Pasolini’s Lasting Impressions

Death, Eros, and Literary Enterprise in the Opus of Pier Paolo Pasolini

Edited by Ryan Calabretta-Sajder - Contributions by Virginia Agostinelli; Fabio Benincasa; Francesca D’Alessandro Behr; Daniela Bini; Millicent Marcus; Fulvio Orsitto; Flaviano Pisanelli; Francesco Rosetti; Daniela Privitera; Ilaria Lanzarini; Giulia Tellini and William Van Watson

Noted as a ‘civil poet’ by Alberto Moravia, Pier Paolo Pasolini was a creative and philosophical genius whose works challenged generations of Western Europeans and Americans to reconsider not only issues regarding the self, but also various social concerns. Pasolini’s works touched and continues to inspire students, scholars, and intellectuals alike to question the status quo. This collection of thirteen articles and two interviews evidences the on-going discourse around Pasolini’s lasting impressions on the new generation.

Pasolini’s Lasting Impressions: Death, Eros and Literary Enterprise in the Opus of Pier Paolo Pasolini thus explores the civic poet’s oeuvre in four parts: poetry, theatre, film, and culture. Although the collection does not include every genre in which Pasolini wrote, it addresses many, some which often receive little or no attention, particularly in Italian Studies of North America. The underlining theme of the book, ‘death, eros and literary enterprise’ intertwines these genres in a rather unique way, allowing for inter-disciplinary interpretations to Pasolini’s rich opus.

The edited volume concludes with two artists, Dacia Maraini and Ominio71’s reflections on Pasolini in the 21^st century. In fact, the cover represents a recent work on Ominio71 underscoring Pasolini’s visual presence still within the Roman walls. In conclusion, this collection demonstrates how his works still influence contemporary Italian society and motivate intellectual dialogue through new theoretical outlooks on Pasolini’s oeuvre.

University Press Copublishing Division / Fairleigh Dickinson University Press

Pages: 266 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-68393-018-1 • Hardback • January 2018 • $129.00 • (£99.00)

978-1-68393-020-4 • Paperback • July 2020 • $47.99 • (£37.00)

978-1-68393-019-8 • eBook • July 2020 • $45.50 • (£35.00)

Series: The Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Series in Italian Studies

Subjects: Literary Criticism / European / Italian, Literary Criticism / Poetry, Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / Women

Pasolini’s Lasting Impressions

Death, Eros, and Literary Enterprise in the Opus of Pier Paolo Pasolini

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Noted as a ‘civil poet’ by Alberto Moravia, Pier Paolo Pasolini was a creative and philosophical genius whose works challenged generations of Western Europeans and Americans to reconsider not only issues regarding the self, but also various social concerns. Pasolini’s works touched and continues to inspire students, scholars, and intellectuals alike to question the status quo. This collection of thirteen articles and two interviews evidences the on-going discourse around Pasolini’s lasting impressions on the new generation.

Pasolini’s Lasting Impressions: Death, Eros and Literary Enterprise in the Opus of Pier Paolo Pasolini thus explores the civic poet’s oeuvre in four parts: poetry, theatre, film, and culture. Although the collection does not include every genre in which Pasolini wrote, it addresses many, some which often receive little or no attention, particularly in Italian Studies of North America. The underlining theme of the book, ‘death, eros and literary enterprise’ intertwines these genres in a rather unique way, allowing for inter-disciplinary interpretations to Pasolini’s rich opus.

The edited volume concludes with two artists, Dacia Maraini and Ominio71’s reflections on Pasolini in the 21^st century. In fact, the cover represents a recent work on Ominio71 underscoring Pasolini’s visual presence still within the Roman walls. In conclusion, this collection demonstrates how his works still influence contemporary Italian society and motivate intellectual dialogue through new theoretical outlooks on Pasolini’s oeuvre.

Details

University Press Copublishing Division / Fairleigh Dickinson University Press

Pages: 266 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-68393-018-1 • Hardback • January 2018 • $129.00 • (£99.00)

978-1-68393-020-4 • Paperback • July 2020 • $47.99 • (£37.00)

978-1-68393-019-8 • eBook • July 2020 • $45.50 • (£35.00)

Series: The Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Series in Italian Studies

Subjects: Literary Criticism / European / Italian, Literary Criticism / Poetry, Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes / Women

Author

Ryan Calabretta-Sajder is visiting assistant professor of Italian at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Pasolini Studies—Forty Years in the Making
Ryan Calabretta-Sajder
Part 1: Pier Paolo Pasolini and Verse
1Pasolini’s Poetry: The Language of the Mother
Daniela Bini
2Jesus Narcissus: Pasolini’s Self-Representation as Scapegoat and Martyr in His Friulan Verse
William Van Watson
3Poetic Gazing: The “Word-Eye” in the Poetry of Pier Paolo Pasolini
Flaviano Pisanelli
Part 2: Pasolini and the Stage
4Pasolini’s Orestiade, the Irrational and Greek Tragedy
Francesca D’Alessandro Behr
5Dreams as Gendered Places: Feminist (Re)Awakenings in Pasolini’s Caldéron
Ryan Calabretta-Sajder
Part 3: Pasolini through the Lens
6Il“cinema di poesia” from Theory to Practice: The Case of Edipo Re
Millicent Marcus
7Violence in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Cinema
Francesco Rosetti
8The Bibliography of Salò: Eros, Sadism, and Avant-Garde in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Last Work
Fabio Benincasa
9Oedipus and Medea According to Pasolini
Giulia Tellini
10Pasolini’s Decameron (1971): A Case of Cinematic Re-Creation
Fulvio Orsitto
11Pictorial Allusion as a Distancing Technique from the Chaucerian Hypotext in The Canterbury Tales
Ilaria Lanzarini
Part 4: Pasolini and Italian Culture—Final Thoughts
12Pasolini as Prophet: From I Know to the Prophecy of Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Daniela Privitera
13Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Influence on Contemporary Italian Culture
Virginia Agostinelli
Part 5: Interviews
14Interview with Omino 71
Fabio Benincasa
15Pasolini’s Last Interview: Death, Eros, and Literary Enterprise in the Opus of Pier Paolo Pasolini—a Conversation with Dacia Maraini
Ryan Calabaretta-Sajder
Index
About the Editors and Contributors

Reviews

If only for the breathtakingly magisterial essay by Millicent Marcus on Pasolini's long-misunderstood concept of "the cinema of poetry," or Van Watson's virtuostic take on the clash in both life and art between Pasolini's narcissistic eros and sacrificial death wish, this volume would have more than repaid the price of admission. But it contains much, much more: many additional new and quite original readings of Pasolini's poetry, theater, cinema, and civic engagement, gathered together with admirable passion and care by editor Ryan Calabretta-Sajder There are many gems herein, including interviews with the Roman street artist Omino71 and the grande dame of Italian letters Dacia Maraini, who knew and loved the irreplaceable Pasolini, as we go on trying to know his work but love it effortlessly and for good.
— Rebecca West, William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Service Professor (Emerita), The University of Chicago, Dept. of Romance Langs. and Lits., Dept. of Cinema and Media Studies

Pasolini’s Lasting Impressions is a compelling collection that revisits Pasolini’s work in different genres to connect his 20th century impegno with contemporary sociocultural concerns. Calabretta-Sajder gathers the voices of experts and newcomers to Pasolini studies to offer a fresh comprehensive perspective on the author’s ideological impetus and artistic message.
— Colleen Ryan, Professor of Italian, Indiana University Bloomington

Pasolini’s Lasting Impressions captures the complexity of the Pasolini legacy four decades after his death and makes a compelling case for continued research into his many and varied artistic endeavors. Featuring exciting contributions by renowned scholars alongside new voices from three continents, the collection covers the genres represented in Pasolini’s oeuvre—poetry, cinema, theater, and fiction—and shows that his cultural influence extends well into the 21^st century. Ryan Calabretta-Sajder’s exhaustive yet agile volume adds a fresh chapter to the remarkable body of scholarship on Pasolini.
— Simona Bondavalli, Associate Professor of Italian, Vassar College