“My poems are breath.” Patrizia Cavalli (April 17, 1947 — June 21, 2022). About how once the magic of cinema gave the world one of the best poets in Italy

Abstract

The unique creativity of the Italian poetess Patrizia Cavalli (1947–2022), one of the recognized masters of the poetic word of the Apennines since the mid‑1970s, is well known in the literary circles of Italy and other countries. However, she becomes truly widely known, especially in her native Italy, only after her death on June 21, 2022. The poetry of Patrizia Cavalli, in which Cavalli herself acts as a lyrical hero, is well recognizable due to the lightness of sound, the depth of meaning with external simplicity of description, the conciseness of the verse, play on words, sonority with internal “floating” rhyme and assonances, the hidden philosophy of a lonely intellectual woman. The introductory article, the poet’s memoirs and thoughts about his life path, about the poet Elsa Morante, about modern poetry and so on (from interviews of different years), as well as a selection of poems translated into Russian, makes it possible to get acquainted and get a general idea of the worldview and creative heritage of Patrizia Cavalli.

Keywords

• patrizia cavalli
• elsa morante
• poetry of italy
• italian poetry
• italian poets
• great poets of italy
• shogentsukova nina adamovna