Cesare Pavese (1908–50) was an Italian poet, novelist, critic, and translator. Possibly the most famous Italian novelist of the 20th century, his work blends deliberations of poetic and epic representation, the theme of solitude, and the concept of myth.
Born in the Piedmont village of Santo Stefano Belbo, Pavese was brought up in Turin, where he worked for Einaudi, the publishing house. He published one volume of verse, a novel, and a shorter book of fiction. He made a number of essential translations that introduced many modern American and British writers to Italy—Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, Sinclair Lewis, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and William Faulkner. Among his various translations, that of Herman Melville‘s Moby-Dick (1932) is regarded as a classic.
A leader of the Italian post-war neorealist school, Pavese was politically cynical and ultimately committed suicide. His poetry is light, and his most exceptional work is in novels like La casa in collina (1949; The House on the Hill, 1961) and La luna e i falò (1950; The Moon and the Bonfire, 1952,) which articulate precisely and categorically his detestation of war and fascism.
Collections of Pavese’s work include Racconti (1960; told in Confidence and Other Stories, 1971,) Poesie edite e inedite (1962,) and Lettere (1966.) A poetry collection in English, A Mania for Solitude, was published in 1969.
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Living is like working out a long addition sum, and if you make a mistake in the first two totals you will never find the right answer. It means involving oneself in a complicated chain of circumstances.
—Cesare Pavese
Topics: Life and Living
We do not remember days, we remember moments. The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten.
—Cesare Pavese
Topics: One liners, Memory, The Present, Thought
The search for a new personality is futile; what is fruitful is the interest the old personality can take in new activities.
—Cesare Pavese
Topics: Awareness, Realization, Acceptance, Being Ourselves
Perfect behavior is born of complete indifference.
—Cesare Pavese
Topics: Manners, Behavior
The only way to escape the abyss is to look at it, gauge it, sound it out and descend into it.
—Cesare Pavese
Topics: Depression
To choose a hardship for ourselves is our only defense against that hardship. This is what is meant by accepting suffering. Those who, by their very nature, can suffer completely, utterly, have an advantage. That is how we can disarm the power of suffering, make it our own creation, our own choice; submit to it. A justification for suicide.
—Cesare Pavese
Topics: Suffering
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