselves and consequently encourage readers to pose questions about the existing relationship between fiction and reality. Similarly, irony fosters further investigation of language as sign system; through recurrent word games, Malerba removes the certainty of a univocal existing correspondence between signifier and signified. In the first chapter I discuss the very first works by the author: Le lettere di Ottavia, Il serpente, Salto mortale and Il protagonista. The entire chapter revolves around the construction of possible worlds and, therefore, of fictional worlds. Through this analysis the borders between fiction and reality appear to be quite weak; they are indeed proved to be an illusory construction of contemporary human beings who tend to think according to binary oppositions, such as reality and dream, reality and fiction. I proceed by examining Storie dell’anno mille, Il pataffio, I cani di Gerusalemme and Le maschere; these novels are imbued with history. The central theme of the entire chapter is history and fabulation and their relationship to each other. History is shown to be part of human discourse: historical events are made out of pure chronicles by a process called emplotment. The form that the historical narration takes on inevitably influences the meaning of the events narrated. In the third chapter I analyze Le pietre volanti, La superficie di Eliane and Il circolo di Granada. Here I demonstrate how Malerba uses detective novels in a non-canonical way, turning his own works into anti-detective novels. In these works, the investigation does not reach any rewarding ending; even at the conclusion of the story, the detective’s hypothesis cannot be completely ruled out and the reader is left with what Stefano Tani calls a “fiction of possibilities”. Fantasmi romani occupies the whole chapter four. In this final chapter I discuss why this work, the very last one before the author’s death, can be considered his literary testament. In this novel, Malerba’s readers can find all the peculiarities which have distinguished the author’s writing for more than four decades. Along with recognizing his style, readers will appreciate new developments in his narration. This work encourages readers to investigate the consuming relationship which can be established between a writer and his reader. In the end of this thesis, some considerations for further investigation are made; these considerations focus on Luigi Malerba’s writing for children, an area of study that has received little critical attention.

Irony: metafiction in Luigi Malerba’s works. In this thesis I examine irony and metafiction in some novels by Italian writer Luigi Malerba (1927-2008). Metafiction characterizes all of Malerba’s works; this dissertation shows how Malerba’s works constantly draw attention to themselves and consequently encourage readers to pose questions about the existing relationship between fiction and reality. Similarly, irony fosters further investigation of language as sign system; through recurrent word games, Malerba removes the certainty of a univocal existing correspondence between signifier and signified. In the first chapter I discuss the very first works by the author: Le lettere di Ottavia, Il serpente, Salto mortale and Il protagonista. The entire chapter revolves around the construction of possible worlds and, therefore, of fictional worlds. Through this analysis the borders between fiction and reality appear to be quite weak; they are indeed proved to be an illusory construction of contemporary human beings who tend to think according to binary oppositions, such as reality and dream, reality and fiction. I proceed by examining Storie dell’anno mille, Il pataffio, I cani di Gerusalemme and Le maschere; these novels are imbued with history. The central theme of the entire chapter is history and fabulation and their relationship to each other. History is shown to be part of human discourse: historical events are made out of pure chronicles by a process called emplotment. The form that the historical narration takes on inevitably influences the meaning of the events narrated. In the third chapter I analyze Le pietre volanti, La superficie di Eliane and Il circolo di Granada. Here I demonstrate how Malerba uses detective novels in a non-canonical way, turning his own works into anti-detective novels. In these works, the investigation does not reach any rewarding ending; even at the conclusion of the story, the detective’s hypothesis cannot be completely ruled out and the reader is left with what Stefano Tani calls a “fiction of possibilities”. Fantasmi romani occupies the whole chapter four. In this final chapter I discuss why this work, the very last one before the author’s death, can be considered his literary testament. In this novel, Malerba’s readers can find all the peculiarities which have distinguished the author’s writing for more than four decades. Along with recognizing his style, readers will appreciate new developments in his narration. This work encourages readers to investigate the consuming relationship which can be established between a writer and his reader. In the end of this thesis, some considerations for further investigation are made; these considerations focus on Luigi Malerba’s writing for children, an area of study that has received little critical attention.

Reading the Transformation: The Relationship between Literature and Territory in Contemporary Veneto aims at investigating the interrelation between a geographically defined entity and the literary word. Placed in the context of a broader reflection on the dynamics of such relation, this thesis aims at outlining a specific set of theoretical references in order to analyse the case of contemporary Veneto through a close reading of some particularly relevant works by two authors from this region, Massimo Carlotto and Marco Paolini. Developed from an interest in the literary tradition of Veneto and in the theme of landscape and territory representation in literature, this thesis is comprised of two parts: the first one is dedicated to tracing the theoretical, historical, and literary coordinates that define the scope and frame of reference for the thesis; the second one conducts an in-depth analysis of the context in which the works of Carlotto and Paolini are situated. Drawing on concepts pertaining geography, cultural anthropology, and landscape theory, the premise of this thesis is that territory is a complex geographic, historical, social, economic, and cultural entity of which landscape constitutes the visible stratum. Siding with arguments that sustain the centrality of the role of landscape in the process of formation of people's identity, this thesis adopts such concept and employs it as a key to understand the relation between territory and literature. Through the analysis of La verità dell'Alligatore and Nordest by Carlotto and Il Milione and Bestiario Veneto - Parole mate by Paolini, the objective of this thesis is, on one side, to provide an insight into how the transformation of a territory can shape the formation of a collective identity, on the other side, to shed light on the means through the reflection on territory enters the literary space.

La thèse est une étude génétique des œuvres de l’écrivain sicilien Gesualdo Bufalino (1920-1996). À travers l’analyse du processus d’écriture, ce travail reconstruit la genèse des toutes les œuvres terminées par Bufalino pendant sa jeunesse et jusqu’à son exorde, en 1981, avec le roman Diceria dell’untore. Les sondages effectués dans les archives conservant les matériaux génétiques de Bufalino nous a permis d’anticiper la phase créative de Bufalino aux années 1955-65. Nous avons notamment identifié dans un roman inédit, Il guazzabuglio, qui remonte à 1977, une sorte de canevas où de réservoir, d’où l’écrivain tira des thèmes ou des séquences narratives pour d’autres œuvres. Ce roman toujours considéré comme inachevé non seulement fut complété par Bufalino, mais il fut aussi étroitement lié à la genèse des deux premiers romans, Diceria dell’untore (1981) et Argo il cieco (1984), d’une part, et avec Qui pro quo (1991) et Tommaso e il fotografo cieco (1996), le dernier roman de Bufalino qui peut être considéré́ comme sa réécriture. Les œuvres achevées et publies de 1981 jusqu’à sa mort, en 1996, ont été le résultat d’un processus créatif commencé pendant sa jeunesse et poursuivi pendant tout sa vie. La reconstruction de la genèse des ouvrages rédigés avant 1981, est accompagnée de la reconstruction de la biographie intellectuelle de Bufalino à travers l’étude des sources et documents d’archive. / The thesis is a genetic study of the works of the Sicilian writer Gesualdo Bufalino (1920-1996). Through the analysis of the writing process, this study reconstructs the genesis of all the works completed by Bufalino during his youth and up until his debut in 1981, with the novel Diceria dell'untore. The research carried out in the archives which hold the genetic materials of Bufalino enabled us to date the creative phase of Bufalino in the period 1955-65. In particular, we have identified in an unpublished novel, Il guazzabuglio, dating back to 1977, a kind of canvas or reservoir, from which the writer drew themes or narrative sequences for other works. This novel, still considered unfinished, was not only completed by Bufalino, but was also closely linked to the genesis of the first two novels, Diceria dell'untore (1981) and Argo il cieco (1984), on the one hand, and to Qui pro quo (1991 and Tommaso e il fotografo cieco (1996), Bufalino’s last novel which can be considered its rewriting. The works completed and published from 1981 until his death in 1996, were the result of a creative process begun during his youth and continued throughout his life. The reconstruction of the genesis of the works written before 1981 is accompanied by the reconstruction of the intellectual biography of Bufalino through the investigation of sources and archive documents.

En 1999, un roman intitulé L’œil de Carafa et signé Luther Blissett connaît un vif succès. L'ouvrage présente la particularité de comporter une mention dite de “copyleft”, autorisant sa reproduction libre et gratuite. Derrière le pseudonyme se dissimule un collectif ouvert et international, porté par de nombreux artistes et activistes médiatiques, qui s'illustre également par diverses actions et happenings. Un an plus tard, les auteurs du roman créent un nouveau projet littéraire, sous le pseudonyme Wu Ming (“anonyme” en chinois). Le collectif prône la libre diffusion de l'écrit et à travers ses publications de théorie littéraire, il suscite la polémique dans le monde des lettres italiennes. En rupture avec la figure de l'écrivain qui s'est imposée depuis une trentaine d'années, Wu Ming prend appui sur le développement des nouvelles technologies, et plus particulièrement sur l'essor d’Internet, pour imposer une nouvelle conception de la création littéraire et de la diffusion des œuvres.L'analyse ici proposée interroge le caractère novateur du positionnement éthique et littéraire de Luther Blissett et de Wu Ming, en examinant leurs productions à l'aune de trois modèles de référence : l'avant-gardisme, le postmodernisme et la littérature engagée. En confrontant les engagements des deux collectifs à leur fonctionnement concret et, in fine, à leurs œuvres, elle vise à déterminer si les projets Luther Blissett et Wu Ming sont annonciateurs d'un changement de paradigme en littérature, rendu possible notamment par les nouveaux moyens de communication, ou si au contraire ces auteurs, en dépit de leurs singularités, s'inscrivent dans des schémas littéraires déjà existants. / In 1999, the novel Q, authored by Luther Blisset, enjoyed considerable success. One of its special characteristics is that it bears a copyleft notice allowing free reproduction of the work. Indeed, an open, international group artists and media activists hides behind this peculiar nom de plume and has distinguished itself at various public actions and happenings. About a year later, the authors of the novel set out a new project under the pseudonym Wu Ming (a Chinese translation of “anonymous”) and advocated free circulation of written works. Their publications in literary theory have given rise to controversy in the Italian literary circles. Breaking with the figure of the author that has reigned supreme over the past three decades, Wu Ming is building on new technologies and more specifically on the Internet in order to enforce a new conception of both literary creation and the circulation of works.This dissertation investigates the novelty of the ethical and literary position of Luther Blissett and Wu Ming and looks into their productions in relation to avant-gardism, postmodernism and littérature engagée. In cross-examining the stakes and functioning of both projects with their actual creations, we aim to determine whether Luther Blissett and Wu Ming are heralding a change in literary paradigm or if, in spite of their singularities, these authors do not actually fit into existing patterns

The aim of this thesis is to show the current Italian authors work specifics who are asserted as journalists as well as writers and their journalistic and prosaic outputs is devoted to organized crime in today's Sicilian society. Roberto Alajmo, Gaetano Savatteri and Salvo Sottile and their literaty outputs È stato il figlio, Tempo Niente. La breve vita felice di Luca Crescente, Gli uomini che non si voltano, I ragazzi di Regalpetra, Maqeda and Più scuro di mezzanotte were chosen for an analysis. The criterion in choosing works was particularly a time span of its formation - for the first time they were published after 2005 and at the same time they are mostly the newest literary outputs of selected authors meeting the requirements. Particular authors are presented after an opening which is describing logical interrelationship between writers and journalists in history of Italian literature ever since the unification of Italy in 1870 and deals with history of Sicilian Mafia and Sicilian literature concerning a phenomenon of Mafia. Part of the following analytic section is devoted to work of particular writers-journalists. Emphasis is put on analysis of prosaic texts considering authors journalistic outputs. Watched is particularly a thematic line of their work and a possible reflection of events...

Cette Thèse porte sur les échanges culturels entre la France et l’Italie, au début du XXIe siècle, dans le domaine de la traduction littéraire et de l’édition. Son but principal est l’étude des phases qui précèdent, accompagnent et suivent la publication d’une œuvre littéraire française en Italie. Après avoir situé notre sujet dans le cadre des relations historiquement très importantes entre les deux pays dans le domaine littéraire, notre analyse se focalise sur trois moments cruciaux : le choix de l’œuvre ; sa traduction ; sa parution et réception.C’est que le goût, le canon, la tradition littéraire et la culture propres à chacun des deux pays ont une influence certaine sur la réception, sur l’horizon d’attente des lecteurs et des critiques, ainsi que sur les stratégies éditoriales, tout au long des étapes qui vont de l’achat des droits aux décisions « paratextuelles » censées susciter l’intérêt du lecteur ou fournir des informations. Nous ne négligerons pas le rôle du traducteur, véritable « passeur » du texte, ses choix linguistiques et stylistiques étant souvent la clé de la bonne compréhension d’une œuvre. Si la publication et la fortune d’une œuvre littéraire dans un pays étranger sont donc le résultat d’un processus complexe, d’une accumulation stratifiée d’échanges, de stéréotypes, et de multiples interventions d’acteurs différents, notre recherche fait appel à des outils méthodologiques relevant de plusieurs champs disciplinaires, appliqués, enfin, à une sélection des romans publiés en Italie dans les dix dernières années. / This thesis focuses on the cultural exchanges between France and Italy in the fields of literary translation and publishing at the beginning of the 21st century. Its main goal is to study the various stages that precede, accompany and follow the publication of a work of French literature in Italy. Having placed our subject in the context of the main historical relations between the two countries in the field of literature, our analysis concentrates on three key moments: the choice of book, its translation and finally, its publication and reception.At the centre of our analysis is the knowledge that the tastes, canons, literary traditions and cultures of the two countries undoubtedly affect the reception of a work and the expectations of readers and critics. We will therefore take into consideration the role of editorial strategies throughout this process from the purchase of the copyright to paratextual decisions, i.e. the methods used to arouse readers’ interest or supply information. We will also examine the figure of the translator, the “driving force” in the text’s transition, as it is often their choice of language and style that provides the key to our understanding of it.Given that the publication and fortune of a literary work in a foreign country are the result of a complex process and a stratified accumulation of exchanges, stereotypes and multiple operations, our research has adopted analytical methods from a wide range of fields and applied them to a selection of novels published in Italy over the last ten years.

Il presente lavoro si propone di iniziare a configurare un quadro unitario e sistematico della narrativa postverghiana sia sul piano letterario sia sul piano linguistico <<per la connotazione ambivalente del verismo come scrittura artistica in cui ricerca tematica e stilistica si condizionano in un rapporto inestricabile>>. Alla ricerca delle tracce di un vero o presunto “color locale” si sono scandagliate oltre centocinquanta novelle (Nicola Misasi, “In magna Sila”; Salvatore Di Giacomo, “Novelle Napolitane”; Matilde Serao, “Dal vero”; Domenico Ciampoli, “Trecce nere”; Gabriele D'Annunzio, “Terra vergine”; Mario Pratesi, “In Provincia”; Emilio De Marchi, “Sotto gli alberi”; Remigio Zena, “Le anime semplici. Storie umili”) la cui lingua è stata misurata sia rispetto agli strumenti normativi coevi sia rispetto all’uso corrente, ricostruito attraverso i lavori di studiosi che hanno focalizzato la loro attenzione su aspetti diversi dell’italiano del XIX secolo: dalla lingua letteraria a quella giornalistica passando attraverso l’ambito colloquiale/famigliare che emerge dallo studio degli epistolari. L'introduzione letteraria che precede il quadro appena descritto propone un'analisi comparativa dei tratti caratterizzanti il verismo verghiano secondo la declinazione che ne offrono, nelle varie raccolte prese in analisi, gli autori coinvolti in questo studio. / Our work aims at building a unitary, systematic tableau of the Italian narrative after Verga. We have focused on literary and language aspects <<because of the double feature of Verismo as an artistic writing where the research of theme and style influence each other in a tangled relationship>>. Tracing a real or presumed 'local color', we have examined over one hundred and fifty short stories ( 'In magna Sila' by Nicola Misasi; 'Novelle Napolitane' by Salvatore Di Giacomo; 'Dal vero' by Matilde Serao; 'Trecce nere' by Domenico Ciampoli; 'Terra vergine' by Gabriele D'Annunzio; 'In Provincia' by Mario Pratesi; 'Sotto gli alberi' by Emilio De Marchi; 'Le anime semplici. Storie umili' by Remigio Zena). The language has been studied based on norms and everyday usage of those times. The latter has been shaped through the works of scholars who have analyzed different aspects of the Italian language from the 19th century, in literature, journalism, and also in more colloquial, familiar letters. The section about literature preceding the portrait pictured above offers a comparative survey of the specific traits of Verga's Verismo according to the variations made, in the already mentioned collections of short stories, by the authors involved in this research.